Seven EU golden visa countries currently accept new applications: Greece, Portugal, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Latvia, and Cyprus. Minimum investments run from €250,000 for the cheapest routes in Greece, Latvia, Italy, and Hungary up to €1,000,000 or more for philanthropic and government-bond options in Italy. Spain closed its program in April 2025, so anyone still seeing it advertised is looking at outdated information.
Each program has its own investment categories, permit length, physical presence rules, and path to citizenship. The right choice depends less on price than on where you actually want to spend time and whether an EU passport is the eventual goal.
Greece
Greece runs the most popular EU golden visa by application volume and uses a tiered price structure based on where you buy.1Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Golden Visa Premium locations, including Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with more than 3,100 residents, require a minimum real estate purchase of €800,000 in a single property of at least 120 square meters. Everywhere else the floor drops to €400,000 with the same size requirement. A reduced €250,000 threshold applies when buyers convert former commercial or industrial properties into residences, or restore buildings designated as culturally or historically significant.
Permits last five years and renew indefinitely as long as the investment remains in place. Greece imposes no minimum physical presence to maintain the permit, which makes it popular with investors who want European residency without moving. Citizenship is a separate matter and requires seven years of actual residence in Greece, plus a language exam.
Portugal
Portugal removed all real estate options from its program in 2023. Capital now flows into venture capital and private equity funds, scientific research, cultural heritage, and job creation. The most common route is a €500,000 minimum investment into a qualifying fund regulated by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), with the fund barred from holding direct real estate exposure. Alternatives include a €250,000 donation to cultural or artistic heritage projects or a €500,000 investment in public or private research institutions.
The physical presence bar is very low: roughly 14 days in the country over each two-year renewal cycle. Under current law, golden visa holders can apply for Portuguese citizenship after five years of legal residency. Legislation approved in 2025 may extend the general citizenship requirement to ten years once it takes effect, so timing matters. A Portuguese passport grants full EU citizenship and freedom of movement across all member states, which is what makes this route the most sought-after despite the changes.
Italy
Italy’s Investor Visa offers four investment categories.2Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. Investor Visa for Italy The entry point is €250,000 in an innovative startup. A €500,000 commitment to an Italian limited company also qualifies. Larger options run to €2,000,000 in Italian government bonds or a €1,000,000 philanthropic donation to a project of public interest in areas like education, research, or cultural heritage. The initial visa is valid for two years and converts into a renewable residence permit.
Italy’s citizenship timeline is the longest among major golden visa countries. Naturalization generally requires ten years of continuous legal residency, plus a language proficiency requirement and proof of sufficient income. That timeline makes Italy a better fit for investors who genuinely plan to relocate than for those treating the visa as paper residency.
Hungary
Hungary’s Guest Investor Residence Permit launched in 2024 with three pathways, but the government cancelled the direct real estate purchase option before the start of 2025.3National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing. Residence Permit for Guest Investor Two routes remain: at least €250,000 in an approved real estate fund registered with the Hungarian National Bank, or a donation of at least €1,000,000 to a state-recognized higher education institution. The fund route requires holding the investment for at least five years, with at least 40% of the fund’s net asset value invested in Hungarian residential property.
The permit itself has an unusual duration: ten years, renewable once for another ten, up to 20 years total.4National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing. Guest Investor Visa and Permit Frequently Asked Questions It does not convert to permanent residency on its own, and citizenship requires eight years of continuous residency, Hungarian language proficiency, and a constitutional knowledge exam.
Malta, Latvia, and Cyprus
Three smaller programs round out the current EU roster. Latvia grants residency through a €250,000 real estate purchase plus a 5% state fee, or through a €50,000 investment in a small Latvian company that pays at least €40,000 in annual taxes. Cyprus requires €300,000 in real estate, company shares, or a collective investment organization, plus proof of at least €50,000 in annual income from outside Cyprus. Malta’s Permanent Residence Programme combines a €60,000 nonrefundable administrative fee, a €37,000 government contribution, and the purchase or long-term rental of qualifying property. Physical presence rules, renewal periods, and citizenship pathways differ across the three, so any serious comparison needs country-specific research.
Spain Is Closed
Spain’s residency-by-investment program, which previously required a minimum €500,000 real estate purchase, was formally abolished with effect from April 3, 2025. No new applications have been accepted since that date.5Portal residence agenda for investors and entrepreneurs. Investors Existing holders whose permits were granted before the cutoff can continue renewing under the earlier rules, and applications submitted before April 3, 2025 are being processed under the prior framework.6Government of Spain. The Abolition of the Investor Visa in Spain and Its Implications For anyone who hasn’t already applied, Spain is off the table.
What a Golden Visa Actually Gets You for Travel
A residence permit from any Schengen-area country lets you live in that country and travel to other Schengen nations without additional visas. That travel is limited. Visits to Schengen countries outside the one that issued your permit are capped at 90 days within any 180-day period, the same rule that applies to short-stay tourist visas.7Your Europe. Travel Documents for Non-EU Nationals You can live full-time only in the country that issued your permit.
