Skip to main content
THE CITIZENSHIP DESK

Best Visas For Residency Without Physical Presence

You want the status but don’t want to live there full-time. Portugal Golden (7 days/yr avg), UAE Golden, Malta Residency, Greece Golden, Caribbean CBI (most waive presence), Monaco (via residence only).

Scoring methodology

Programmes are tagged by their own data with the personas they fit. We then add weighting based on persona-specific criteria (income threshold, family inclusion, citizenship timeline, processing speed, presence requirements). Score is a heuristic for ranking — not a recommendation. Each programme's detail page has the full sourced facts.

  1. 1
    🇬🇷 Greece Golden Visa

    Greece

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  2. 2
    🇲🇹 Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)

    Malta

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  3. 3
    🇦🇪 UAE Virtual Working Programme (Remote Work Visa)

    United Arab Emirates

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  4. 4
    🇭🇺 Hungary Guest Investor Programme

    Hungary

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  5. 5
    🇹🇭 Thailand Privilege (Elite) Visa

    Thailand

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  6. 6
    🇲🇾 Malaysia Premium Visa Programme (PVIP)

    Malaysia

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  7. 7
    🇲🇺 Mauritius Permanent Residency (Property Purchase)

    Mauritius

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  8. 8
    🇮🇩 Indonesia Second Home Visa (B211B)

    Indonesia

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  9. 9
    🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Premium Residency (Iqama Mumayazah)

    Saudi Arabia

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  10. 10
    🇦🇷 Argentina Rentista Visa

    Argentina

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  11. 11
    🇨🇾 Cyprus Category F Permit (Retirees & Passive Income)

    Cyprus

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    • ✓Minimal or no physical-presence requirement
    75
  12. 12
    🇵🇹 Portugal Golden Visa (ARI)

    Portugal

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    50
  13. 13
    🇳🇿 NZ Active Investor Plus Visa

    New Zealand

    • ✓Listed as a fit by the programme's own data
    50

See also: the curated profile for Residency Without Physical Presence (narrative companion to this ranked list).