What is the cheapest EU Golden Visa in 2026?

For straightforward residential real-estate routes, Greece's €250k commercial-conversion or heritage-restoration tier is the lowest entry point, followed by the €400k mainstream Greek tier. Hungary's rebooted programme starts around €250k in real-estate funds. Latvia's mixed real-estate-plus-bond route can be lower in headline numbers but carries stricter conditions.

Did Spain end its Golden Visa?

Yes. The Spanish Golden Visa ended on 3 April 2025. Pending applications are still being processed, but no new applications under the real-estate-investment route are accepted. Spain still offers a Non-Lucrative Visa, Digital Nomad Visa, and Entrepreneur Visa.

Can I still get residency in Portugal through real estate?

No. Portugal removed real estate from its Golden Visa programme in October 2023. The programme remains open, but only via investment-fund subscriptions (€500k), scientific research donations (€500k), or cultural patronage (€250k). Property purchases no longer qualify.

Which EU Golden Visa offers the fastest path to citizenship?

Malta, through the MPRP plus separate naturalisation routes, is the only EU programme that can lead to citizenship within 3-5 years for high-investment cases. Cyprus naturalisation by exceptional grounds is technically possible at 7 years. Greece, Italy, and Hungary all require 7-10 years of actual residence, which most Golden Visa holders never accumulate because there is no physical-presence requirement.

Do Golden Visa holders pay tax in the country of residency?

Generally no, unless they actually become tax-resident by spending more than 183 days a year there or otherwise centring their life there. Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and Malta all offer attractive non-dom or flat-tax regimes for those who do choose to relocate.

Can I include my family on a single Golden Visa investment?

Yes, on every active EU programme, the rules vary. Greece is the most generous (spouse, children under 21, both sets of parents). Cyprus and Malta also include parents subject to income tests. Hungary and Latvia include immediate family but not parents-in-law in some interpretations.

Are there reputational issues with Golden Visas in 2026?

The European Commission has been pressuring residency-by-investment programmes since 2022. Citizenship-by-investment in Malta has been challenged at the European Court of Justice, and the EU's revised AML framework imposes stricter source-of-funds checks across the board. Greece, Italy, and Hungary are the programmes most likely to remain stable in 2026.

Does the Golden Visa give me free movement in Schengen?

Yes, all EU Golden Visa programmes (except Cyprus, which is not yet in Schengen as of early 2026) grant Schengen-area free movement up to 90 days in any 180-day window. Cyprus is scheduled to join Schengen in 2026 pending final approval.

EU Golden Visa comparison 2026, every active programme

2026 comparison of every EU Golden Visa programme, Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, plus the closures and how to list for free on immio.

Europe's residency-by-investment landscape in 2026 looks completely different from what it was three years ago. Portugal removed real estate from its programme in 2023. Ireland closed its programme in 2023. Spain ended its Golden Visa in April 2025. Greece raised its thresholds. Hungary rebooted its programme. The European Commission keeps pushing for further restrictions, and the European Court of Justice ruled against Malta's citizenship-by-investment in 2025. This guide cuts through the noise, what is open, what is closed, what each programme really costs, and which one fits which kind of investor.

How residency-by-investment works in the EU

Every EU country sets its own residency rules. The EU sets visa-free travel rules (Schengen) and minimum standards for long-term residence and family reunification, but each member state runs its own investor-residence programme, or chooses not to.

A Golden Visa typically gives you:

A renewable residence permit, usually 2-5 years per renewal cycle
Schengen free movement (90 in 180 days as a tourist) for most programmes
The right to bring qualifying family members on a single investment
A potential, never automatic, path to citizenship after 7-10 years
No requirement to actually live in the country (varies by programme)

It does not automatically give you:

Tax residency (which depends on physical presence and centre-of-life rules)
The right to work in any EU country other than the one issuing the permit
Citizenship without separate naturalisation
Permanent residence, you must keep the qualifying investment in place to renew

Country-by-country snapshot, 2026

Country	Min investment	Real estate?	Family	Tax incentive	Physical presence	To permanent residence	To citizenship
Greece	€250k-800k	Yes (with conditions)	Spouse, kids <21, both parents	Non-dom €100k flat	None	5 yrs	7 yrs of real residence
Portugal	€500k (funds only)	No (since 2023)	Spouse, kids, parents	NHR closed for new	7 days yr 1, 14 days yr 2-5	5 yrs	5 yrs of real residence
Spain	n/a (closed Apr 2025)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Malta MPRP	€375k+ combined	Buy or rent	Spouse, kids, parents, grandparents	Non-dom remittance	None	Immediate	Separate naturalisation
Cyprus	€300k	Yes	Spouse, kids <25, parents (income test)	Non-dom 17 yrs	One visit every 2 yrs	Immediate	7 yrs (rare in practice)
Italy Investor Visa	€250k-2m	No (real estate excluded)	Spouse, kids, parents	Flat €100k/yr non-dom	Yes, meaningful	5 yrs	10 yrs
Hungary Guest Investor	€250k+	Funds + real estate hybrid	Spouse, kids, parents	Standard	None	10 yrs	8 yrs
Latvia	€250k+ real estate	Yes	Spouse, kids	Standard	Some	5 yrs	10 yrs

The numbers in this table are the most-used route in each country, as of early 2026. Each programme has additional tiers, surcharges, government fees, and processing fees not shown.