Once you cross the external Schengen border, you won’t face additional passport checks moving between Schengen countries, and the permit also simplifies visa applications for non-Schengen EU countries. But this is not a borderless pass for living anywhere in Europe. Working or settling long-term in a second EU country generally requires a separate authorization from that country.
Physical Presence Is a Trap for Would-Be Citizens
Many golden visas require little or no time in the host country. Greece asks for no ongoing presence beyond an initial biometrics visit. Portugal requires roughly 14 days over each two-year cycle. Hungary and Italy have similarly light rules. Traditional work or family visas often mandate 183 or more days per year, so the contrast is significant.
Minimal presence keeps the residency permit alive, but does nothing to advance a citizenship application. Every EU country’s naturalization process requires actual physical residence, language skills, and social integration. An investor who renews a Greek golden visa for seven years without living in Greece won’t qualify for Greek citizenship just because the calendar time has passed. Presence rules have also tightened in several countries between 2023 and 2025, so verify the current requirement before each renewal.
Timeline to Permanent Residency and an EU Passport
Most applicants eventually want either permanent residency, which ends the renewal cycle and the investment maintenance, or full citizenship with an EU passport. The timelines vary sharply.
- Portugal currently offers the fastest path. Golden visa holders can apply for permanent residency after five years, and citizenship under existing law also requires five years of legal residency. Approved amendments would extend the citizenship residency requirement to ten years once implemented. Naturalization includes a basic Portuguese language test.
- Greece requires seven years of legal residency for citizenship, plus proof of genuine integration, a Greek language exam, and demonstrated financial and social ties. Investors who want the passport have to actually live there.
- Italy requires ten years of continuous legal residency, plus language proficiency and proof of sufficient income.
- Hungary’s guest investor permit runs up to 20 years but does not convert to permanent residency. Naturalization takes eight years of continuous residency, Hungarian language, and a constitutional exam.
Citizenship in any of these countries grants an EU passport and unrestricted freedom to live and work in all 27 member states plus the Schengen-associated countries. That is the real prize, and it explains the attention on the path from visa to passport despite the long timelines.
Documents and Proving Where the Money Came From
Personal requirements are broadly similar across programs. Applicants must be at least 18 with a clean criminal record. You’ll need police clearance certificates from your home country and from any country where you’ve lived for an extended period. A valid passport with at least six months of remaining validity is standard for all family members on the application.
The most scrutinized part of any application is the source of funds. EU anti-money laundering rules flag golden visa applicants as higher risk, so banks and government agencies apply enhanced due diligence to your financial history. Expect to provide several years of tax returns, bank statements, business ownership records, and documentation tracing the funds you plan to invest back to their legitimate origin. Gaps or inconsistencies in this paper trail are the most common reason applications stall or get rejected.
Most programs require private health insurance meeting the host country’s minimum coverage standards, including emergency care, for the full duration of the permit. Applications typically go through the national immigration authority’s website or a consulate, directly or through a legal representative. Processing takes two to six months depending on the country and the complexity of the financial documentation. Authorities verify your background, assess the investment, and schedule biometrics during that window. Submitting false or misleading documents can bring multi-year Schengen bans and, in some jurisdictions, criminal prosecution.
Tax Consequences for U.S. Investors
American citizens and permanent residents who obtain an EU golden visa remain fully subject to U.S. federal income tax on worldwide income, regardless of where they live. Holding a foreign residence permit changes nothing about your IRS obligations. You must continue filing a U.S. tax return every year and may owe tax on income earned both in the United States and abroad.8Internal Revenue Service. United States Income Tax Treaties
The United States has bilateral tax treaties with most EU golden visa countries that can reduce or eliminate double taxation on certain income. These treaties generally allow credits for taxes paid to the foreign country, but a saving clause in most U.S. treaties prevents American citizens from using treaty provisions to avoid U.S. tax on American-source income. If the country has no treaty with the United States, or the treaty doesn’t cover a particular income type, standard U.S. rates apply.
U.S. citizens abroad may qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which allows excluding up to $132,900 in foreign earnings from U.S. taxable income for the 2026 tax year. It applies only to earned income like wages or self-employment earnings, not to investment returns, rental income, or capital gains from the property you purchased to qualify.
Foreign accounts trigger separate reporting. If the combined value of your foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file an FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) with FinCEN.9FinCEN.gov. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Form 8938 under FATCA may separately require reporting specified foreign financial assets above higher thresholds. Golden visa investors almost always trigger both, since the qualifying investments alone typically exceed these thresholds. The penalties for failing to file are steep and separate from any tax you owe.
Expect the Rules to Keep Moving
Spain’s 2025 repeal, Portugal’s elimination of real estate investment, and Hungary’s removal of direct property purchases all reflect a tightening regulatory environment across the EU. The programs that survive tend to route capital into productive economic activity rather than property speculation, impose meaningful anti-money laundering checks, and avoid the most politically charged framing of selling residency. Locking in a permit now doesn’t guarantee the same renewal terms later, and any country could follow Spain’s lead with limited notice. Working with an immigration attorney who specializes in European investor programs is worth the cost, because the rules shift faster than marketing materials tend to admit.