Golden Visa Exit 2026: Hold Periods, Property Sale and Status Rules

The golden visa industry produces an enormous volume of content about entry. Investment thresholds. Processing times. Passport rankings. Family inclusion rules. The due diligence checklist. How to prepare your source-of-funds documentation.

Almost none of it covers what happens at the other end.

You have held your qualifying investment for the required period. The clock has run. You are now free, legally, to sell. What actually happens when you do? Do you keep your status? Does your citizenship remain? What kind of buyer will pay what price for a CBI-approved resort unit in Grenada or a Greek apartment that has been rented on Airbnb for five years? What does a Portugal qualifying fund redemption look like in practice? What are the tax consequences of the exit in 2026, country by country?

These are the questions that determine whether an investment immigration program was worth doing in the first place. They are asked far less often than they should be.

The Hold Period Landscape: What Each Program Actually Requires

Before addressing exits, it is worth being precise about what “hold period” means in each program context. The term is used loosely, and the consequences of ending the investment vary significantly by structure.

The critical distinction is between programs where citizenship is already issued before any hold period begins (all CBI programs) and programs where ongoing residency is contingent on maintaining the investment (Greece, UAE). This distinction determines everything about exit planning.

Real Estate Exit Mechanics by Country

Turkey: The Cleanest Exit Structure

Turkey’s CBI program offers the most straightforward exit path of any program in this comparison.

You purchase real estate at a minimum of $400,000. The property is appraised by a government-appointed valuer, registered with a formal restriction on sale in the TAPU (title deed), and the citizenship application is filed. Once citizenship is granted, typically 6 to 12 months after application, you hold a Turkish passport and are a Turkish citizen for life. The property restriction remains in place for three years from the TAPU registration date.

After three years: the restriction lifts and you can sell freely to any buyer, domestic or foreign, on the open market. There is no requirement to sell to another CBI applicant. There is no government approval process for the sale. The citizenship is not affected by the sale in any way.

This makes Turkey structurally unique among CBI real estate programs. The qualifying investment converts to a freely tradeable asset with no ongoing immigration consequence. Exit into the open Turkish real estate market, which includes a large domestic buyer pool, is available.

The tax dimension matters: capital gains on Turkish property held for more than five years are exempt from income tax. If your three-year CBI hold period has already been completed, and the property was purchased as part of a five-year horizon, you may be selling into an exemption window. Property held between three and five years faces a tiered CGT regime.

Currency risk is the primary structural concern. Turkey’s program requires a minimum $400,000 investment in USD terms, but the property is purchased, held, and sold in Turkish lira. The lira has lost substantial value against major currencies since 2020. Capital preservation in USD or EUR terms has been challenging even for properties that appreciated in lira terms. Buyers who focused on Istanbul prime markets have often seen nominal lira gains offset by currency losses. This needs to be modelled explicitly, not assumed away.

See the Turkey CBI complete guide for the full investment structure and application process.

Greece: The Trap Nobody Discusses

The Greece Golden Visa has no hold period in the conventional sense. There is no fixed duration after which the property can be sold. Instead, the permit renewal every five years requires that the qualifying investment be maintained. If you sell the property, you lose the residency permit. Full stop.

This is not widely understood at the point of investment. Many buyers of Greek golden visa real estate believe they are making a five-year investment with a built-in exit. They are not. They are making an indefinite investment tied to their residency status.

The implications for exit planning are significant. If you want to retain your Greek Golden Visa, you cannot sell unless you simultaneously replace the qualifying investment with another property meeting current threshold requirements. The threshold in Athens and the major islands is now EUR 800,000. If your original investment was made at EUR 250,000 under the old rules, replacement means a substantially larger capital commitment.

If you simply sell without replacement: the permit lapses at next renewal. Any family members on the permit lose their status. Schengen access tied to the permit is lost.

There is no Greek citizenship consequence because Greek Golden Visa holders almost never qualify for Greek citizenship. Citizenship through naturalization requires seven years of physical residence at 183 days per year. Most Golden Visa holders have no physical presence accumulation at all, making citizenship eligibility irrelevant to exit planning in practice.

The practical exit from a Greek Golden Visa is to sell the property and let the permit lapse at renewal. If the permit has served its purpose, this is clean. If you wanted the permit to continue indefinitely, the structure does not accommodate a sale.

