If you are drawing up a shortlist of golden visa countries for 2026, the landscape has shifted enough in the last two years that older guides are actively misleading. One of Europe's flagship programmes has closed outright, another has been repriced, and the single most famous route to a European passport by investment has been struck down by the courts. This is a current, honest list of the residency-by-investment programmes still open in 2026, what they cost as an indicative minimum, and — just as important — what each one does and does not lead to.
What Counts as a Golden Visa in 2026
A golden visa is a residency-by-investment programme: you make a qualifying investment and, in return, receive the legal right to live in that country, usually with a route to permanent residence or citizenship over time. That word — residency — is the whole point, and the most common misunderstanding. A golden visa is not a passport. It is a residence permit that may, after years of lawful residence, open a path to naturalisation. Conflating the two is how people end up disappointed, so throughout this list we separate what you get on day one (residency) from what you might earn much later (citizenship).
Golden Visa Countries 2026: The Complete List
The table sets out the active programmes and their indicative entry points. A blunt caveat first: every figure below is an indicative headline minimum, not a quote. Several of these programmes were revised in 2023–2025, and thresholds, eligible routes and rules change frequently — confirm the current figure for your chosen route on a call before you rely on it.
| Country | Programme | Indicative minimum investment | Leads to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Golden Visa | Investment/VC funds €500,000; cultural or heritage support €250,000 (€200,000 in low-density areas) | Residency → citizenship after 10 years |
| Greece | Golden Visa | €250,000 / €400,000 / €800,000 depending on area and route | Residency → citizenship after 7 years |
| Italy | Investor Visa | €250,000 (innovative start-up), €500,000 (Italian company), €2,000,000 (government bonds) | Residency → citizenship (long path) |
| Malta | MPRP (residency) | Government contribution plus a qualifying property lease or purchase | Permanent residency only — no citizenship-by-investment |
| Hungary | Guest Investor Programme | Real-estate-fund and property routes (six-figure entry) | Residency |
| Latvia | Residence by Investment | From €250,000 (real estate), plus state fees | Residency |
| Cyprus | Permanent Residency | From €300,000 (plus VAT) in property | Permanent residency (no citizenship-by-investment) |
| UAE | 10-Year Golden Visa | From AED 2,000,000 (about US$545,000) in property, or qualifying business/talent | Long-term renewable residency |
| United States | EB-5 Immigrant Investor | From US$800,000 (targeted employment area) or US$1,050,000 | Green card → citizenship |
Europe: Portugal, Greece, Italy and Malta
Portugal remains the best-known European golden visa, but two facts must be current in your head. First, the popular real-estate route was removed in October 2023; the remaining qualifying options are investment or venture-capital funds at €500,000, job-creating company investment, scientific research, or cultural and heritage support from €250,000. Second, and this is the one older articles get wrong, the path to a Portuguese passport is now ten years, not five — a 2026 nationality law raised the residency requirement, with a shorter seven-year track for citizens of Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) countries. The Portugal golden visa is still one of the strongest residency assets in Europe, but it is now a longer game.
Greece is the natural comparison, and often the more accessible entry point. Its golden visa runs on tiered real-estate thresholds — €800,000 in the priciest zones (central Athens and Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and larger islands), €400,000 across most of the rest of the country, and €250,000 for a narrow route converting commercial property to residential use or restoring a listed building. There is no minimum-stay requirement to hold the permit. We put the two side by side in Portugal versus Greece, because the right answer genuinely depends on whether you value Portugal's minimal-presence residency or Greece's lower entry cost. Italy's investor visa, meanwhile, offers tiered routes from €250,000 into an innovative start-up up to €2,000,000 in government bonds, and Malta offers the MPRP — a residency programme, and residency only.
Malta: Residency Only — the Citizenship Route Is Gone
This point matters enough to isolate. Malta once offered a route to EU citizenship by investment, and you will still find agencies quoting a “Malta passport” price. Do not believe them. In April 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled Malta's investor-citizenship scheme contrary to EU law, and it was wound down. What remains is the Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP): a legitimate residency route based on a government contribution plus a qualifying property lease or purchase, granting the right to live in Malta. It does not, and cannot, sell you a Maltese or EU passport. Anyone presenting Malta as a citizenship-by-investment option in 2026 is working from outdated or dishonest material.
The Programmes That Have Closed: Spain and the UK
An honest list has to include the doors that shut. Spain's golden visa ended on 3 April 2025 and is no longer available to new applicants — if a source still presents the Spanish golden visa as open, it is out of date. The United Kingdom closed its Tier 1 (Investor) visa back in February 2022. Both closures are part of a wider European trend of tightening or ending investment-residency schemes under EU and domestic political pressure, which is exactly why the “indicative, confirm on a call” caveat runs through this whole guide. A programme that was open when an article was written may not be open when you apply.
Beyond Europe: the UAE and the United States
Two of the most active programmes in 2026 sit outside Europe. The UAE's 10-year golden visa grants long-term, renewable residency, typically from AED 2,000,000 (around US$545,000) in property, or through qualifying business ownership or specialist talent; it suits people who want a tax-efficient base with real infrastructure rather than a second passport. The United States EB-5 programme grants a green card — and, unlike most golden visas, a clear eventual route to citizenship — in exchange for a job-creating investment from US$800,000 in a targeted employment area (otherwise US$1,050,000). Our dedicated guide to the USA EB-5 visa covers the sourcing-of-funds and job-creation rules that make or break these applications.
Residency Now, Citizenship Later — If at All
The single most useful habit when reading any golden-visa list is to keep two columns in your head: what the investment buys immediately, and what it might lead to. A golden visa buys residency now. Citizenship, where it is available at all, is a separate, later step that depends on years of lawful residence, language and, in several countries, genuine physical presence — and some of these programmes (Cyprus, the UAE) do not offer a straightforward investment-to-passport path at all. If your real objective is a passport rather than a place to live, that changes the analysis entirely, and you may be better served comparing these against direct-citizenship options; we lay out that decision in golden visa versus citizenship by investment. Optimising for the single lowest entry figure is the most common and most expensive mistake we see. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Golden visa programmes remain one of the most flexible tools in international planning, but 2026 is a year to check your facts rather than trust a headline: Spain is closed, Malta is residency-only, and Portugal's passport clock now runs to ten years. Program terms and thresholds change, so confirm the current figures on a call. To match the right programme to your family, budget and timeline, check your eligibility or book a free, confidential consultation with Jane Katkova and our team — we will give you the current numbers and a candid view of which route actually fits.