Country Comparison Table
| Country | Population | Cost of Living |
Min. Pension |
Min. Passive |
Min. Invest. |
Mandatory Ongoing Costs | Tax on Foreign Income | Time to Resident |
Time to Citizen |
Min. Presence Req. | Dual Citizen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 46 million | $600 | ~$1,000 | ~$2,000 | ~$1,500 | Private health insurance required | Worldwide if 12+ mo present | 2–6 months | ~3 years | 2 yr no exit for citizenship | Yes |
| Bolivia | 12 million | $450 | - | - | - | Minimal | No (territorial) | ~1 month | ~3 years | No absence >90 days (temp) | Yes |
| Brazil | 216 million | $700 | $2,000 | - | ~$30,000 | Monthly Carnê-Leão tax | Worldwide (no holiday) | 3–6 months | ~6 years | No absence >2 yr (perm) | Yes |
| Chile | 20 million | $900 | ~$1,000 | ~$1,500 | $500,000 | 7% health if employed; else optional | 3–6 yr exemption, then worldwide | 1–3 months | ~7 years | 180 days/year (temp) | Yes |
| Colombia | 52 million | $550 | ~$1,050 | ~$3,500 | ~$47,000 | EPS: ~USD 23/mo + insurance | Worldwide if 183 days | <1 month | ~10 years | 180 days/yr; no gap >6 mo | Yes |
| Costa Rica | 5 million | $1,000 | $1,000 | $2,500 | $150,000 | CAJA: ~USD 90–150/mo | No (territorial) | 3–12 months | 7+ years | 1 entry per year | Yes |
| Ecuador | 18 million | $700 | $1,410 | $1,410 | $48,200 | Health insurance required | 5-yr exemption, then worldwide | ~2 months | ~5 years | Max 90 days absent (temp) | Yes |
| Mexico | 130 million | $800 | ~$4,400 | ~$4,400 | ~$300,000 | RFC required; no mandatory health | Worldwide if 183 days | ~1 month | 5+ years | No formal minimum | Yes |
| Panama | 4.4 million | $1,000 | $1,000 | - | $200,000 | Minimal | No (territorial) | 1–6 months | 6–10 years | 1 visit per 2 years | Yes |
| Paraguay | 7 million | $500 | - | - | $70,000 | Minimal | No (territorial) | 2–4 months | ~5 years | No absence >12 mo (temp) | Limited |
| Peru | 34 million | $600 | $1,000 | $1,000 | ~$130,000 | Minimal | Worldwide if domiciled; pensions exempt | 1–2 months | ~2 years | 183 days/year | Yes |
| Uruguay | 3.5 million | $1,000 | ~$1,500 | ~$1,500 | - | Mutualista: USD 70–250/mo | 10-yr holiday (capital) or flat 7% | 6–12 months | 5 years | No absence >3 years | Yes |
- Pension: monthly, must be lifetime, typically from a government or regulated entity.
- Passive: monthly income from rentals, dividends, or investments.
- Investment: one-time, usually business setup or real estate purchase.
- Time to Citizen: often shorter if married to a local national.
- All values converted to USD. "~" = approximate. "-" = not available.
Interactive Map: Residency at a Glance
Hover or tap a country to see what makes it unique. Click through to the full guide.
Which Country Fits Your Situation?
Retiree with Pension
Priorities: low income threshold, healthcare access, favorable tax treatment of pension, ease of process.
Top pick: Panama. The Pensionado visa grants immediate permanent residency with a pension of just USD 1,000/month, foreign pensions are completely untaxed under the territorial system, and statutory Jubilado discounts on flights, dining, utilities, and healthcare can recover the visa cost within a few years.
Runner-up: Ecuador. The Pensionado visa requires USD 1,446/month, the economy is dollarized (no currency risk), foreign pensions are in practice not taxed, and residents aged 65+ receive statutory senior benefits including discounted airfares and utility bills.
Digital Nomad / Remote Worker
Priorities: no or low presence requirement, territorial tax, fast processing, work rights.
Top pick: Paraguay. General temporary residency has no income or investment requirement at all, foreign income is completely untaxed under a strict territorial system, there is no mandatory minimum stay, and the visa grants the right to live, work, study, and conduct business.
Runner-up: Panama. Permanent residency requires visiting just once every two years, the territorial tax system leaves foreign income untaxed, and several programs are processed in under two months. The dedicated Digital Nomad Visa (USD 3,000/month) does not lead to PR, but the Friendly Nations Visa does.
Investor
Priorities: accessible investment threshold, path to citizenship, dual citizenship, property rights.
Top pick: Ecuador. The Inversionista visa requires just USD 48,200, one of the lowest investment thresholds in Latin America. The investment can be a bank deposit, real estate, or company shares. The path to citizenship takes approximately five years, and Ecuador allows dual citizenship without restriction.
Runner-up: Colombia. Business investment residency starts at approximately USD 47,000 (100 SMMLV), with real estate at approximately USD 163,000 (350 SMMLV). Colombia allows dual citizenship and processes visas in as little as 5 to 15 business days.
Tax Optimizer
Priorities: territorial tax or long tax holiday, no wealth tax, no exit tax, no worldwide reporting obligation.
