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Citizenship & Residency
São Tomé & Príncipe$90,000
Vanuatu$130,000
Grenada$235,000
St Kitts & Nevis$250,000
Turkey$400,000
UAE Golden Visa$545,000
Golden visa programmes in 2026
Nine active programmes, from 50,000 euro to 2 million. What each one actually costs, which require you to live there, and the one difference that decides most cases: a golden visa is residence, not a passport.
A golden visa is not a passport
This single distinction resolves most of the confusion in this market, and getting it wrong is expensive. Residence and citizenship are different legal statuses that solve different problems.
A golden visa gives you
- The right to live, and usually work, in the issuing country
- In the EU, the right to travel in the Schengen area, though not to live in other member states
- Access to banking, healthcare and schooling as a resident
- In most cases, a route toward citizenship after years of qualifying residence
It does not give you
- A new passport, or any additional visa-free travel on your existing one
- Automatic tax residency, which turns on presence and ties, not on holding a permit
- Permanent status in most cases: the permit renews only while the investment is maintained
- The right to work or settle anywhere else in the European Union
Which problem are you solving?
If you need somewhere to live, bank and run a business, residence is the right instrument and usually the cheaper one. If you need a second nationality, additional travel access, or a status that cannot be withdrawn when you sell an asset, only citizenship by investment delivers that. Buying the wrong one is the most common and most costly error we see.
Every programme open in September 2026
Thresholds shown are the lowest qualifying route in each programme. Several carry higher tiers depending on location or asset class.
United Arab Emirates
Latvia
Greece
Cyprus
Hungary
Malta
Portugal
Bulgaria
Italy
SpainThresholds, stay requirements and what each route buys
| Programme | From | Qualifying route | Minimum stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia | €50,000 | Business investment in a company above a turnover threshold | None |
| Greece | €250,000 | Conversion or restoration projects only. Otherwise €400,000, or €800,000 in premium zones | None |
| Hungary | €250,000 | Approved investment fund. Alternatively a €1,000,000 university contribution | None |
| Italy | €250,000 | Innovative startup. €500,000 into a company or €2,000,000 in government bonds | None |
| Cyprus | €300,000 | Property, granting lifetime permanent residence | One visit every two years |
| Malta | €474,000 | Property purchase, or rental from about €169,000, plus fixed government contributions | None |
| Portugal | €500,000 | Fund subscription. Residential real estate was removed in 2023 | Seven days a year |
| Bulgaria | €512,000 | Immediate permanent residence | None |
| United Arab Emirates | $545,000 | AED 2,000,000 in registered property. Also business, fund and salary routes | None |
Thresholds move, and several of these programmes changed within the past twenty-four months. Portugal’s cultural and donation routes sit below the fund threshold but the qualifying figures differ between sources, so we do not publish a number we cannot trace to the legislation. We confirm the current position with counsel in the relevant jurisdiction before any engagement.
The number nobody advertises
The threshold is not the cost. Government fees, legal fees, due diligence, property transfer taxes and annual renewals sit on top, and on an EU property route the transaction taxes alone can add ten percent. A Greek purchase at 400,000 euro is not a 400,000 euro decision. We quote the full picture in writing before you commit, because the gap between headline and total is where most disappointment in this market originates.
Professional fees are not shown on this page. They depend on jurisdiction, family composition and the complexity of the source of funds position, and are set out in writing before any engagement begins.
Europe is closing doors, the Gulf is opening them
Three decisions in eighteen months reshaped this market. Any guide that does not mention all three is out of date.
Spain closed
The Spanish golden visa was abolished with effect from 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, citing pressure on housing. It had required 500,000 euro in property and was among the most popular in Europe.
EU citizenship by investment ended
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled Malta’s investor citizenship programme unlawful on 29 April 2025. No EU member state now sells citizenship. An EU passport is available only through residence plus ordinary naturalisation.
Thresholds rose
Greece moved to tiered pricing, with premium zones at 800,000 euro. Portugal removed residential property entirely in 2023. The direction across the EU is fewer routes at higher prices.
Where this leaves an applicant in 2026
If you hold a nationality the EU screens out, the European options are effectively closed regardless of budget, and the UAE is the realistic answer. If you are eligible for Europe and want an eventual EU passport, the route now runs through residence and naturalisation over years, with language and presence requirements that most marketing quietly omits. Anyone still describing an EU passport as purchasable is describing a product that ceased to exist in April 2025.
Which programme fits which objective
Restricted nationality
UAE. It is the only major programme with no nationality restrictions at all. EU programmes apply sanctions screening that excludes Russian and Belarusian applicants in practice.
Lowest cost
Latvia at 50,000 euro for business investment. Greece at 250,000 euro if a restoration project suits you, though the stock is narrow and the works carry their own risk.
Schengen access
Any EU programme. Greece is the usual choice for passive investors: property, no stay requirement and rental income. Note this is travel access, not the right to live in another member state.
Speed
Hungary and Cyprus, reported at two to three months. The UAE is comparable once the property is registered.
Never relocating
UAE, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Malta and Italy all require no minimum stay. Portugal needs seven days a year and Cyprus one visit every two years.
Tax
The UAE levies no personal income tax. But no golden visa creates tax residency by itself: that requires presence and a separate certificate. Model your position before you buy, not after.