Rental yield during the hold period has been a meaningful offset for many investors. Athens and tourist island properties have seen strong short-term rental demand. The exit discount on a property originally purchased as a golden visa asset versus the same property purchased by a Greek domestic buyer is generally small, because the open Greek real estate market is the exit destination. This distinguishes Greece from the Caribbean CBI secondary market problem described later.

See the Greece Golden Visa complete guide for full program detail.

Portugal: Fund Exit, Not Property

Portugal removed the real estate investment route in October 2023. New applicants invest through qualifying funds, with a minimum of EUR 500,000 and a five-year lock-up from the date of subscription.

The exit mechanics for the fund route are entirely different from a property sale. After five years, the investor can request redemption. The fund manager calculates net asset value and returns capital at NAV, minus any applicable fees or distributions already made. This is not a market transaction in the conventional sense. There is no secondary buyer to find. The redemption is with the fund itself.

The practical implications:

The NAV may be above or below the original investment depending on fund performance. Qualifying Portuguese funds invest in Portuguese companies, venture capital, or real estate funds with Portuguese exposure. Performance varies significantly by fund and vintage.

The redemption process can take months depending on fund liquidity and the specific redemption mechanics outlined in the fund’s prospectus. Some funds maintain redemption queues. Investors should review the specific redemption terms before committing, not after the five-year clock has run.

The residency permit is independent of the fund redemption. After five years, if you have satisfied the minimum stay requirement (7 days in year 1, then 14 days per subsequent two-year period) and applied successfully, you may already be in the process of applying for citizenship. The permit continues during the citizenship application process regardless of whether you have redeemed the fund investment. Redeeming at the five-year mark does not trigger permit cancellation. Note: Portugal’s revised Nationality Law (approved April 2026, pending presidential assent) would extend the citizenship residency requirement from 5 to 10 years for most non-EU applicants. Confirm the current framework before relying on the 5-year citizenship pathway.

Capital gains on the fund redemption are subject to Portuguese CGT at 28% on the gain above the original investment. IFICI regime holders have different treatment. The tax position should be modelled before the redemption, not at execution.

The St Lucia bond route, discussed in the fund section below, follows broadly similar redemption logic but through a government mechanism rather than a fund manager.

See golden visa processing times compared 2026 for context on Portugal’s overall timeline.

Caribbean CBI: Real Estate Route Specifics

The Caribbean programs have in common that citizenship is granted before any hold period matters. The hold periods in real estate routes restrict resale of the specific qualifying property, but citizenship is unaffected once granted.

St Kitts and Nevis has the longest real estate hold period in Caribbean CBI: seven years for both the Developer’s Real Estate route ($325,000 minimum) and the Private Real Estate route ($600,000 minimum). After seven years, the property can be sold on the open market. Citizenship is unaffected.

Grenada requires a five-year hold on the real estate route ($350,000 minimum sole ownership, plus $50,000 NTF contribution). After five years, the property is free to sell. Citizenship is unaffected. The secondary market for Grenada CBI-approved properties is thin, for reasons covered in the secondary market section below.

Antigua and Barbuda requires a five-year hold on the real estate route ($300,000 minimum). Citizenship is granted before any hold matters.

Dominica requires a three-year hold on its real estate route ($200,000 minimum). The shorter hold period reduces the secondary market friction.

St Lucia requires a five-year hold on the real estate route ($300,000 minimum) and a five-year hold on the government bond route ($300,000 non-interest-bearing).

In every Caribbean case, the exit from the real estate investment does not affect citizenship. The passports are permanent. The exit question is entirely economic: what can you sell the property for, and to whom?

See the country-specific guides for full program detail: Antigua CBI, Dominica CBI, Grenada CBI, St Lucia CBI.

UAE: Investment Maintenance at Renewal

The UAE Golden Visa has a 10-year term, renewable. The property must be maintained at the qualifying threshold (AED 2,000,000, approximately $545,000) at the time of renewal. If you sell the property before renewal, the permit lapses when its current term expires.

This is not a hold period in the Caribbean sense. It is a maintenance requirement. The permit is not citizenship. There is no “exit from citizenship” dimension because there is no citizenship to exit from.

The practical structure for investors who want UAE Golden Visa residency as a long-term base: replace the property at renewal if the original property is sold. The Dubai real estate market is liquid enough that replacing a qualifying property at AED 2M is operationally straightforward, unlike Caribbean CBI secondary markets.

