Golden Visa Europe: Compare Programs 2026

Vanuatu's Development Support Program is the least expensive at USD 130,000 (non-refundable contribution), with processing in just 1-2 months and no residency requirement at all. Within Europe specifically, Latvia (from USD 280,000) and Malta's MPRP (from USD 150,000 including government contribution) are the lowest-cost active routes. Portugal's fund-investment route starts at EUR 500,000 (~USD 540,000).

No. Spain formally abolished its golden visa program on 3 April 2025. Investors who already held a golden visa before that date retain their residency status, but no new applications based on real estate investment are being accepted. Investors looking for a similar EU option now typically consider Greece, Italy, or Malta instead.

Turkey offers direct citizenship (not just residency) in as little as 3-8 months via a USD 400,000 real estate investment, with no minimum physical presence requirement. Vanuatu offers citizenship even faster (1-2 months) via its Development Support Program. Within the EU, Portugal's path (5 years of residency, then citizenship eligibility) is currently one of the fastest among the traditional real-estate/fund-based EU programs.

It depends on the program. Portugal requires just 7 days in year one and 14 days per subsequent two-year period — one of the lightest requirements among EU programs. Greece, the UAE, and Turkey have no minimum physical presence requirement at all. This is different from many standard immigration visas, where the whole point is establishing genuine residence — golden visas are specifically designed around investment, not day-to-day presence.

Yes — nearly every active program on this page allows the main investor to include a spouse and dependent children (and in several programs, dependent parents) under the same application, typically for an additional per-dependent government fee. Family members generally receive the same residency or citizenship rights as the primary applicant.

Governments have discontinued or tightened golden visa programs with real frequency in recent years — Ireland (2023), Cyprus's citizenship route (2020), and Spain (2025) all closed to new applicants. Existing visa/citizenship holders at the time of closure are generally grandfathered in and keep their status; the risk is only for prospective new applicants. Given this pattern, it's worth applying to an active program sooner rather than later if a specific country's terms currently suit your situation.

This varies significantly by program and route. Real estate and bond/fund investments (Portugal, Greece, Latvia, Italy) are generally recoverable if you sell/exit the investment after the required minimum holding period, though market risk applies. Direct government contribution routes (Vanuatu's USD 130,000 contribution, Malta's government fee component) are explicitly non-refundable by design — verify the specific route's refundability with official program guidance before committing funds.