How a golden visa application runs
The sequence is broadly the same everywhere. What differs is the screening depth and whether eligibility is fixed before or after you commit capital.
Define the objective
Residence, banking, tax position or an eventual passport. These lead to different programmes, and the wrong instrument cannot be corrected cheaply later.
Nationality and screening check
EU programmes apply sanctions and source of funds screening. We establish whether you are eligible before any fee is paid.
Programme selection
Threshold, stay requirement, asset type and the realistic citizenship timeline, weighed against what you actually need.
Source of funds preparation
Documentary evidence of how the capital was accumulated. This is the most common cause of delay and refusal across every programme.
Asset selection and legal review
Property, fund or business, reviewed for eligibility before purchase. In most programmes eligibility is fixed at the moment of acquisition.
Application and biometrics
Filed with the relevant authority. Most programmes require at least one visit for biometrics even where no residence is required.
Permit issue and renewal planning
The permit issues and the renewal cycle begins. Renewal depends on maintaining the qualifying investment.
How Sovera advises on residency by investment
We are licensed and regulated in the United Arab Emirates, which is also the programme we know best and run directly. For European programmes we work with counsel admitted in the relevant jurisdiction rather than presenting ourselves as licensed everywhere.
Our first question is always which problem you are solving, because roughly half the people who ask us about golden visas want something a residence permit does not provide. Telling you that costs us a sale and saves you a great deal more.
Sovera Global L.L.C-FZ is a licensed corporate services provider registered in the Meydan Free Zone, Dubai, and supervised by the UAE Ministry of Economy under Commercial Licence 2531729. We are not licensed to provide legal advice in European jurisdictions and work with admitted local counsel for those programmes. All residence decisions rest with the relevant national authority. No outcome is guaranteed and no timeline is promised. Thresholds and rules change, sometimes at short notice. Nothing on this page is legal, tax or investment advice.
Golden visas: frequently asked questions
What is a golden visa?
A residence permit granted in exchange for a qualifying investment, usually property, a fund subscription or a business investment. It allows you to live in the issuing country. It is not citizenship and does not give you a new passport.
Which golden visa is cheapest in 2026?
Latvia at 50,000 euro for business investment is the lowest entry point in Europe. Greece starts at 250,000 euro but only for qualifying conversion and restoration projects; the standard threshold is 400,000 euro, rising to 800,000 in Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and other premium zones.
Can Russian citizens get a golden visa?
In practice not in the European Union, where sanctions and screening exclude Russian and Belarusian applicants. The UAE applies no nationality restrictions of any kind and is the realistic route. Turkey also remains open.
Does a golden visa lead to citizenship?
In most European programmes, eventually, through ordinary naturalisation after years of qualifying residence, usually with language and presence requirements. Timelines run from roughly seven years upward and are lengthening. The UAE Golden Visa does not lead to citizenship at all.
Can I still buy EU citizenship?
No. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled Malta’s investor citizenship programme unlawful on 29 April 2025, and no EU member state now offers citizenship by investment. Anyone still marketing an EU passport for sale is describing a product that no longer exists.
Why did Spain close its golden visa?
Spain abolished the programme with effect from 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, citing pressure on the housing market. It had required 500,000 euro in Spanish property.
Which golden visas require no minimum stay?
The UAE, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Malta and Italy. Portugal requires seven days a year, counted as fourteen days across the first two-year permit and twenty-one across each three-year renewal. Cyprus requires one visit every two years.
Is Portugal still worth it after real estate was removed?
It depends on the objective. Residential property was removed as a qualifying route in 2023 and the fund route from 500,000 euro remains. Portugal still offers one of the more workable citizenship pathways in Europe, though the nationality law was tightened and timelines have lengthened. For pure residence with no stay requirement, Greece or the UAE are simpler.
Golden visa or citizenship by investment?
Residence solves living, banking and business problems, usually at lower cost. Citizenship solves nationality, travel and permanence. If you sell the asset behind a golden visa, the permit generally ends; a citizenship does not. Our overview of citizenship by investment covers the five programmes that grant a passport.
Does a golden visa make me tax resident?
No. Tax residency depends on physical presence and personal ties, tested separately in each country, and usually requires its own certificate. A permit that imposes no minimum stay is very unlikely to create tax residency on its own. This should be modelled before you invest.
What is ETIAS and does it affect me?
ETIAS is the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, launching in late 2026 and expected to become mandatory by October 2027. It introduces pre-screening for visa-free travellers entering the Schengen area. It does not affect residence permit holders directly, but it does add a screening layer that makes investment migration status more visible at the border.
What happens if I sell the qualifying investment?
In almost every programme the permit depends on maintaining the investment, so renewal fails once the asset is sold. Permanent residence programmes such as Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria behave differently. Confirm the specific renewal condition before you buy.
Which programme is fastest?
Hungary and Cyprus are reported at two to three months. The UAE is comparable once the property is registered with the Land Department. Anything quoted at weeks should be treated with suspicion.
Looking for a passport rather than a permit? See citizenship by investment, which covers the five active programmes and who each one excludes.
Work out whether you need residence or a passport
A thirty-minute call establishes which programmes are open to your nationality, what the full cost is rather than the headline, and whether a residence permit actually solves your problem. If it does not, we will tell you.