Capital gains on Dubai property sales are not taxed in the UAE. There is no personal income tax. The exit from UAE real estate is one of the most tax-efficient in any program context.

See the UAE Golden Visa complete guide for full program mechanics.

Fund and Bond Exit Mechanics

Portugal Qualifying Funds (5-Year Lockup)

The five-year lockup for Portugal’s qualifying funds is defined in each fund’s prospectus. The EUR 500,000 minimum is a subscription into a regulated fund, not a direct property transaction. Exit at the five-year mark is through redemption, not sale to a third party.

Investors should understand before committing:

What is the fund’s redemption queue policy? Some funds process redemptions within 30 days. Others have longer notice requirements or the ability to defer redemptions during periods of limited liquidity.

What is the NAV calculation methodology? The fund’s audited NAV at the time of redemption determines the exit value. Unrealised gains on underlying assets are reflected in NAV, but fees, carried interest, and distributions already paid affect the net return.

What tax treatment applies at redemption? Gains above the subscription price are subject to Portuguese CGT unless an applicable exemption applies. The 28% flat rate is the standard. IFICI regime applicants have a different framework.

For investors who took the EUR 500,000 fund route primarily as an immigration mechanism rather than an investment decision, the fund redemption will likely deliver a return below what a dedicated investment portfolio would have achieved. The fund structure prioritises Portuguese regulatory compliance; return optimization is secondary. This is a reasonable trade-off when the citizenship pathway is the primary objective, but it should be understood rather than assumed away.

St Lucia Government Bonds (5-Year Hold, Government Refund)

St Lucia’s bond route requires a $300,000 non-interest-bearing government bond held for five years, plus an administration fee set by the Citizenship by Investment Unit. At the end of five years, the government refunds the $300,000 principal.

The refund process is administered by the CIU. In practice, refund timelines have occasionally extended beyond the five-year mark due to government cash flow, and investors should factor in the possibility of a delay rather than planning on exact-date return of capital.

The effective cost of the bond route is the administration fee plus five years of foregone returns on the $300,000. At even a modest 4% annual return, the opportunity cost of a non-interest-bearing five-year bond is approximately $65,000 in foregone returns, making the bond route more expensive than the NEF donation route ($240,000 for a single applicant, non-refundable) when modelled on a net present value basis.

The bond route exists primarily for investors who want the optionality of capital return and have a strong preference for government counterparty over the non-refundable donation structure. It is the only true capital-recovery option in Caribbean CBI.

Malta MPRP Property

The Malta Permanent Residence Programme requires either property purchase (EUR 300,000 minimum, EUR 350,000 in Malta’s northern/central areas) or rental (EUR 10,000/year). For property purchasers, the investment must be maintained for five years before the property can be replaced or sold. For the full MPRP investment structure, updated fee schedule under Legal Notice 146/25, and the programme’s position post-CJEU ruling, see the Malta citizenship and residency complete guide 2026.

After five years, the property can be sold or the investor can switch to the rental route. The permanent residency status is not revoked solely by selling the qualifying property after five years, but the holder must continue to maintain a registered residential address in Malta (either by purchasing another property or renting). Selling without securing a replacement address puts the residency status at risk.

Malta real estate has appreciated meaningfully over the past decade, though the MPRP-qualifying areas (particularly the south and Gozo regions) offer lower entry prices and have seen less dramatic appreciation than Valletta and Sliema. Exit into the Maltese domestic market is straightforward for properties in prime areas; rural southern properties have thinner buyer pools.

Citizenship Retention After Divestment

This is the question that matters most to most investors. The answer is program-specific.

Programs Where Citizenship is Permanent Regardless of Investment

Turkey: Citizenship is granted during the investment period and cannot be revoked by the sale of the property after the three-year restriction lifts. Turkish law does not provide for citizenship revocation due to investment divestment. Turkish citizenship is unconditional once granted.

All Caribbean CBI programs (Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia): Citizenship is granted on the basis of an investment that was made, not an investment that must be maintained. Once citizenship is issued, it is permanent. Selling the qualifying real estate after the hold period (or making the donation, which has no hold period) has no effect on citizenship status. Caribbean citizenship passes to children born after naturalization and can be held indefinitely.

Malta CES/CBM (for existing holders): Malta’s citizenship-by-merit program grants permanent EU citizenship. Holders of Malta citizenship issued under prior programs are permanent citizens. Divestment of any qualifying property held during the process does not affect citizenship once issued.

