A golden visa is residency granted in exchange for a qualifying investment, and property used to be the classic way in. That door has narrowed sharply: Spain closed its investor-visa route in April 2025, Portugal stopped accepting new real-estate applications in October 2023, and Greece has raised its property thresholds. This guide sets out which property-based residency routes still exist, with each rule checked against an official source on 28 September 2026 — and why the visa should never be the only reason you buy. It is general information, not immigration, tax or investment advice; capital is at risk, and rules change frequently.
The property routes that have closed
Spain. Organic Law 1/2025 emptied the investor-visa articles (63 to 67) of Law 14/2013, with effect from 3 April 2025. Its transitional provisions let applications already filed be decided under the old rules, and existing permits keep their validity, with renewals decided under the rules that applied when they were first granted (Boletín Oficial del Estado, checked 28 September 2026).
Portugal. Law 56/2023 of 6 October — the "Mais Habitação" housing package — revoked residence permits for real-estate investment. From its entry into force, the day after publication, new applications on the property routes are no longer admitted, while permits already granted may still be renewed (Law 56/2023, articles 1 and 42, in the consolidated text published by the Portuguese tax authority, checked 28 September 2026). Some non-property investment routes remain.
The direction of travel is clear: property-for-residency has been unwound in several European countries under pressure over housing costs, so every figure below should be reconfirmed against the official programme pages before you act.
The property routes still open
Greece still runs a real-estate route, on a zone-based scale introduced in 2024. The minimum is €800,000 in greater Athens, greater Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants; €400,000 elsewhere; and €250,000 for converting non-residential buildings, such as former industrial premises, to housing, or for restoring listed buildings. Residential property bought under the scheme must be at least 120 square metres (Enterprise Greece, checked 28 September 2026), and Law 5100/2024 prohibits letting it on short-term rentals (Greek government housing portal, stegasi.gov.gr, checked 28 September 2026). Transfer tax and the other costs of a Greek purchase are covered in our Athens Riviera and Cyclades dossier.
The United Arab Emirates grants a ten-year Golden Residence to an investor owning one or more properties in the country worth at least AED 2,000,000 in total. Off-plan units qualify, and the property may be financed through a loan from an approved local bank (Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security, checked 28 September 2026). The federal portal u.ae summarises the categories in a table that is not worded identically, so confirm the current terms with the Authority itself rather than with a developer marketing against them. Our Dubai market dossier sets out the purchase costs that sit alongside the visa. The route is one reason Dubai property is so often bought with residency in mind, as we discuss in our Dubai market guide.
Elsewhere. Cyprus and Latvia, among others, still run residence routes that can be met through property. Their thresholds and conditions were not re-checked at an official source for this update, so no figures are given here; confirm them with the country's own migration authority. Every route above can change with a single reform, so treat this as a snapshot, not a promise.
The risks nobody advertises
A golden visa is residency, not citizenship, and rarely a guaranteed path to it. The property beneath it carries the ordinary risks of prime real estate — it is illiquid, values can fall, and many programmes require the qualifying asset to be held for the life of the permit, which locks in your capital regardless of the market. Cross-border buyers add currency risk on top. And because the programmes themselves are political, the rug can move: Spain's closure and Portugal's exit removed the route for the next buyer of every property that had qualified. Buy property you would want to own even if the visa rules changed the day after completion.
Residency is not tax residency
The most expensive misunderstanding in this field is the assumption that holding a residence permit changes where you pay tax. It generally does not. Tax residency is determined by each country's own tests — days present, availability of a permanent home, centre of vital interests, where your family lives — and most golden visas deliberately require very little physical presence precisely so that they do not disturb your existing position.
That cuts both ways. If you actually move, you may become tax resident in the new country while remaining tax resident in the old one until you have satisfied its rules for leaving, which in several jurisdictions is considerably harder than arriving. Some countries levy exit charges on unrealised gains when you cease residence. Double tax treaties resolve many of these conflicts, but only if you identify the right treaty and claim it correctly. Take advice in both countries before you commit, not after the first filing season. The tests themselves are explained in the 183-day rule is not the rule.
