Real estate routes have been closing across Europe for several years now: Spain shut its door in 2025, Greece re-priced sharply, and Portugal removed property from its list entirely. What’s left is a smaller, more specific set of programs, some built around funds, some around business investment, some still anchored in property. Here’s where EU or Schengen residency is still genuinely obtainable through investment in 2026.
Portugal: the benchmark, now running on funds
Portugal’s Golden Visa (ARI) remains the reference point, largely because it asks for so little physical presence: seven days in the first year, fourteen days per two-year renewal after that. Since real estate was removed from the program in 2023, the qualifying route runs through a minimum €500,000 subscription to one of the CMVM-regulated investment funds approved for the program, held for at least five years, and fund composition, sector, and liquidity terms vary widely enough that choosing the right one matters more than it used to. Permanent residency remains available after five years of holding the permit; citizenship, following Portugal’s 2026 Nationality Law reform, now takes ten years of legal residence (seven for CPLP nationals) rather than the previous five.
Italy: apply first, invest after approval
The Italian Golden Visa, officially the Investor Visa, flips the usual sequence: applicants get a Nulla Osta clearance before any capital moves, which removes the upfront risk that comes with committing funds before a visa is guaranteed. The entry point is €250,000 into a registered Italian innovative startup, or €500,000 into an established Italian company, with €1 million in philanthropic donations and €2 million in government bonds as the higher-threshold alternatives. The permit runs two years, renewable in three-year increments, with no minimum stay requirement to maintain it. Permanent residency is available after five years, citizenship after ten.
Greece: still Europe’s lowest real estate entry point
Greece tightened its thresholds in 2024 but remains the most accessible real estate-based route in the EU. Standard property purchases now start at €400,000 outside the
high-demand zones (Attica, Thessaloniki, and the main islands, where the threshold is
€800,000), with a €250,000 tier reserved for commercial-to-residential conversions and listed-building restorations. Non-real-estate alternatives exist too, including €500,000 bank deposits and €350,000 in qualifying funds. The permit itself carries no minimum stay requirement, though naturalisation, should an investor choose to pursue it, requires roughly seven years of genuine physical residence plus a Greek language exam.
Malta’s Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)
The current structure runs a flat €99,000 in mandatory government costs (a €60,000 administration fee, a €37,000 government contribution, and a €2,000 NGO donation),
layered on top of a qualifying property commitment, either a purchase from €375,000 or a rental from €14,000 a year, held for five years.
Taken together, the rental route brings the realistic minimum to around €169,000, which puts Malta below Portugal’s €500,000 fund route and Cyprus’s €300,000-plus-VAT property requirement, not above them. What Malta does offer that few others do is permanent status from day one rather than a renewable temporary permit, with no minimum stay requirement to maintain it, via the Malta Permanent Residence Programme.
Malta’s tax position is a separate, and arguably stronger, draw. Residency under the MPRP doesn’t itself confer tax status, but Malta’s Global Residence Programme (GRP), a distinct application gives non-EU nationals a flat 15% tax rate on foreign-source income remitted to Malta, subject to a minimum annual tax of €15,000, with foreign capital gains exempt from Maltese tax entirely regardless of whether they’re remitted. There’s no wealth tax, no inheritance tax, and no minimum physical presence requirement, only a condition that the individual not spend 183 days or more in any other single country in a calendar year. It’s one of the more favourable non-dom tax regimes inside the EU, and it’s precisely why Malta earns a place on this list beyond the residency permit itself.
France: no golden visa in name, but a working equivalent
France doesn’t market a “golden visa,” but the Talent Passport — Investisseur Économique route functions as one. It requires a direct investment of at least €300,000 into a French operating company (personally, or through a vehicle in which the investor holds at least 10%), paired with a commitment to create or safeguard jobs. Because the investment is a genuine economic stake rather than passive capital, it tends to suit investors comfortable with an operating position rather than a fund subscription; our own France Golden Visa investment structure to meet exactly that requirement. The permit runs four years, renewable, with a path to permanent residency or citizenship after five years, French language requirements included.
Latvia: the cheapest door into the EU
The Latvia Golden Visa Program remains, by a wide margin, the lowest-cost EU residency-by-investment program on the market: a €50,000 equity investment into a qualifying small Latvian company (fewer than 50 employees, under €10 million turnover),
plus a €10,000 state contribution, held for five years. A €250,000 real estate route also exists for investors who’d rather hold property than equity. Processing is fast, typically two to four months, with no minimum stay requirement. Note that Latvia’s parliament passed amendments in June 2026 that would restructure some routes; as of this writing those changes remain under presidential review, so current applicants should confirm live terms before committing.
Cyprus: the fastest processing, lifetime status
Cyprus grants permanent residency, not a renewable temporary permit, through a minimum
€300,000 (plus VAT) investment in new residential or commercial property, company shares, or units in a Cypriot investment fund. Processing runs roughly two to six months, among the
fastest of any European program, and the resulting status is held for life, with only a visit every two years required to maintain it. It isn’t a citizenship route: naturalisation, if pursued separately, requires around seven to eight years of genuine residence.
The takeaway
Seven programs, seven different trade-offs: Portugal for minimal presence and the clearest citizenship path, Italy for capital held back until approval, Greece for the lowest real estate entry, Malta for immediate permanent status at the highest fixed cost, France for a genuine operating stake rather than passive capital, Latvia for the lowest investment threshold in the EU, and Cyprus for speed and lifetime status. The right one depends on whether the priority is cost, speed, eventual citizenship, or simply a foothold that doesn’t require living there.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and does not constitute tax, legal, or investment guidance. Program terms and thresholds change and should be verified before acting on them.
Contact Lincoln Global Partners Immigration Consultancy for assistance.