Programs Where Status is Contingent on Ongoing Investment

Greece: The residency permit requires ongoing property ownership. The permit cannot be maintained after selling without replacing the qualifying investment. As noted, citizenship is not relevant for most Golden Visa holders because the naturalization requirement (seven years at 183 days per year) is incompatible with the typical zero-stay holder profile.

UAE: The Golden Visa is a residency permit, not citizenship. It requires maintaining a qualifying investment at renewal. UAE citizenship is not available through investment.

Portugal: The residency permit does not require ongoing fund investment after the five-year period. The permit can be renewed and citizenship can be pursued independently of whether the fund has been redeemed. Portugal is the outlier in the EU RBI category: the investment hold period and the citizenship pathway are aligned by design.

The practical outcome: for CBI programs, divesting the qualifying investment at the end of the hold period has no citizenship consequences. For EU RBI programs (except Portugal, carefully structured), divesting ends the residency status.

Capital Recovery Planning

Realistic Recovery Rates

The question of capital recovery depends on which route was used.

Donation routes (Caribbean CBI): No capital recovery. The donation is a cost of citizenship. The economic frame for these routes is: what is the value of the citizenship obtained, not what is the return on the investment.

Real estate routes: Recovery depends on market conditions at exit. For Turkey, Istanbul prime residential has seen nominal appreciation, but USD/EUR returns depend heavily on the lira exchange rate. For Caribbean CBI real estate, see the secondary market section below. For Greece, the open-market exit is the most liquid of all real estate route programs.

Portugal fund route: Recovery is at NAV, which reflects the underlying fund performance. This varies by fund. Some funds have delivered positive returns above the EUR 500,000 subscription. Others have underperformed. The fund selection at entry matters significantly for exit value.

St Lucia bond route: Full principal return at five years (subject to timing risk).

UAE real estate: Dubai’s property market has been one of the better-performing real estate markets globally over the 2021-2026 period, with significant appreciation in prime areas. Capital recovery at or above the AED 2M investment is realistic for well-selected properties, absent a broad market correction.

Currency Risk on Exit

Currency risk is often the largest unmodelled variable in CBI investment returns.

Turkey’s CBI requires USD-denominated investment but holds the asset in lira. An investor who purchased Turkish real estate in 2021 at the $400,000 threshold, held it for three years, and sold in 2024 for the equivalent nominal value in lira terms received substantially less than $400,000 in USD at current exchange rates.

Caribbean CBI real estate is typically priced and transacted in USD, which removes the currency mismatch for USD-based investors. EUR-based investors face USD/EUR exposure.

Portugal’s qualifying funds are EUR-denominated. EUR-based investors face no currency exposure. USD or GBP-based investors carry EUR/home-currency risk over the five-year lockup.

Greece property is EUR-denominated. UAE property is AED-denominated; AED is pegged to USD, making UAE real estate effectively USD for most purposes.

Tax Implications of Exit

Capital gains tax treatment varies significantly at exit:

Turkey: CGT exempt for property held more than five years. For property held three to five years (covering most CBI exits after the three-year restriction), CGT applies at progressive rates. The base cost is the purchase price in lira; the gain is calculated in lira. Depreciation of the lira against USD means a nominal lira gain can coexist with a USD loss, but Turkish CGT is calculated in lira.

Greece: Real estate capital gains tax is currently suspended until 31 December 2026 (Article 90, Law 5162/2024). The standard 15% rate on the gross gain will resume from 1 January 2027 unless the suspension is extended. Any seller executing a sale in 2026 currently faces no CGT liability. Confirm the current position with a Greek tax adviser before executing a sale, as the suspension could expire or be extended.

Portugal (fund exit): 28% CGT on gains above the original subscription, unless an exemption applies. IFICI regime holders and non-resident investors have different treatments. Portuguese fund redemptions are reportable regardless of the investor’s tax residency; the fund manager will issue a capital gains statement.

UAE: No CGT. No personal income tax. Exit is fully tax-transparent at the UAE level.

Caribbean CBI real estate: The Caribbean island states with CBI programs do not impose CGT on real estate. The relevant CGT exposure is in the investor’s home jurisdiction. A French investor selling a Grenada resort unit may face French CGT on the gain even if no Grenadian tax applies. Tax residency at exit determines the applicable regime.

Transaction Costs

Real estate exits carry transaction costs that are frequently undermodelled.

