Cheapest retirement visas in 2026, ranked by income

The table below covers the 14 retirement routes we track, sorted by income threshold. 'PR path' means the program either grants permanent residency immediately or leads to it after a defined period. The full ranked list (every route, always current) includes all 24 routes we track, including programs added after this article was written.

Nicaragua's Residente Pensionado sets the lowest published bar of any program we track: $600/month from a pension source, with a minimum age of 45. A Rentista variant — for passive income that isn't a pension — requires $750/month. The program is approved through INTUR, leads to permanent residency and eventually citizenship after roughly 4 years, and covers the whole family. The catch: you need to spend roughly 6 months per year in-country to keep status.

Cyprus's Category F comes in at $870/month and works differently from most programs here. It grants what functions as immediate long-term status — and you only need to visit once every 2 years to maintain it. Foreign pensions are taxed at a flat 5% option, which is favorable compared to most EU countries. Each dependent adds to the income requirement, so factor that in if you're moving with a spouse.

Turkey's short-term residence permit sits at $900/month, but the mechanics matter. There's no dedicated retirement visa — retirees use the general short-term permit on an income basis. Critically, the income must arrive as regular monthly foreign-currency deposits into a Turkish bank account; a lump-sum balance without ongoing inflow doesn't satisfy the requirement. Some districts, particularly parts of Antalya and Izmir, are closed to new foreign residents following post-2022 policy changes, so approval depends partly on where you intend to live. See Turkey: every visa & residency route for more.

The D7 Passive Income / Retirement Visa is the most-discussed EU retirement route for Americans, and the income floor — $990/month — is lower than many people expect. A spouse adds 50% to that threshold; each child adds 30%. The permit runs 2 years, renewable, with permanent residency available after 5 years. A 2026 reform extended the citizenship timeline to roughly 10 years. You'll need to be present roughly 183 days per year, and once resident, worldwide income becomes taxable in Portugal. That last point is worth running past a tax professional before you apply.

Two well-established programs land at exactly $1,000/month. Panama's Pensionado Visa is arguably the most retiree-friendly program in Latin America on pure structure: it grants permanent residency immediately, the $1,000/month threshold covers the primary applicant (each dependent adds $250/month), and Panama taxes on a territorial basis — foreign income is exempt. The published program also includes discounts of 25–50% on a range of goods and services.

Costa Rica's Pensionado Visa also requires $1,000/month, but that single figure covers the entire family — there's no per-dependent add-on. Permanent residency follows after 3 years; citizenship after 7. Foreign income is untaxed. One procedural note: income must be converted through a local bank, so you'll need to establish a Costa Rican bank account early in the process.

Peru's Rentista visa requires $1,000/month from a pension or Social Security, plus $500/month per dependent, routed through a recognized Peruvian financial institution. The program operates under Decreto Supremo 002-2021-IN. One practical wrinkle: since August 2021, consulates abroad no longer process applications — most applicants change status in-country at Migraciones. Peru also has one of the faster citizenship timelines in the region at roughly 2 years. Full details at Peru: every visa & residency route.

Malaysia's MM2H Silver tier requires roughly $1,070/month in offshore income plus a fixed deposit of roughly $32,000. It's a 5-year renewable long-stay pass — not permanent residency, and there's no citizenship path attached. Higher tiers exist with longer validity and, in some cases, a property purchase requirement. If a PR path matters to you, Malaysia doesn't offer one through this program.

Colombia's M-Pensionado Visa sits at roughly $1,200/month — pegged to 3 times the Colombian minimum wage. The permit runs 3 years, renewable, with a path to an R-visa (permanent residency) after 5 years and citizenship in roughly 8–10 years total. Colombia's cost of living is among the lowest of any country on this list, which changes the practical calculus even if the income bar is a bit higher.

Guatemala's Rentista/Pensionado residency through IGM requires $1,250/month from a foreign-source pension, rental income, or investments. US Social Security qualifies. Each dependent adds $300/month. The program leads directly to permanent residency, and income must be re-proven every 5 years.

Paraguay is unusual: since Law 6984/22, there's no statutory minimum income written into the law. Practitioners advise demonstrating roughly $1,300/month to satisfy the 'real and regular' lawful income standard, with additional amounts per dependent. Temporary residency converts to permanent after roughly 21–24 months, and citizenship follows after 3 years of permanent residency. Paraguay taxes on a territorial basis, so foreign income is untaxed, and there's no minimum physical-presence requirement — a combination that's rare.

Ecuador's Pensioner (Jubilado) Visa requires $1,446/month, plus $250/month per dependent. Most US Social Security recipients meet this threshold. Ecuador uses the US dollar, which removes currency risk from day-to-day budgeting. Permanent residency is available after 21 months; citizenship after roughly 3 years.

Both the Dominican Republic and Honduras set their pensionado floor at $1,500/month. The DR's program is renewable indefinitely and opens a citizenship path after roughly 2 years — one of the faster timelines on this list. Each dependent adds $250/month. The DR also has a Rentista variant for passive income that isn't a pension, which requires $2,000/month.

Honduras requires $1,500/month from a guaranteed pension, deposited into a local bank account, plus $150/month per dependent. Its Rentista variant for non-pension passive income requires $2,500/month. The 4-year permit is renewable indefinitely, citizenship is possible after 3 years, and foreign-source income is not taxed. A Spanish language and civics exam is required for naturalization.

If you want to compare all 24 routes we track — including programs not covered in this article — the free visa & residency finder lets you filter by income, region, and permit type.

The income threshold is the starting point, not the whole picture. A few dimensions that shift the comparison meaningfully:

• Dependent costs: Panama adds $250/month per dependent; Costa Rica's $1,000/month covers the whole family. That gap compounds quickly for couples.
• Presence requirements: Cyprus only requires a visit once every 2 years; Portugal requires roughly 183 days per year. Nicaragua requires roughly 6 months per year. These shape whether you can split time between countries.
• PR and citizenship timelines: Peru's ~2-year citizenship path and Paraguay's ~3-year path are among the fastest. Portugal's 10-year citizenship timeline is among the longest on this list.
• Tax treatment: Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Paraguay all exempt foreign income. Portugal taxes worldwide income once you're resident. Turkey triggers tax residency at 183+ days. These differences can outweigh the income bar entirely.
• Deposit requirements: Malaysia's Silver tier requires a fixed deposit of roughly $32,000 in addition to monthly income. No other program on this list has a published deposit requirement.
• No PR path: Malaysia's MM2H is the only program here that doesn't lead to permanent residency. If long-term security matters, that's a meaningful distinction.

Each government makes the final call on any application. The published thresholds describe the bar — clearing them doesn't guarantee approval, and requirements can change. Verify current rules directly with the official source for any program you're seriously considering.