What the permit actually gives you
Read the specific programme rather than the category. Across the routes that remain open, the variables that decide whether a permit is useful to you are:
- The minimum physical presence required to keep it, which ranges from effectively none to a substantial part of the year
- Whether spouse, children and dependent parents are included, and to what age children remain eligible
- The renewal cycle, and whether the qualifying asset must still be held at each renewal
- Whether the permit carries the right to work, to study, or only to reside
- What travel rights attach, since a residence permit in one Schengen state is not what people commonly assume it is elsewhere in the area
- Whether, after how many years, and on what conditions the route can lead to permanent residence or naturalisation
- Whether time spent on the permit counts toward naturalisation at all, which under some programmes it does not
The gap between a residence permit and a passport is usually years of genuine presence, often a language examination, and a rule that may be rewritten in the interim.
Grandfathering, and the risk of the rug moving
The two recent closures both protected those already inside them. Spain's Organic Law 1/2025 provided for applications filed before the change to be decided under the old rules, and for existing permits to keep their validity and be renewed under the rules that applied when first granted. Portugal's Law 56/2023 stopped new property applications but expressly preserved renewal of permits already granted. That pattern is reassuring, but it is not a guarantee, and it does not protect the thing most buyers actually care about.
The real transmission mechanism is resale. When a country closes a property route, the next buyer of your apartment cannot use it either — and a share of what you paid may have been the visa. The transitional rules protected holders' immigration status; they did nothing for the resale value of the asset. Assume the same could happen to whichever route you choose, and price the property as though the programme did not exist.
Doing diligence on the intermediary
The advisory layer around residency by investment is lightly regulated and generously commissioned, which is a combination that reliably produces bad advice. Before engaging anyone, establish who pays them: a firm remunerated by the developer whose units it recommends is a sales channel, not an adviser.
Ask for the regulated law firm that will actually file the application in the country concerned, and deal with it directly. Never transfer funds to an intermediary's own account. Cross-check every threshold, deadline and condition against the government's own published programme pages rather than against a brochure. And treat any promise of guaranteed approval, guaranteed buy-back or guaranteed rental yield as the end of the conversation rather than as a negotiating point — none of the three is within the gift of the person offering it.
Money movement and diversification
Qualifying purchases involve moving large sums across borders on a deadline, where the exchange-rate spread can quietly cost more than the legal fees; compare the all-in rate from more than one provider before the deadline, not on the day; our page on paying for a home abroad covers deposits, conversion and the checks on the way. A single-country property-plus-visa position is also highly concentrated, which is a reason to size it against the rest of what you own. On structuring, our tax-efficient ownership guide and our analysis of where prime values are moving are the right next reads, and if you are buying across borders generally, start with our guide to buying property overseas as a foreign buyer. For diversified stores of value beyond property, our sister title Aureum & Co is a useful companion.
The golden-visa map of 2026 is smaller and pricier than it was a few years ago. Used well, a residency route is a genuine benefit layered onto a home you already wanted. Used as the sole reason to buy, it is the weakest foundation in real estate. Our companion piece, what residency programmes actually buy, explains the threshold premium in more detail.
General information, not legal, immigration, tax or investment advice. Programme rules, thresholds and availability change, sometimes with little notice. The figures above were checked at the official sources listed below on 28 September 2026; confirm them again with the relevant government authority and take independent advice before committing.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries still offer a golden visa through property?
Of the routes checked at an official source for this guide, Greece still runs a real-estate route and the UAE grants a ten-year Golden Residence to property owners. Cyprus and Latvia, among others, also still run routes that can be met through property, but their terms were not re-checked for this update, so confirm them with each country's migration authority.
How much property do you need to buy for a Greek golden visa?
At least €800,000 in greater Athens, greater Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants, €400,000 elsewhere, and €250,000 for converting non-residential buildings to housing or restoring listed buildings. The property must be at least 120 square metres and may not be let on short-term rentals.
What property value qualifies for a UAE golden visa?
One or more properties in the UAE worth at least AED 2,000,000 in total. Off-plan units qualify, and the property may be financed through a loan from an approved local bank, according to the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security.
Did Spain and Portugal end their property golden visas?
Yes. Spain's investor-visa route closed with effect from 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, and Portugal stopped accepting new real-estate applications under Law 56/2023 of 6 October 2023. Both protected applications already filed and permits already granted, but the next buyer of a qualifying home can no longer use the route.
Does a golden visa make you tax resident?
Not by itself. Tax residency is decided by each country's own tests, such as days present, a permanent home and the centre of your vital interests, and most golden visas require very little physical presence. If you actually move, you may be tax resident in two countries until the old one's rules for leaving are met.
