The residence-permit bar is an appraisal, not the price you paid

The minimum real estate investment that supports a temporary residence permit rose to USD 150,000 with effect from 1 March 2026. The previous figure, USD 100,000, had applied since the route opened in 2019, so this is a 50% step up and the third increase in the programme's life. It follows amendments to the immigration law passed in June 2025, which is worth knowing because it means the change was signalled well in advance rather than introduced overnight. Anyone quoting USD 100,000 to you today is quoting a rule that expired.

This is the part buyers most often get wrong. The threshold is tested against a market valuation produced by an accredited appraiser, not against the sum written into the purchase contract. The two diverge in both directions. A flat bought early off-plan, or bought from a motivated seller, may appraise above what was paid. A flat bought at a developer's full list price in a soft part of the market may appraise below it. A purchase contract at exactly USD 150,000 therefore guarantees nothing on its own, and a cheaper purchase is not automatically disqualified. If the permit is the point of the purchase, commission the valuation before you are committed, not after.

The property has to be non-agricultural, which rules out the farmland and vineyard plots that some buyers assume will count. Within that limit there is more flexibility than people expect: more than one property may be combined to reach the threshold, so two or three smaller flats can do the work of one larger purchase. That matters for anyone who would rather spread risk across addresses, or who already owns something and needs to top up to the new figure. The permit is renewable annually, and it extends to a spouse and children on the same investment rather than requiring a separate purchase for each family member.

Existing permit holders are not pushed up to the new figure. They can keep renewing under the rules that applied when they qualified, for as long as they continue to own the property that qualified them. The practical consequence is that selling a qualifying flat is not only a property decision — it can end the basis of the permit, and a replacement purchase would be assessed against USD 150,000 rather than the older threshold. Owners who bought at USD 100,000 and are now weighing a sale should price that into the decision alongside the sale proceeds.