Almost every country that wants retirees publishes a number. Clear it and the door is open; miss it and nothing else about the country matters.
The numbers are public. What is rarely explained is that most of them are not fixed at all — they are pegged to a national index that is revised every January.
The thresholds
| Country | Income floor | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | €2,400 a month | Non-Lucrative Visa |
| Portugal | €920 a month | D7 passive income visa |
| Italy | €31,000 a year | Elective Residence Visa |
| Greece | €3,500 a month | Financially Independent Person visa |
| France | €1,800 a month | visitor / financially independent route |
| Mexico | $4,200 a month over six months, or $70,000 held for twelve | Temporary Resident Visa |
| Costa Rica | $1,000 a month | Pensionado |
| Panama | $1,000 a month | Pensionado |
| Ecuador | $1,446 a month | pensioner visa |
| Colombia | about $1,710 a month | M-Pensionado |
| Thailand | 800,000 baht in a Thai bank, or 65,000 baht a month | Non-Immigrant O-A |
| Malaysia | a deposit from $32,000 at age 50+ | Malaysia My Second Home |
| Philippines | a deposit of $15,000 to $50,000 | SRRV |
Why the figure moves
Spain sets its floor at 400 per cent of IPREM, a public income index. Portugal uses its minimum wage. Colombia and Ecuador use three times theirs. When the index is revised, the visa requirement moves with it, quietly and without an announcement.
This is why a threshold you read in a blog post from last spring is very likely wrong. Learn the mechanism rather than the number, and you will always be able to work out the current figure.
Fixed income versus a deposit
Two different models sit in the table above. Most European and Latin American routes want proof of recurring income — a pension that arrives every month, for life. Several Asian routes want capital sitting in a local bank instead.
The distinction matters more than the amounts. A pension of $1,200 a month clears Costa Rica and Panama outright but does nothing for Malaysia, where the question is what you can deposit and leave untouched.
The conditions that are not in the headline number
The seasoning rules catch people out: funds must sit for two months before the first application and three before each renewal.
Consulates apply this differently, and the same file can pass in one and fail in another.
Four tiers up to $1,000,000, and a property purchase is compulsory on every mainland tier.
What to check before anything else
Take your own monthly figure, not the national average. Compare it against the column above. Then check whether the country counts a spouse as an addition or a multiplier, because that single detail changes the answer for most couples.
Thresholds move every January because most of them are pegged to an index that is revised annually. Treat the figure as the shape of the requirement and confirm the current number with the consulate before you file.