Andorra posts the index’s best safety and environmental scores; it ranks third in the world for quality of life and offers low taxes, with income tax capped at 10% and no wealth or inheritance tax. It is also the most expensive programme in the entire index, requiring a €1 million local investment on top of substantial income.
Italy and Greece rank first and second globally for mobility and citizenship, respectively. They are also Europe’s fifth- and sixth-highest-ranked retirement destinations. Both offer options for lower taxation, but Greece’s monthly income requirement of €3,500 is one of the highest.
How much monthly income do you need to qualify?
Monthly income requirements vary widely, from less than €600 in Nicaragua to more than €9,000 in Bahrain.
In Europe, a monthly income of less than €800 could be sufficient in Cyprus if other requirements are met, while in Andorra, monthly income has to be more than €4,500. For comparison, the amounts shown in the chart have been converted to euros, so they may fluctuate with exchange rates.
The qualifying sources of income are also important. In some cases, applicants must show foreign-sourced passive income or a pension; others accept savings or dividends. And while the income threshold may be relatively low, some routes also require savings, deposits, investments or other substantial upront payments.
Cape Verde, Namibia, Chile, Zambia and Morocco are excluded from the chart because the report does not specify whether their income requirements are monthly. El Salvador is also excluded, as it gives separate thresholds for pensioners and people living on passive income. Income requirements in these countries vary between $825 and $1,800.
How quickly can you get a passport?
A route to citizenship is common, but not guaranteed. The report says 24 programmes offer naturalisation within five years and 17 within six to ten years. Andorra requires 20 years. Four — Malta, the UAE, Ireland and Bahrain — offer no standard route through retirement or passive-income visas.
The shortest timelines are in South America: around two years in Argentina and roughly three in Uruguay, Paraguay and some other countries.
However, 11 countries, including Austria, Andorra, the UAE and Malaysia, do not permit dual nationality, according to the report. Applicants may therefore have to give up their original citizenship. For those unwilling to do so, permanent residence may be the limit.
What other regions offer
The Americas stand out for affordability and favourable taxation. Brazil, Argentina and Chile also offer strong passports and relatively short routes to citizenship, adding to the region’s appeal.
Mauritius is Africa’s strongest performer. In the Middle East, the main attractions are low taxes and fast processing, although retirement routes offer no standard path to citizenship.
Next Year Europe Will Reckon with HistoryBy Ivan Krastev
At the Russian Geographical Society congress last autumn, President Vladimir Putin asked his government to proclaim 2027 the “Year of Geography.” The main event, he explained, would be the “consolidation of new maps of the Russian Federation,” highlighting annexed Ukrainian territories as integral parts of the state.
In Europe, and particularly in Germany, 2027 will instead be a “Year of History.” On September 6, 2026, voters in Saxony-Anhalt dealt an unprecedented blow to the cordon sanitaire designed to keep the far right out of power. The high voter turnout (77 percent) even evoked memories of the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. Saxony-Anhalt is not all of Germany—with two million inhabitants, it barely represents the former East Germany as a whole—but it is reasonable to conclude that the lessons of the 20th century have lost their ability to shape European politics.
A future defined by the slogan “never again” naturally carries an expiration date: it ends when memory fades. For young people, communism and fascism belong to a distant era that no longer dictates their choices. Older voters—those who lived under the former East German regime—were actually the least likely to vote for Alternative for Germany (AfD). What AfD voters demand is not the restoration of the old regime, but a remedy for the fact that one in four residents has left the region since 1989. Everyone lives with the anxiety that their world is disappearing: liberals fear losing democracy, while nationalists fear losing their culture. Commenting on the results, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated: “In Poland, only idiots and traitors can rejoice over the AfD’s triumph.”
While 74 percent of Europeans surveyed by Eurobarometer say their country benefits from EU membership—the highest figure since 1983—the continent risks falling victim not to a popular revolt, but to something resembling a bank run. The more people fear that others are losing faith in Brussels, the more tempted they are to withdraw their own support. Everyone wants to ensure that if things go wrong, they pay the lowest price.
The combination of Russia’s Year of Geography and Germany’s Year of History creates a nightmare for Europe. Russia will spend 2027 printing maps; Europe will spend 2027 printing ballots. Presidential elections will take place in France, alongside parliamentary elections in Italy, Spain, and Poland. Polls suggest each of these contests could produce right-leaning governing coalitions formed by traditionally eurosceptic parties. The frontrunners belong to different factions, and their stances on the Union are nuanced, but they are also dangerously fragmented. Giorgia Meloni in Italy, Law and Justice in Poland, and the People’s Party in Spain would all need to govern in alliance with parties further to their right. Any shift toward the center would be risky, and US President Donald Trump could further complicate matters if he decides to back the most radical elements.
Consequently, the fate of the Union will not be determined by political elites playing a game of “whack-a-mole” to keep the far right out of power. It will be decided by their ability to build a new European consensus where liberals and those long labeled “fascists” can coexist to defend European sovereignty.
The dilemma is that traditional parties must portray their opponents as tools of Moscow or Washington—or as extremists bent on destroying the Union—while simultaneously convincing the public that they can work together and that a far-right victory does not mean the end of the EU.
While the outcome of the French presidential election matters, the priorities the next French president sets will matter even more. The EU can function under a leader advocating stricter migration policies or a slower green transition; it cannot function under a leader who openly aligns with Moscow or reduces Europe to an appendage of Trump’s United States.
The issue is not that one position is respectable and the other is not. The point is that immigration laws can be rewritten by the next government, whereas redrawing a country’s borders is far more difficult. Maps outlast electoral majorities.
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