Benelux is not a single migration zone: each of the three countries issues its own status, and a residence permit from one does not grant the right to live and work in another. Routes for wealthy investors exist only in Luxembourg, Belgium requires a real business, and the Netherlands cancelled its investor programme in April 2024.
Why Benelux Is Really Three Different Countries for Residency
Although Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg belong to the European Union and Schengen, a residence permit from one country does not allow you to legally live and work in another. A residence permit grants the right to reside only in the issuing country, plus short trips across the Schengen area. So the choice should not be the region itself, but a specific country suited to a specific goal — relocating a business, managing capital, or long-term residence.
Belgium: Capital Works for the Business
Belgium has no single federal investment threshold. Independent economic activity requires a professional card, but the rules differ by region. Authorities assess the business model itself, the owner’s experience, their role in the company, financial resources, and the project’s economic value.
Here, capital is a resource for a working business, not a substitute for one. If a company exists only for the sake of a resident’s card, the structure becomes fragile. If approved, a national D visa is issued, followed by a residence permit. The logic only works if a real managerial, trading, service, or operational function is actually being relocated.
The Netherlands: Money Is No Longer the Main Thing
A separate residence permit for foreign investors no longer exists in the Netherlands. The programme with a threshold of €1,250,000 was cancelled on 17 April 2024. Those who obtained the status earlier can renew it, but new applications are no longer accepted.
Only entrepreneurial routes and self-employed status remain. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency assesses projects using a points system: personal experience, business plan, and added value to the economy. A start-up visa and highly skilled migrant status through a recognised sponsor are also possible. The question here is not how much money you have, but what your company will bring to the country and whether you can prove it with documents.
Luxembourg: The Investor Residence Permit Still Works
Luxembourg is the only country in the region where an investor residence permit genuinely works as of October 2026, although this route may disappear. Four options are currently available:
— an investment of at least €500,000 in an existing Luxembourg company, maintaining the investment and jobs for at least 5 years;
— an investment of at least €500,000 in a new company, creating at least five jobs within 3 years;
— an investment and management structure of at least €3 million;
— a bank deposit of at least €20 million, maintained for at least 5 years.
Investments in buying or renting real estate do not count toward these amounts. Russian citizens should separately check sanctions restrictions: European banks without EU citizenship or residency cannot accept deposits over €100,000 from Russian citizens.
There is also a residence permit for private reasons, but this is not the same as a rentier visa. The official route for living on one’s own means requires income from professional activity in another EU or Schengen country, or certain types of pensions from EU or Schengen countries.
From Residence Permit to Permanent Status: 5 Years and Conditions
In all three countries, the path to permanent residence begins with 5 years of legal and continuous residence. But the timeframe is not the only factor. What matters is the type of residence permit, timely renewal, actual residence in the country, stable income, and no violations. In practice, the figure of 5 years is a minimum, not a guarantee.
Citizenship: Fundamentally Different Requirements
Luxembourg requires 5 years of legal residence, with the last year being continuous. Plus a Luxembourgish language exam (level A2 in speaking, B1 in listening comprehension) and a 24-hour civic course on rights, institutions, and the country’s history, or an exam on this programme. Luxembourg allows multiple citizenship.
The Netherlands requires 5 consecutive years of legal residence with a status suitable for naturalisation, plus an integration exam. As a general rule, applicants must renounce their previous citizenship, although exceptions exist.
Belgium requires 5 years of continuous legal residence, the right to indefinite stay at the time of application, knowledge of one of the national languages, and social integration. But there is a separate condition: economic participation must be confirmed by at least 468 working days over the last 5 years for employees, or by paying mandatory social contributions for at least six quarters for self-employed individuals. A person living off capital with no formal occupation may run into exactly this requirement. Belgium allows multiple citizenship.
The same figure of 5 years does not make these three routes identical. Choosing a country based on a single parameter — tax rate, ease of company registration, or bank reputation — is risky. Personal residence, business, and capital must work as a single system, otherwise the structure may end up formally flawless but unsuitable for the family, the business, or the goal five years down the line.
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