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Can you include your children for your overseas residency application? Are your children 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years old with their own families? Which programs out there allow the entire family to apply together?
Which countries rank in the top of our list for residency, healthcare, education and flexibility to include the family even if they have outgrown you and live in their own home? This is what we will be covering in today’s article.
So you are contemplating a Golden Visa residency program to another country for your family, especially for your children.
You’re not alone, 99% of all applicant’s motivations to these programs are for their children and future generations. It’s very rare for an applicant to be doing this purely for themselves, unless they are a retiree/pensioner.
We will break down all the possible Golden Visa residency programs to Europe, Central, America, even the Oceania. Today's focus is on countries where you or your children might live now or in the future. Therefore, we are ruling out the Caribbean island citizenship investment programs for this video, as most of our clients only pay for the passport and have no plans to live on those islands.
At INGWE, we have successfully helped thousands of families since 2018, from over 55 countries navigate the complex landscape of business and investment immigration. Connect with us for a personalized assessment - click here.
In the EU, the most popular Golden Visa residency programs allow you to include your dependents such as your spouse, common-law and children. The children’s age, financial dependency and marital status is very important.
Where in the EU region can you buy a residency outright for you, your children and the dependent family members? It’s Malta, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Bulgaria.
In Malta, one of our favorite programs, dependent children can be under the age of 29 – but have to be single and 100% financially dependent to be eligible to be included in your application for the Malta Permanent Residency Program (MPRP). Keep in mind that Malta also has a separate Citizenship program (the only country in the EU selling it’s passport directly without residency) and the Malta Tax Residency Program which is open to ALL nationalities without any restrictions. All of these programs provide you with residency in Malta, to live and reside in the country at your leisure with your children and visa-free access across all 27 EU /Schengen countries.
This is also one of our favorite programs since it is a bilingual country, and you can find many UK campuses for your children to study at – for an English curriculum. You don’t have to learn a new language. Of course, Malta is in the Mediterranean and the weather and lifestyle are always top notch.
Check the eligibility for dependents applying for the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP) using this link: https://residencymalta.gov.mt/eligibility-criteria/
Our 2nd favorite program in the EU allowing your family an easy transition for residency is Italy. Besides all the glitz, glamour, and famous Italian brands, many applicants enjoy the fast processing of their investor residency program and the fact that if you have older children who may be 22, 24, 28 or even 30 – as long as you can provide supporting documentation that they are single and 100% financially dependent on you [the parent(s)] it is still possible to include them in your residency application. The official dependent age limit in Italy is 18, but if your child is over the age of 18, and single, financially dependent and still a full-time student, you can include them in the application. The onus is on the applicant to provide all the supporting documents to make this claim. If you have questions, reach out to us and we can do a soft assessment on your case – after qualifying you for the main investor residency program.
Italy allows children to study for free at public schooling from elementary to high school. For post-secondary the tuitions are very reasonable, although not free. The only draw-back is that the curriculum is not in English, unless you send your child to a private school which is a bit more costly. The lifestyle is Italy is always world-class, as long as you are open to residing in a country where English is not the main language.
Check the information on family reunification, including dependents, is provided by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development: https://www.investorvisa.mise.gov.it/index.php/en/family-reunification
Another favorite of ours is the Portugal Golden Visa. Nobody exists on this planet who has not heard of this program – most likely one of the most popular Golden Visa programs in all of EU before it removed real estate options for the investment category. With a cool, crisp €500,000 you can qualify for a residency that can lead to citizenship in Portugal, without the need to reside there full time. Although the official dependent age limit for the program is 18, it has the same flexibility as the Italian program – where older children who are single, financially dependent can qualify with the right supporting documentation.
In terms of lifestyle (weather, food, people, crime rate…) we believe Portugal ranks number one in Europe. Of course, this is from the point of view of somebody who is not looking for employment (work) and just wants to enjoy good food, beaches, weather and a kind and calm atmosphere. Similar to Italy, the public education is all in Portuguese, and if you are challenged language-wise like I am, then you can consider paying for private schooling for your children. Children can study for free at public elementary and high schools and post-secondary tuitions are peanuts compared to UK, USA, Australia and even Canada.
Check the eligibility for dependents applying for the Portugal Golden Visa (ARI - Autorização de Residência para Atividade de Investimento) using this link from the The Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF): https://imigrante.sef.pt/en/solicitar/residir/art90-a/
Next on our list is Greece, where the Golden Visa program through a real estate investment of €250,000 (and yes, that’s correct, you can qualify with less than €400,000) allows an applicant to move their spouse, common-law and children under the age of 21, although they need to remain single and financially dependent throughout the residency process.
In terms of quality of life, I would just comment that although Greece is in the Blue Zone, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have top notch education, or healthcare. It’s just basically a relaxed atmosphere. Although I think it’s great for pensioners, retirees, and casual EU visits and perhaps a ‘fun’ residency to have a villa or apartment on the beach – I don’t believe it would be the right choice for your children unless one of you in the family is Greek or speaks Greek.
You may be wondering, why is Spain not our list. Actually, it is and it also has a special place in all our hearts with its Golden Visa program which is receiving a face lift as of April 3rd 2025, and a new expected re-opening date. Children under the age of 18 are officially allowed, but the same situation as Italy and Portugal applies to Spain – if your child is fully financially dependent on you as the main applicant, and single, with proper supporting documentation, we can get them in for your through the residency program. Keep an eye out later in 2025 when the Golden Visa 2.0 will be relaunched by the Spain government – to check all the details on eligibility and investment options. Spain is number one for healthcare today compared to the rest of the programs we covered, and in terms of education options also ranking very high – hence it is actually one of our top 3 destinations for families to reside in Europe through the Golden Visa program.