Cheapest active route

For investors prioritising raw cost over everything else, the contenders are:

Greece special routes (€250k). The commercial-to-residential conversion and listed-heritage-restoration routes both keep the €250k headline. They carry meaningful renovation and timing commitments that add €50-200k of real-world cost and risk. For investors with a real intention to renovate, this is the cheapest residential entry point in Europe in 2026.

Hungary Guest Investor Programme (€250k). Rebooted in 2024-2025 after years of dormancy. The current structure is heavily weighted toward Hungarian-fund subscriptions rather than direct real-estate purchase, but the headline is €250k for a 10-year permit, the longest single-issuance permit in Europe. Family inclusion and no-physical-presence make it competitive.

Latvia (€250k, conditional). Latvia's programme requires real-estate purchase plus a separate state contribution and meets-the-character checks. It looks cheap on paper but the all-in cost lands closer to €350-400k once fees are added. Schengen access is the main draw.

Greece mainstream (€400k). For investors who want a normal residential property without renovation risk, the €400k tier outside Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, and Santorini is the best straightforward residential deal in the EU.

For deeper detail on the Greek programme, see our Greece Golden Visa 2026 guide.

2024-2025 reform recap

Spain, programme ended 3 April 2025. Pending applications grandfathered. New applicants directed to Non-Lucrative Visa, Digital Nomad Visa, or Entrepreneur Visa. Detail in our buying property in Spain guide.

Greece, thresholds raised in two steps in 2024. Standard tier from €250k to €400k or €800k; €250k retained only for commercial conversion and heritage restoration; 120 sqm minimum size introduced.

Portugal, real estate removed October 2023. Programme survives via investment funds (€500k), scientific research (€500k), or cultural patronage (€250k). Existing real-estate holders renewed normally.

Ireland, closed February 2023. No new residency-by-investment route exists.

Malta, citizenship-by-investment ruled illegal by ECJ in 2025. The Maltese government is restructuring; the MPRP residency programme remains active and unaffected at the time of writing.

Hungary, rebooted Guest Investor Programme in 2024. First major issuance in 2025. Smaller volume than the old "investor bond" programme of 2013-2017.

Cyprus, citizenship route closed 2020; residency route continued and expanded.

Tax and residency interaction

A Golden Visa does not automatically make you a tax resident. Most issuing countries' default rule is that tax residency is triggered by physical presence above 183 days, or by having your centre of vital interests there. Several countries offer specifically attractive regimes for new tax residents:

Greece non-dom: €100k/year flat on foreign income, 15 years
Italy non-dom: €100k/year flat on foreign income, 15 years (€200k including family extension)
Cyprus non-dom: 17-year exemption from tax on foreign dividends and interest
Malta: remittance-basis taxation on foreign-source income
Portugal NHR: closed to new entrants in 2024; replaced by a more limited Tax Incentive for Scientific Research and Innovation regime

Investors who never relocate generally pay only host-country property taxes (transfer tax, annual property tax, rental income tax) and remain tax-resident in their original country. Always model both scenarios with a tax adviser before deciding which programme to enter.

Family inclusion

Country	Spouse	Children	Parents	Grandparents	Adult children
Greece	Yes	<21	Both sets	No	Through study
Portugal	Yes	<26 (dep.)	Yes	No	Dependent
Cyprus	Yes	<25 (dep.)	Both sets (income test)	No	Dependent
Malta	Yes	<29 (dep.)	Both sets	Yes	Dependent
Italy	Yes	<18 (or dep.)	Yes	No	Dependent
Hungary	Yes	<18	Yes	No	No
Latvia	Yes	<18	No	No	No

Greece, Malta, and Cyprus are the most generous overall. Latvia and Hungary are narrower. For investors with parents to bring along, Greece's package on a single qualifying investment is unmatched.

Fastest to citizenship

This is where headlines diverge most from reality. The legal minimum and the practical minimum are usually different.