Turkey: agent commission typically 3% (buyer and seller may share), TAPU conveyancing fees, and currency conversion costs if repatriating in EUR or USD.

Greece: real estate agent commission of 2-3% plus notary fees, transfer tax, and legal fees.

Caribbean CBI real estate: agent commission of 5-8% is common in resort markets, often split between buyer’s and seller’s agents. Government transfer taxes apply. For CBI-approved properties, the approved agent structure may add an additional layer of transaction costs.

Portugal fund: fund redemption may carry exit fees depending on the fund prospectus. Review before the five-year mark.

These costs are a real drag on exit proceeds and should be modelled at the entry decision stage, not at exit.

The Secondary Market Problem

The secondary market for CBI-approved real estate is the least-discussed structural issue in the investment immigration industry. It is also one of the most material factors in real exit returns.

Why CBI Real Estate Is Illiquid

CBI-approved properties in Caribbean markets (Grenada, Antigua, St Kitts, St Lucia, Dominica) are not ordinary real estate. They are purpose-built resort units, hotel shares, or development projects that qualified for government approval because they met specific investment immigration criteria. They were not built primarily for domestic buyers. They are priced to attract citizenship applicants, not lifestyle purchasers.

The direct consequence is that the exit buyer pool is almost entirely composed of other CBI applicants. A Grenadian resort unit held for five years and now available for sale can realistically be sold to:

(a) Another applicant for Grenada CBI who wants to use the property as their qualifying investment, or

(b) An investor who wants to purchase the property for rental yield independent of citizenship, or

(c) A domestic Grenadian buyer.

Category (b) is thin: the rental yields on Caribbean CBI resort properties vary widely, and sophisticated yield-focused buyers know that CBI-approved projects were priced with an immigration premium. Category (c) is essentially nonexistent for multi-hundred-thousand dollar resort units in island markets where median incomes are far below the property values. Category (a) is the primary exit.

This means the CBI real estate secondary market is structurally narrow. The buyer pool is defined by ongoing interest in Grenada (or whichever island) citizenship, which fluctuates with geopolitics, competitive programs, and market sentiment. A Grenada unit listed for secondary market sale competes with developers selling new units in the same project (which come with government approval and full marketing support) and with other secondary sellers who bought in at similar prices.

The CBI Premium at Entry

CBI-approved properties carry a premium at entry because the developer has secured government approval for the investment immigration route. That approval has value to CBI applicants. It is already priced into the asking price.

At exit, that premium compresses. The secondary buyer can buy from a developer with the same CBI benefits and new unit advantage. The secondary seller must price below the new unit or offer something the developer cannot: an existing rental income history, a completed unit, or a property in a specific location within the project that is no longer available from the developer. These are real but modest advantages.

In practice, CBI real estate sellers on secondary markets often accept prices 10-25% below the original CBI entry price, particularly in markets with ongoing new supply. The effective cost of citizenship should be calculated to include this expected exit discount, not assume a par recovery.

Exceptions and Better Exit Markets

Not all CBI real estate markets are equally illiquid.

Turkey’s exit market is the best among CBI programs because the qualifying property can be sold into the ordinary Turkish domestic and foreign real estate market. There is no CBI-applicant constraint on buyers. Istanbul has a large, liquid real estate market. The problem is currency, not market depth.

Greece’s exit market is also the open Greek real estate market. Buyers are not constrained to be Greek Golden Visa applicants. This makes the exit market meaningfully deeper than Caribbean programs.

Caribbean programs with a wider variety of approved projects and active touristic markets (Grenada, Antigua) offer better exit liquidity than programs where approved inventory is more concentrated.

Exit Timeline Planning

The optimal time to start planning an exit is 12 to 18 months before the hold period ends.

Why 12 to 18 Months

Finding a buyer in a thin secondary market takes time. CBI applicants move through multi-month application processes before committing to a specific property. If you want to sell at the exact point the restriction lifts, you need to have a buyer engaged well in advance. That means marketing the property to CBI-applicant networks, engaging an authorised agent, and allowing time for due diligence and transaction structuring.

For Portugal fund redemptions, the 12-month advance notice period serves to review the fund’s specific redemption terms, confirm NAV calculations, and coordinate the redemption with citizenship application timing. Submitting a redemption request immediately at month 60 may trigger a delay that creates uncertainty if the citizenship application is simultaneously in progress.

For St Lucia bond redemptions, engagement with the CIU on refund timing should begin at the 12-month mark to establish expectations and documentation requirements.

