Can you just buy any visa if you have enough money?
Investor visas (Golden Visas) and citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programs exist, but they are limited to specific countries, have minimum investments from US$100k to US$5M+, and are under increasing pressure from the EU and US.
The truth
Citizenship-by-investment (CBI) is offered by a small set of mostly Caribbean states (St Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia) and a couple of European states (Malta, until recent EU pressure; Türkiye for naturalisation after 3 years). Threshold: US$100k-$200k+ donation or property purchase. Residence-by-investment (Golden Visas) exist in more countries — Portugal (substantially reformed 2023), Spain (closed for real-estate 2025), Greece, Italy, UAE — usually requiring property purchase or investment from €250k-€2M. The US EB-5 Investor Visa requires US$800k-$1.05M in a targeted-employment area. None of these instantly grant citizenship — they grant residence which then has a multi-year qualifying period. The EU has been actively pressuring member states to wind down golden-passport schemes since 2022 over money-laundering and Russian-sanctions concerns. The US has tightened EB-5 oversight under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act 2022.
Why this rumour persists
Citizenship-by-investment is heavily marketed by intermediaries who earn substantial commissions per applicant. The pitches conflate residence with citizenship, and ignore the due-diligence checks that can refuse applicants for criminal records, sanctioned ties, or tax-haven concerns.
What to actually do
- If you have genuine investment capital and want a residence route, work with a licensed immigration lawyer (not a 'consultant') in the destination country
- Verify the program is on the official government website — many CBI sites are intermediary marketing pages, not the issuing authority
- Budget for full due-diligence costs (US$5k-$25k+) on top of the investment amount
- Be aware that some EU/UK banks and visa programs refuse customers who acquired residence/citizenship through CBI
- Look at the actual settlement path — most golden visas require physical-presence days, even if they're called 'no-physical-presence' programs