Malta, fastest legal route. The (now-restructured) citizenship-by-naturalisation-for-exceptional-services route allowed citizenship in 1-3 years. The ECJ ruled this illegal in 2025; the residency-only MPRP remains, with separate ordinary naturalisation after 5+ years.

Cyprus, 7 years on paper. In practice, naturalisation requires meaningful Greek-Cypriot integration that most Golden Visa holders do not accumulate.

Portugal, 5 years on paper. Famous for being the fastest in Western Europe. The catch is that Portugal does require some physical presence (7-14 days per year). Real-world citizenship outcomes for original Golden Visa holders started in 2017-2018 and continue to be granted on time when the language and integration tests are passed.

Greece, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, 7-10 years. All require continuous, real residence to count toward citizenship. Holding the permit while living abroad does not advance the clock.

For most Golden Visa investors, citizenship is theoretical. The realistic outcomes are: long-term EU residence after 5 years if you actually move; permanent renewal of the visa indefinitely if you do not.

Compliance and AML in 2026

The EU's revised AML directive (effective from 2025-2026) tightens source-of-funds checks across every member state. Practical implications for Golden Visa applicants:

Funds must come directly from the applicant's named accounts (not a relative or company unless explicitly disclosed)
Six months of bank statements and supporting documents (sale of property, bonus contract, dividend distribution, etc.) for the source of every tranche
Cash payments are entirely disallowed
PEP (Politically Exposed Person) screening is now standard
Sanctions screening is run continuously, not just at application

Applicants from sanctioned jurisdictions (Russia, Belarus, certain other listed countries) face extra scrutiny or exclusion across most programmes.

Why list with immio

Whether you already own a property in Greece, Italy, Spain, or anywhere else in Europe, or you are buying through a Golden Visa programme and may want to sell down the line, listing internationally matters. Cross-border buyer demand is the single biggest driver of liquidity in lifestyle and investor real estate.

immio is a pan-European marketplace built specifically for cross-border real-estate discovery, with multilingual listings, transparent pricing, and a clean search experience. Whether you are selling in Athens, Lisbon, or anywhere else in the EU, you can reach international buyers without locking into expensive portal contracts.

Selling a property in Europe? You can list it on immio for free, one active listing at €0, no credit card.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest EU Golden Visa in 2026?: For straightforward residential real-estate routes, Greece's €250k commercial-conversion or heritage-restoration tier is the lowest entry point, followed by the €400k mainstream Greek tier. Hungary's rebooted programme starts around €250k in real-estate funds. Latvia's mixed real-estate-plus-bond route can be lower in headline numbers but carries stricter conditions.
Did Spain end its Golden Visa?: Yes. The Spanish Golden Visa ended on 3 April 2025. Pending applications are still being processed, but no new applications under the real-estate-investment route are accepted. Spain still offers a Non-Lucrative Visa, Digital Nomad Visa, and Entrepreneur Visa.
Can I still get residency in Portugal through real estate?: No. Portugal removed real estate from its Golden Visa programme in October 2023. The programme remains open, but only via investment-fund subscriptions (€500k), scientific research donations (€500k), or cultural patronage (€250k). Property purchases no longer qualify.
Which EU Golden Visa offers the fastest path to citizenship?: Malta, through the MPRP plus separate naturalisation routes, is the only EU programme that can lead to citizenship within 3-5 years for high-investment cases. Cyprus naturalisation by exceptional grounds is technically possible at 7 years. Greece, Italy, and Hungary all require 7-10 years of actual residence, which most Golden Visa holders never accumulate because there is no physical-presence requirement.
Do Golden Visa holders pay tax in the country of residency?: Generally no, unless they actually become tax-resident by spending more than 183 days a year there or otherwise centring their life there. Greece, Italy, Cyprus, and Malta all offer attractive non-dom or flat-tax regimes for those who do choose to relocate.
Can I include my family on a single Golden Visa investment?: Yes, on every active EU programme, the rules vary. Greece is the most generous (spouse, children under 21, both sets of parents). Cyprus and Malta also include parents subject to income tests. Hungary and Latvia include immediate family but not parents-in-law in some interpretations.
Are there reputational issues with Golden Visas in 2026?: The European Commission has been pressuring residency-by-investment programmes since 2022. Citizenship-by-investment in Malta has been challenged at the European Court of Justice, and the EU's revised AML framework imposes stricter source-of-funds checks across the board. Greece, Italy, and Hungary are the programmes most likely to remain stable in 2026.
Does the Golden Visa give me free movement in Schengen?: Yes, all EU Golden Visa programmes (except Cyprus, which is not yet in Schengen as of early 2026) grant Schengen-area free movement up to 90 days in any 180-day window. Cyprus is scheduled to join Schengen in 2026 pending final approval.

List your property for free on immio — one active listing at €0, no credit card.