Blog · 2026-02-11

Residence by real estate in 2026: which programmes are still open

Spain scrapped its golden visa, Portugal stripped property out of ARI, Ireland shut its investor route years ago. Here is where buying a home still buys a status - and what to check beyond the headline threshold.

A shorter map, not an empty one

Europe has spent three years dismantling the buy-a-home-get-a-visa model. Portugal removed real estate from its ARI programme back in October 2023. Ireland closed the Immigrant Investor Programme. Spain abolished its investor visa on 3 April 2025. Hungary dropped direct property purchases from its guest investor scheme in January 2025, keeping only a regulated real estate fund route. The political argument is identical everywhere: investor visas get blamed for housing costs, and Brussels keeps pressing member states on security and money-laundering grounds.

The tool itself, however, has not disappeared. As of February 2026 you can still convert a property purchase into a legal status - the list of countries is simply shorter and the entry prices higher. Below is what actually works, plus the things selling agents rarely bring up. The wider landscape of investment routes sits in our golden visa hub; this piece covers only the "buy a property" scenario.

Greece: still Europe's main market, now with three price tags

Greece remains the largest live EU programme built around property, but it stopped being the cheap option in 2024. What you pay depends entirely on where you buy:

• €800,000 - Attica (Athens and the Athens Riviera included), greater Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 residents;
• €400,000 - the rest of the country: the Peloponnese, Epirus, Thessaly, smaller islands;
• €250,000 - reserved for two narrow cases: converting a commercial building into residential use, or restoring a listed property. No geographic limits, but the stock is thin and the works must actually be completed and registered.

The two upper tiers also carry a minimum size of 120 square metres, a single-property rule and bank-transfer payment. One restriction deserves its own paragraph: property acquired under the current rules cannot be let on a short-term basis through Airbnb, Booking or similar platforms. Breaching it exposes you to a fine and revocation of the permit. The "buy a studio in Athens and let tourists cover the running costs" model is dead at the new thresholds - long leases only.

What you get is a five-year residence permit for the whole family, renewable while the investment is held, Schengen travel and no stay requirement. What you do not get is a fast passport: Greek naturalisation demands years of genuine residence plus a language exam, and years spent abroad on a golden visa do not count towards it.

Cyprus: permanent status on day one, but no passport

Cyprus is the rare case where a purchase buys permanent residence outright - no annual renewals, no expiry. The threshold is €300,000 plus VAT, and the property must be new, bought directly from a developer; the resale market is effectively limited to commercial assets. Two units may be combined, provided they come from the same developer.

The condition applicants underestimate is income: you must evidence roughly €50,000 a year from sources outside Cyprus, with increments for a spouse and each child. Purchase funds have to arrive from the applicant's or spouse's foreign account. To keep the status, visit the island at least once every two years.

Citizenship is not part of the deal. Cyprus closed its passport-for-investment scheme in 2020, and naturalisation requires years of physical residence. If a second passport is the actual objective, look at citizenship programmes instead - different mechanics, different timelines.

Turkey: the only fast passport built on square metres

Turkey is essentially the last country where property converts into full citizenship rather than residence. The threshold is $400,000 in residential or commercial real estate with a registered structure, held for three years, with processing typically running six to twelve months. No renunciation of your existing nationality, no language test, family included.

There is also a smaller route: an ordinary residence permit for property owners, which since 2022 carries a minimum value in the region of $200,000, alongside a list of districts closed to foreign registration. Rules here shift more often than anywhere else on this list, so verify the specific address before paying a deposit. We cover the investor route in detail in our guide to Turkish citizenship by investment.

The main Turkish risk is commercial rather than legal. A large share of qualifying stock is priced to the programme rather than to the market - a "citizenship premium" baked into the sticker. Not everyone exits three years later without a currency loss.

Outside Europe: UAE, Panama, Mauritius

UAE. A ten-year golden visa is granted on property with a certified value from AED 2 million (roughly $545,000). Mortgaged units qualify, as do off-plan purchases with approved developers, and holdings can be aggregated to reach the threshold. There is no path to citizenship at all - Emirati passports are granted only in exceptional cases - so treat the UAE as a tax and logistics base rather than a destination country.

Panama. The Qualified Investor Visa delivers permanent residence immediately on a property purchase from $300,000, held for five years. Timing matters: the discounted $300,000 threshold is scheduled to rise to $500,000 in autumn 2026. The deadline has slipped before, but planning around indefinite extensions is unwise. Presence requirements are minimal - one entry every two years - and after five years the status opens the door to naturalisation. Panama also taxes on a territorial basis, much like Paraguay, where the cost of entry is a fraction of any golden visa.

Mauritius. Residence follows a purchase of at least $375,000 within an approved scheme (IRS, RES, PDS, Smart City). The permit lasts as long as you own the property, covers the family, imposes no minimum stay and allows letting. The trade-off is choice: you can only buy inside government-approved developments, a narrow slice of the market.

Thresholds and programme status in 2026

Figures reflect the position in February 2026. Verify thresholds and conditions before committing - in this field the rules change faster than developer websites are updated.

Six questions to answer before the deposit

1. Liquidity. A property bought "for the programme" is later sold not to the market but to the next investor with the same requirements - a narrow buyer pool. Ask whether a local resident would pay the same price. If not, you are paying a premium you will not recover on exit. Location matters more than floor area here, and we maintain separate city guides for the major markets.

2. Cost of entry beyond the price. Transfer tax, VAT on new builds, notary and legal fees, government charges for residence cards: typically 6-12% on top of the purchase price, sometimes more.

3. Carrying costs. Annual property taxes, utilities, service charges, insurance, letting management. Model the five-year cost of holding the status, not just the ticket in.

4. Tax. A residence permit does not make you a tax resident - but it does not protect you either, since most countries trigger residency automatically after 183 days. Meanwhile rental income is almost always taxed where the property sits, regardless of your residency. Our tax section breaks down the regimes.

5. Residence is not citizenship. Only Turkey delivers a passport directly. Greece, Cyprus, Panama and Mauritius lead to naturalisation, but through years of actual living, language and integration. If the status is an insurance policy rather than a relocation plan, compare options honestly in the residence and permanent residence hub rather than banking on a passport.

6. Rule-change risk. Granted permits are rarely revoked retroactively, but renewal conditions, thresholds and permitted uses of the property change regularly. Greece's short-term letting ban is the clearest example: people bought into one set of economics and inherited another. Stress-test your plan against a scenario where the programme closes to new applicants and all you are left with is the property.

How to choose

If you need Schengen access and can commit €400,000 or more, Greece. If you want an open-ended status with no renewals and can evidence foreign income, Cyprus. If the passport itself is the goal and you accept market risk, Turkey. If the priority is a tax and logistics base, the UAE. If you want a comparatively cheap Latin American entry with a naturalisation horizon, Panama while the $300,000 tier lasts. Mauritius suits people who genuinely intend to live there.

One closing thought: real estate is the least flexible way to buy a status. Capital is frozen in an illiquid asset in a foreign jurisdiction for years. Before going down that road, check whether a remote-work visa, a business-based permit or simply incorporating a company solves the same problem for far less. Very often it does.

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