Blog · 2026-07-20

Europe's golden visas in 2026: what closed and what still works

In three years Europe has lost roughly half of its residence-by-investment programmes. Spain and Ireland shut theirs entirely, Portugal cut real estate out of its own, and the EU's top court ended Malta's golden passports for good. Here is what remains on the table in 2026 - and where to look if Europe no longer adds up.

Why Europe is dismantling its golden visas

As recently as 2020, close to a dozen EU member states would trade residence rights for a property purchase or a fund subscription. By mid-2026 that number has roughly halved, and almost every survivor has tightened its terms.

Three pressures are working at once. Housing came first: governments in Spain, Portugal and Greece all publicly linked urban price growth to foreign buyers. Brussels came second - the European Commission spent years arguing that selling residence and citizenship creates security, money-laundering and sanctions-evasion risk. The Court of Justice came third, ruling on the substance for the first time in 2025 and closing the question of golden passports inside the Union.

One distinction gets mangled in almost every headline. A golden visa is residence by investment, and several of those still exist in the EU. Citizenship by investment no longer exists in the EU at all. Anyone offering an "EU passport for a contribution" in 2026 is describing either a decade-long naturalisation route or something you do not want your name attached to. We track every live route in our residence by investment hub.

The programmes that are gone

Spain. The golden visa that ran from 2013 was abolished by legislation that took effect on 3 April 2025. The headline route - property worth €500,000 or more - is closed. No new applications are accepted; previously issued permits renew under the old rules, though that is a wind-down, not a guarantee in perpetuity. What survives in Spain is ordinary immigration: the digital nomad visa, the entrepreneur route and the highly qualified professional permit. We keep the detail on our Spain golden visa page, with the non-investment options covered under digital nomad visas.

Ireland. The Immigrant Investor Programme closed in February 2023, abruptly and without a transition window for new files. Nothing has been announced about reviving it. Ireland today means work permits, the start-up route or family reunification.

Malta's citizenship route. On 29 April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union held that Malta's naturalisation-for-exceptional-services-by-direct-investment scheme breached EU law: citizenship of the Union cannot be handed over essentially in exchange for money, absent a genuine link to the country. The programme has ended. Investors naturalised before the ruling took effect in the summer of 2025 keep their citizenship - nothing is being stripped retroactively. Malta has since introduced a citizenship-by-merit framework, but that is a discretionary, case-by-case instrument, not an investment product. Current status lives on our Malta citizenship page.

Portugal: real estate is out, the programme is not

Portugal did not close its ARI. It removed the most popular thing in it. Since October 2023 buying property - in Lisbon, Porto, on the coast or anywhere else - no longer qualifies, and the rental-yield structures built around it went with it.

What remains: €500,000 or more into a CMVM-regulated fund, held for at least five years; research and science funding; cultural heritage support; company capital; and job creation. The physical presence requirement is still among Europe's lightest, averaging about seven days a year.

The material change in 2026 concerns the passport rather than the money. A new nationality law in force since 18 May 2026 stretched naturalisation to roughly ten years for most foreign nationals and seven for citizens of CPLP countries. The old "five years to a passport" pitch is dead. Permanent residence after five years still stands, and it lets you live and work in Portugal without maintaining the investment - a meaningful consolation. We unpack the trade-offs on our Portugal golden visa page.

Before and after: the country-by-country picture

What is still open in the EU

• Greece is the volume leader. Since 2024 thresholds are zoned: €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 residents; €400,000 elsewhere. In both bands the purchase must be a single property of at least 120 sq m. The old €250,000 figure survives only for converting industrial buildings or restoring listed ones, and the works must be finished before you file. Region-by-region detail sits on our Greece golden visa page.
• Italy runs an Investor Visa with four routes: €250,000 into an innovative start-up, €500,000 into an Italian company, €2 million into government bonds, or a €1 million philanthropic donation. Crucially, you transfer the funds after approval rather than before - a rarity in this market.
• Hungary reopened with its guest investor visa: €250,000 into a regulated real estate fund, or a €1 million non-refundable university endowment. The permit runs long and renews, and the investment must be completed roughly three months after entry.
• Cyprus is not a golden visa in the usual sense - it grants permanent residence outright, from €300,000 plus VAT in new-build property, backed by proof of overseas income. Cyprus is not yet in Schengen.
• Malta still operates its permanent residence programme, combining a lease or purchase with government contributions and a charitable donation. On its own it does not lead to a passport.

The common thread: prices are up, property is being replaced by financial instruments, and the road to citizenship is getting longer. Compare the wider field in our residence and permanent residence hub.

The pressure has not peaked

The Malta judgment formally concerned citizenship, but politically it landed on residence programmes too. The Commission continues to push member states on source-of-funds checks, information sharing and moving away from purely passive investment. Plan for 2026 to 2028 on the assumption that terms will shift again: higher thresholds, longer holding periods, tougher presence requirements. The practical conclusion is unglamorous - if a country genuinely fits, do not sit on the decision, and read the statute as it stands on your filing date rather than the marketing page.

Keep tax in the frame separately. A residence permit does not automatically make you tax resident, but relocating, buying a home and spending real time on the ground gets you there fast, worldwide income and all. We explain the mechanics under tax and tax residency.

Where to look instead of the EU

If the goal is mobility, a tax base and a credible plan B rather than an EU flag as such, the terms outside Europe are now visibly better.

Paraguay. The most underrated option for anyone doing arithmetic. Permanent residence comes at a modest investment threshold, the presence requirement is light, and foreign-sourced income is not taxed. Naturalisation opens up after a few years of residence. The detail is on our Paraguay citizenship page.

The Caribbean. Five citizenship-by-investment programmes remain: Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis. A region-wide overhaul pushed the minimum contribution to roughly $200,000, added mandatory interviews and hardened due diligence - but timelines still run 6 to 12 months and the output is an actual second passport rather than a residence card. Start with Antigua and Barbuda or Grenada, which holds a US E-2 treaty. For a leaner Pacific alternative, see Nauru citizenship.

The UAE. A ten-year golden visa via property or through the talent and executive categories, no personal income tax, and banking that functions. Formally it is residence with no path to a passport, but for tax planning and moving a business it remains one of the most workable instruments available; the corporate side is covered under company formation abroad.

How to choose in 2026

Start by answering "why" honestly. If you want Schengen access without relocating, look at Greece or Hungary. If you want a passport within a foreseeable timeframe, Europe no longer answers that question - the Caribbean and Latin American routes do. If the driver is tax, the decision does not begin with a visa at all; it begins with modelling where you will be resident and what happens to your assets. All citizenship routes are compared in our citizenship by investment hub.

One closing caveat: no programme guarantees approval. States reserve the right to refuse without reasons, and rules move between filing and decision. Before you transfer any money, confirm the requirements as they stand on the day you file.

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