Check the eligibility for dependents applying for the Spain Residence by Investment (Golden Visa) posted by The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs using this link: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/en/ServiciosAlCiudadano/InformacionParaExtranjeros/Paginas/ResidenciaPorInversion.aspx
Some of the lesser-known programs in the EU region are Cyprus and Bulgaria.
Cyprus allows children under the age of 25 to qualify as dependents which make it quite a flexible program – although the supporting documentation has to be provided that they are single and financially dependent. The official age of dependents is under 18 but with the exceptions outlined earlier. The investment options are either through €300,000 in any asset category which can include shares in a company, or even real estate, or the BFU option of €200,000 into your own registered company in Cyprus – meaning it’s zero investment. The former provides you and your child a permanent residency for 10 years (renewable) and the latter is a work permit valid for 2-3 years, but both paths lead to the same citizenship timeline in Cyprus. In terms of lifestyle, you can’t go wrong on this island – as your expected life expectancy will increase due to the food, beaches and laid-back atmosphere.
Check the eligibility for dependents applying for the Cyprus Permanent Residence Permit posted by The Civil Registry and Migration Department using this link: https://www.mip.gov.cy/dmmip/md.nsf/all/1996586204D82CD6C225890B00443DDD?opendocument
Bulgaria recently became part of the Schengen region in March of 2024. It’s Golden Visa and TRO program allow foreigners to reside full time in this EU country. You can opt for the investment option through a registered fund, with a minimum €512,000 that leads to a permanent residency in the country. You can also opt for the Trade Representative office program which requires zero investment and leads to a temporary residency which can be converted to permanent residency with minimal time in the country. Dependent children under the age of 18 can be included in your residency application to Bulgaria. So what happens if your child is 21 or 28 or maybe 40 years old – there is a loophole for the Bulgarian program. You can appoint them as a trade representative for your overseas company, or anyone else’s company, without them needing to be a shareholder or staff of that company. Hence your adult child can join you to come to Bulgaria on a temporary residency NO MATTER how old they are. Did that blow your mind? It’s 100% legal and possible – with a quick assessment by our team.
Now moving away from the EU region, we have two other favorite Golden Visa style residency programs which are good options for your family and children: Panama and New Zealand.
If you’re thinking of getting far & away, and having a backup Plan ‘B’ for your family, New Zealand is the destination of choice. Children under the age of 25 are eligible to be included in your investor residency application. The reason it is on our list today, is that it is an English-speaking country meaning all education is conducted in English at elementary, high school and universities. It has the 5th most powerful ranking passport in the world. It’s healthcare and education are ranked top notch in the entire world. There is nothing to lose in this program, except to allow some of your money to be invested in New Zealand. You ask how much? It’s either NZ$5m or NZ$10m depending on which category of investment funds or real estate or bonds you choose. And two unique features of this program are:
1) The permanent residency is for LIFE – without any renewal process and
2) You only need stay in the country 3 weeks out of 3 years to convert to Permanent Residency or 3 months in 5 years in case you invest in the real estate, listed equities or bond options.
Connect with us and request our New Zealand Investment Residency brochure for all the details.
Check the eligibility and program requirements on this New Zealand government website using this link: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/visas/visa/active-investor-plus-visa
Let’s now look into the Panama Golden Visa program which is one of the less known and most flexible permanent residency programs being offered in this part of the world.
Panama lets adult children invest in the Golden Visa program to include the entire family. To give you an example, if you are 50 years old, and your parents have most of the money needed for this program (US$200,000 investment in real estate if you are from Canada, USA, EU, South Africa or other friendly-nations countries or US$300,000 for other nationalities), then you can combine the funds and apply all together (i.e. your parents along with you, your spouse or common-law and your children). Panama is one of the most flexible Golden Visas in the world, with a tax-free jurisdiction on your overseas income, crypto-friendly and no residency requirement to actually become eligible for citizenship in 5 years. The fastest golden visa processing time in the Western Hemisphere at 6-8 weeks max after the real estate purchase has been made, and you can bring children as dependents or combined Golden Visa family route if you have adult children – WHO DO NOT NEED TO BE SINGLE – and can have their own family. This is an amazing program and you can let us know to provide you more details including a custom breakdown of all fees and steps based on your family composition.
We are hosting a Panama Golden Visa field trip from March 31st to April 3rd, 2025, where we meet the ministry processing the Golden Visa, meet bankers, government officials, real estate developers and their projects. In case you or anyone you know in your network can benefit from this program and trip – reach out to us to RSVP before March 31st, 2025.
We hope you found this article insightful where we hand-picked the best of the best for you, your children, and future generations. In case this is all too overwhelming for you, reach out to us for a quick assessment by completing our quick questionnaire – to receive our custom proposal and detailed guide for any of these programs. Consider us the boutique concierge for global residency and citizenship programs.
If you are ready to put your Plan ‘B’ into action, for yourself, your family or perhaps your clients, you can reach out to us through the link under this video. Join our online live stream every Thursday at 11am EST, or 8am PST, to share your feedback, post your questions, and engage with others who are also exploring these opportunities.
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