Top pick: Paraguay. Strict territorial tax with no wealth tax, no inheritance tax, no gift tax, and no exit tax. Foreign income is completely excluded from taxation. No minimum days of presence are legally required for tax residency, though establishing a local domicile supports the claim.
Runner-up: Panama. Territorial tax system with no wealth tax, no inheritance tax on foreign assets, and no exit tax. The US dollar as official currency eliminates exchange rate risk. Immigration residency and tax residency are separate concepts, so holding a residency card does not automatically trigger tax obligations.
Country Summaries
Argentina
Argentina offers one of the fastest paths to citizenship globally: naturalization after just two years of continuous legal residency, with no language exam required. The Argentine passport provides visa-free access to 170+ countries including the EU Schengen Area. The main caveat since 2025 is that the two-year residency must be completely uninterrupted with no exits of any kind, one of the strictest physical presence requirements in the region.
Bolivia
Bolivia has the lowest financial threshold in the region at approximately USD 300/month in solvency and uses a single Specific Purpose Visa as the gateway to all residency. The territorial tax system does not tax foreign income, and citizenship is available after three years. The tradeoffs are significant: temporary residents cannot be absent for more than 90 consecutive days, the Specific Purpose Visa must be obtained from a consulate abroad before entry, and a parallel exchange rate means the official BOB/USD rate may not reflect real purchasing power.
Brazil
Brazil is the only major Latin American country that taxes worldwide income from day one with no holiday or exemption period. The retirement visa requires USD 2,000/month, while the investor visa starts at BRL 500,000 for business or BRL 1,000,000 for real estate (reduced in the North/Northeast). Citizenship is possible after four years of permanent residency, or one year for spouses of Brazilians and Portuguese speakers.
Chile
Chile's 2022 Migration Act created one of the most digitized immigration systems in the region, with all applications submitted online from abroad before entering. New foreign residents receive a 3-year exemption from tax on foreign income, extendable to 6 years. The investor threshold is high at USD 500,000 in a productive project, but the retirement visa has no published minimum and is assessed case by case (approximately USD 1,000 to 1,500 in practice).
Colombia
Colombia's visa thresholds are pegged to the national minimum wage (SMMLV), which rose 23% in 2026 alone. The Pensionado visa starts at approximately USD 1,400/month, while business investment starts at approximately USD 47,000. The path to citizenship is one of the longest in the region at roughly ten years. A single absence of more than six consecutive months automatically cancels a Migrant visa regardless of remaining validity.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica has well-established Pensionado (USD 1,000/month), Rentista (USD 2,500/month), and Inversionista (USD 150,000) pathways that all grant temporary residency leading to permanent residency after three years. The territorial tax system leaves foreign income untaxed. The major ongoing obligation is mandatory enrollment in the public health system (CAJA), running USD 90 to 350 per month depending on declared income, which cannot be replaced by private insurance.
Ecuador
Ecuador combines a dollarized economy, one of the lowest investment thresholds in the region (USD 48,200), and a fast citizenship path (approximately five years). A temporary tax residency regime introduced in 2024 lets newcomers pay tax only on Ecuadorian-source income for five years. The main caveat is a strict 90-day absence limit during temporary residency and a 5% tax on all outbound financial transfers.
Mexico
Mexico uses a unified economic-solvency framework rather than separate visa categories, with the most common path requiring approximately USD 4,400 per month in net income. It is the highest income threshold in the region, but applicants with USD 74,000 in savings can qualify instead. Mexico taxes worldwide income for tax residents and has no tax holiday for new arrivals, making it the least favorable destination in the region for tax optimization on foreign income.
Panama
Panama offers immediate permanent residency through its Pensionado (USD 1,000/month pension), Qualified Investor (USD 300,000), and Friendly Nations (USD 200,000 + eligible nationality) visas. Its use of the US dollar and territorial tax system make it one of the most financially predictable destinations in the region. The main caveat is that banking access is significantly harder than elsewhere due to strict post-Panama Papers compliance rules.
Paraguay
Paraguay's general temporary residency requires no proof of income, investment, or bank deposit, making it the lowest-barrier entry point in Latin America. Foreign income is completely untaxed under a strict territorial system, and there is no wealth, inheritance, gift, or exit tax. The tradeoff is limited infrastructure compared to wealthier neighbors, and dual citizenship is officially restricted to reciprocity countries (Spain and Italy), though this is not enforced in practice.
Peru
Peru offers one of the shortest paths to citizenship in Latin America: just two years of continuous legal residency. The Rentista visa requires only USD 1,000/month in passive income and carries indefinite validity from the outset. Pensions are specifically exempt from income tax. The practical challenge is that most banks refuse to open accounts without a Carné de Extranjería, which is only issued after residency approval, creating a common circular dependency.
Uruguay
Uruguay is unusual in granting permanent residency directly upon approval, skipping the temporary phase. The country offers a 10-year tax holiday on foreign-source capital income for new residents (Tax Holiday 2.0, effective January 2026), or a flat 7% rate indefinitely as an alternative. Income proof must be formalized through a Uruguayan public notary (escribano), which adds cost and complexity to the application process.
Next Step: Get a Free Residency Consultation
Schedule a call with us to discuss residency options. Free of charge, no credit card required.
Book a Free Consultation 20–30 minute call. No legal advice provided.