Families chasing a second passport rarely know where to start. Dozens of consultancies promise fast-track residency, but few back it with actual bricks and mortar. Some funds turn out to be shell companies once you dig past the sales brochure.
One name keeps surfacing anyway, since hotels, funds, and visas all sit under one roof there instead of getting scattered across a dozen middlemen you’ve never heard of. That kind of vertical setup is genuinely rare in this industry, and it’s exactly why Mercan group has stayed in the conversation since 1989 — its portfolio now spans four continents.
1. Portugal Golden Visa Through Mercan Group
Portugal’s Golden Visa still pulls the biggest crowd among EU residency seekers, and it’s not close. Most applicants now commit around EUR 500,000 into a regulated venture-capital or hospitality fund. Buying property outright used to be the go-to move here, but that door mostly closed a couple of years back when Portugal tightened real-estate eligibility. Mercan Group runs its own CMVM-registered hospitality fund for this exact route.
You get five-year renewable residency. No minimum stay is required — some investors visit just a week a year. After five years, citizenship becomes an option, and Portuguese passports carry visa-free Schengen access.
2. Greece Golden Visa With Mercan Group
Greece works differently. Real estate is still the core mechanism, and the minimum entry point sits near EUR 250,000 in select regions. Processing tends to run six to eight months, noticeably faster than Portugal’s.
Spouses and dependent children get folded into the same application. Piraeus and Athens remain popular picks, and Mercan’s Keranis Residence project near the port gives investors an actual unit to point to, not just paperwork.
3. Panama Qualified Investor Program
Panama moves fast. Residency can land in roughly 30 days, which is unusual for this category. Mercan Group holds an official strategic-partner role with Panama’s government for this exact program, tied to hospitality developments including a branded Pullman hotel.
Panama also offers territorial taxation — income earned outside the country generally isn’t taxed locally. A five-year path to citizenship follows. Family members qualify alongside the main applicant, same as Greece.
4. EB-3 USA Green Card Through Mercan Group
This one’s for workers, not just investors. The EB-3 covers three tracks — skilled, professional, and unskilled — and roughly 40,040 visas get allocated by the US government each year. Mercan has processed over 21,500 EB-3 cases, which is a fairly large volume for a single firm.
Because Mercan’s employer network already holds pre-approved PERM labor certifications, candidates often skip the lengthy employer-matching wait. No prior degree or experience is needed for the unskilled category. That detail alone surprises a lot of applicants.
5. Canada Business Immigration Programs
Canada offers a mix of entrepreneur and investor streams, and the Quebec Entrepreneur Program stands out for anyone wanting to buy or launch a business there. There’s also the Start-Up Visa Program — the world’s first of its kind — which grants unconditional permanent residency once a Designated Organization backs your business idea. No probationary status, unlike comparable programs elsewhere.
6. Bill C-3 Citizenship-by-Descent
This is the newest addition, and it’s not investment-based at all. Bill C-3, passed in December 2025, restored citizenship-by-descent rights beyond the first generation for people with Canadian ancestry. An American with a Canadian grandparent, for example, could now be eligible when they weren’t before.
Here’s a quick comparison of the key programs:
| Program | Country | Entry Investment | Timeframe |
| Golden Visa (Funds) | Portugal | ~EUR 500,000 | 18-24 months |
| Golden Visa (RE) | Greece | ~EUR 250,000 | 6-8 months |
| Qualified Investor Program | Panama | Depends on the case | Around 30 days |
| EB-3 Green Card | USA | No investment needed (employer-based) | Depends on category |
A few things to consider before settling on one specific path:
- Panama and Greece both include spouses and dependent children under one application.
- Portugal’s fund route carries no minimum-stay requirement, unlike most residency-by-investment programs.
- The EB-3 route needs zero capital outlay — it’s entirely employer-sponsored.
The broader mercan group of companies also runs recruitment arms placing workers across the US, Canada, and the Middle East, so the immigration side isn’t the whole operation. Regulatory backing matters here too — Mercan’s fund is CMVM-registered, and its Canadian consulting arm operates under RCIC licensing.
FAQs
Which Mercan Group program has the fastest approval time?
Panama’s Qualified Investor Program, at roughly 30 days.
Does the EB-3 require a college degree?
No — the unskilled worker category needs neither prior education nor experience.
Can family members join a Golden Visa application?
Yes, in Greece and Panama; spouses and dependent children qualify alongside the primary applicant.
Is Portugal’s Golden Visa still tied to real estate?
Mostly no now — most current applications route through regulated funds instead.
What changed with Bill C-3?
It restored Canadian citizenship-by-descent beyond the first generation, effective December 2025.
One Firm, Six Paths: What Actually Sets Mercan Group Apart
Six programs, six very different doors in — a 30-day approval in Panama on one end, a multi-generational citizenship claim through Bill C-3 on the other. What actually ties them together isn’t the paperwork. It’s the fact that one operator controls the fund, the property, and the visa file all at once, instead of handing you off between three strangers who’ve never spoken to each other.
That’s rare enough to matter. Most families only discover the difference after a refund fight or a stalled application. Worth checking which of these six fits your situation before you sign anything — the wrong pick costs years, not just money.
