
The 5 Most Exclusive Residency Programs in Europe
Strict policies, annual quotas, and high financial demands make these residency options the hardest to secure in Europe.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey, the second-largest of the Channel Islands and home to some 63,000 inhabitants, offers a path to permanent residency and citizenship in the UK for both investors and entrepreneurs.
Guernsey’s Investor and Entrepreneur visas, respectively, have a structure similar to the UK’s Investor Visa and Startup/Innovator visa, though the investment amount required in Guernsey is half that of the UK’s Investor Visa.
Investors:
Deposit of £1m in a Guernsey bank account, £750,000 should subsequently be invested “to the benefit of the Bailiwick”.
Guernsey’s Committee for Economic Development considers the three following options as ‘suitable’ investments:
Entrepreneurs
Individuals who intend to live in Guernsey and take an active role in the running of a business in Guernsey can qualify for residency.
The applicant must be able to show they have at least £200,000 in their name in a bank account and which they must be prepared to invest into an existing Guernsey business. Creating a new Guernsey business, again with a minimum £200,000, is also acceptable.
The initial residency is a two- year permit that can be extended by another three years if the investment is held or the entrepreneurial business is still operational and the financial investment is maintained.
After five years, the participant may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which is a permanent residency for Guernsey. Following one year as a holder of ILR in Guernsey, the investor/entrepreneur is eligible to apply for British citizenship.
Applicants aged 18 to 65 must pass a citizenship test to demonstrate they have sufficient knowledge of English and life in the UK and Guernsey. Dual citizenship is allowed.
Browse 195 countries’ paths to citizenship in the hyper-detailed IMI Citizenship Catalog.
Applications for this program may be directed to Guernsey’s Committee for Economic Development.
Legislation upon which this program is based Immigration (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Rules 2008, Part 6, Section 201-224.
As noted in the program qualifications above, an investor can qualify for this program with a local property purchase above the minimum investment threshold. View eligible properties curated by IMI and our real estate partners:

Strict policies, annual quotas, and high financial demands make these residency options the hardest to secure in Europe.

Lorenz – the man behind Sark Society – calls the island, which has no cars, no paved roads, and practically no taxes, a “secret European micro-state”.
See more statistics on this program and others in the IMI Data Center.