Legal and Agent Considerations

Exit transactions in CBI contexts typically require:

(a) A legal adviser in the program country familiar with CBI resale regulations, as some programs impose specific requirements on secondary market sales.

(b) An authorised agent (in Caribbean programs) who understands which secondary units have maintained their CBI-eligible status. Some units lose eligibility if the project falls out of government approval, which can happen.

(c) Currency conversion advice, particularly for Turkey exits where lira-denominated proceeds need to be repatriated efficiently.

(d) Home-jurisdiction tax advice to model the CGT exposure before completing the sale. Post-exit advice is too late to structure the transaction efficiently.

The legal and agent cost for an exit transaction is typically 3-8% of the transaction value depending on the country and complexity. This should be built into the net recovery model.

FAQ

Can I sell my Turkish property as soon as I get citizenship?

No. The three-year hold period runs from TAPU registration, which typically precedes citizenship issuance by several months. Citizenship may be granted 6 to 12 months after application, but the TAPU restriction is not linked to citizenship date. It is linked to the registration date on the title deed. Confirm the restriction lifting date directly from the TAPU records.

Does selling my Grenada CBI property affect my passport?

No. Grenada citizenship is permanently granted once the naturalization process is complete. Selling the qualifying real estate after the five-year hold period has no effect on your citizenship or passport. Your Grenada citizenship remains for life.

Can I sell my Greek Golden Visa property and keep my residency permit?

Not without replacing it. Renewal of the Greek Golden Visa every five years requires maintaining a qualifying investment. If you sell the property and do not replace it with another qualifying investment, the permit lapses at the next renewal. There is no grace period.

What happens to my Portugal Golden Visa if I redeem the fund at year 5?

The residency permit continues independently. The five-year fund lock-up and the five-year residency period for citizenship eligibility are aligned but separate. Redeeming the fund at year five does not trigger permit cancellation, and you may continue your citizenship application regardless of fund redemption. Note: Portugal’s revised Nationality Law (approved April 2026, pending presidential assent) would extend the citizenship residency requirement from 5 to 10 years for most non-EU applicants. Confirm the current pathway timeline with an immigration lawyer before planning around the 5-year alignment.

What is the St Lucia bond refund process?

At the five-year mark, the bondholder submits a refund request to the Citizenship by Investment Unit with evidence of the original bond certificate and proof of identity. The government processes the refund from general revenue. In practice, the refund may take several months beyond the five-year mark, and investors have reported varying timelines. Budget for a three to six month settlement window beyond the formal eligibility date.

Is Caribbean CBI real estate a good investment independently of the citizenship?

Generally not. CBI-approved resort properties are priced with an immigration premium, deliver yields that depend on hotel occupancy and management performance, and exit into a thin secondary market. Investors who chose the real estate route over the donation route should model the total cost honestly: the investment amount, the expected exit proceeds (likely below entry), the opportunity cost of capital, and management fees during the hold period. In most scenarios, the NEF/EDF donation route (non-refundable) delivers better total economics than the real estate route when the immigration premium, illiquidity discount, and holding costs are properly modelled.

Can I use an existing property I own for a Greece Golden Visa and sell it later?

The Greece Golden Visa requires the property to be purchased as the qualifying investment, and the permit renewal requires ongoing ownership. If you already owned Greek property before the program, it may or may not qualify depending on when it was acquired and whether it meets current thresholds. Pre-existing property that meets current thresholds can qualify for the Golden Visa in some circumstances. Selling the property at any point ends the residency basis.

Which program has the best exit economics overall?

UAE has the best exit economics for real estate: no CGT, liquid market, AED/USD peg removes currency risk, and no secondary market liquidity problem because replacement investment rather than secondary sale is the standard renewal mechanism. Turkey has the best CBI exit economics because the property exits into an open domestic market. Portugal’s fund route exit depends heavily on fund performance but has the structural advantage of NAV-based redemption without the secondary market thinness of Caribbean CBI real estate.

Related Resources

For program-by-program investment detail and real-time data: best programs by investment type

Country-specific guides: Turkey CBI, Greece Golden Visa, UAE Golden Visa, St Lucia CBI, Antigua CBI, Dominica CBI, Grenada CBI

Processing timelines: golden visa processing times compared 2026

Due diligence: Caribbean CBI due diligence compared 2026

For a structured program comparison filtered by investment type, hold period, and passport access: compare tool