Golden Visa 2026: Which Programs Are Still Open

What is a golden visa? (and what it is NOT)

A golden visa is residency granted in exchange for a qualifying investment. You commit capital, usually into real estate, a regulated fund, government bonds, a business, or a government contribution, and in return you receive the right to live in the country and, within the European Union, to travel freely across the Schengen Area. The term "golden visa" has no single legal definition. Each country gives its program a different formal name: Portugal calls it the ARI or Residence Permit for Investment Activity, Greece simply issues an investor residence permit, and Hungary launched its Guest Investor Residence Permit in 2024.

The most important distinction to understand before you compare programs is residency versus citizenship. A golden visa gives you residency first. Citizenship, if it comes at all, only follows years later after you meet residence, tax, and language requirements. That is fundamentally different from citizenship by investment (CBI), where you pay and receive an actual passport within months and with no residence requirement. Throughout this hub we keep the two categories separate, because confusing them is the single most expensive mistake an investor can make. Turkey and the five Caribbean nations sell citizenship; every EU program and the UAE sell residency.

A golden visa is also not a tax holiday by itself. Several countries pair their investment-residency programs with attractive tax regimes, such as Bulgaria's flat 10% rate or Portugal's IFICI regime, but those benefits only apply if you actually become a tax resident, which usually means spending significant time in the country. Buying a golden visa while remaining tax resident elsewhere does not move your tax home. And if you are a US citizen or green card holder, you owe US tax on worldwide income no matter where you live or which second residency you hold.

Every golden visa still open in 2026 - master comparison

The table below is the reason most people land on this page. It compares every significant program still accepting applications in 2026: the minimum investment, the type of qualifying investment, whether you must physically live there, how the program leads to permanent residency or citizenship, the headline tax angle, and realistic processing time. Figures are minimums and are stated as of 2026. Read each linked deep-dive before acting, because totals rise once taxes, legal fees, and government contributions are added.

Three patterns stand out. First, the European programs cluster into a cheap-and-fast eastern group (Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria) and a property-driven Mediterranean group (Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy). Second, only a handful of programs deliver an actual passport quickly, and all of them sit outside the EU: Turkey and the Caribbean. Third, the United States now competes at the very top of the price range with the Trump Gold Card. Use the goal-based guidance further down to narrow the field.

Which countries ENDED their golden visa

A huge share of golden visa content online is simply out of date, because the landscape changed so fast. If a guide still lists the Spain golden visa or the Portugal real estate route as available, it is wrong. Both ended. Here is the accurate picture of what has closed, and when.

Spain is the headline closure. Its golden visa, which had granted residency for a EUR 500,000 property purchase, was abolished by Organic Law 1/2025 with effect from April 3, 2025, driven by housing-affordability politics. Ireland closed its Immigrant Investor Programme in 2023, the United Kingdom scrapped its Tier 1 Investor visa in 2022, and the Netherlands abolished its scheme in 2024. Romania floated a program in late 2025 but cancelled it before launch. Two important nuances: Cyprus ended its cash-for-citizenship "golden passport" in 2020 after abuse scandals but keeps its permanent residency program, and Malta's citizenship-by-investment route was struck down by the EU Court of Justice in April 2025 while its MPRP residency program continues. Portugal's program is still open, but only the fund and cultural routes remain after real estate was removed in October 2023. Our full breakdown of golden visas that ended maps each closure to a still-open alternative.

Cheapest golden visas in 2026

If price is the deciding factor, the cheapest route into the EU is Latvia at EUR 50,000 for a business-investment residence permit, plus a state fee of around EUR 10,000. After that, Greece and Hungary both start at EUR 250,000, buying real estate or a fund subscription respectively. The picture changes if your goal is an actual passport rather than residency: the cheapest citizenship-by-investment options are Dominica from USD 200,000 and Vanuatu from around USD 130,000. The table below ranks the lowest entry points across both categories.

Golden visa vs citizenship by investment (CBI)

Because this distinction matters so much, it deserves its own comparison. Residency programs (golden visas) are cheaper, keep you a foreigner for years, and only lead to a passport after long residence and usually a language test. Citizenship programs (CBI) cost more relative to what you legally receive but hand you a passport in months with no residence requirement. Neither is universally better; the right choice depends on whether you want a place to live and a slow path to a strong passport, or a fast second nationality for mobility and optionality.

Compare the two passport routes directly in our guides to Turkey citizenship by investment and Caribbean citizenship by investment.

Fastest golden visas

Speed varies enormously. The UAE golden visa is the fastest major program, frequently issued in about two weeks. Within the EU, Hungary's Guest Investor Permit and Cyprus permanent residency lead at roughly two to three months, with Greece close behind at about four months. Turkey and the Caribbean deliver citizenship in three to six months. At the opposite extreme, Portugal's immigration agency AIMA carries an average processing backlog of roughly 39.6 months, so Portugal is a strong choice for the eventual EU passport but a poor one if you need status quickly.

Best golden visa for citizenship

If your real objective is a second passport, the strongest residency-based route to EU citizenship is Portugal: it asks for only about seven days of presence per year, with a low-presence route to an eventual EU passport. The exact citizenship timeline is in flux, however. Portugal has historically allowed citizenship applications after five years of legal residency, and that rule remains in effect as of early 2026, but a parliamentary move to extend naturalization to ten years for most non-EU nationals was passed in October 2025, partly struck down by the Constitutional Court in December 2025, and sent back for revision in 2026. Treat the five-versus-ten-year question as unresolved and verify it with a licensed advisor. Greece (seven years) and Italy (ten years) also lead to citizenship but more slowly. If you do not want to wait years, the direct routes are Turkey and the Caribbean, which grant citizenship up front. One important correction to older guides: Malta no longer sells citizenship, because the EU Court of Justice struck down its program in April 2025; Malta now offers permanent residency only.

Tax considerations

Several programs pair residency with a favorable tax regime, but every one of these benefits applies only if you actually become tax resident, which generally means spending substantial time in the country. Bulgaria offers a flat 10% personal income tax, the lowest in the EU. Portugal's IFICI regime applies a 20% flat rate on qualifying income for new arrivals. Italy offers a flat substitute tax of EUR 200,000 per year on all foreign-source income for new residents. Greece has a 7% flat rate for foreign pensioners and a EUR 100,000 lump-sum regime for high earners. The UAE levies 0% personal income tax. Cyprus and Malta both run non-domicile regimes that can exempt foreign income not remitted locally.

The crucial caveat for many readers: US citizens and green card holders are taxed by the United States on worldwide income regardless of where they live, so no second residency erases the US filing obligation, and a US green card via the Trump Gold Card actually adds US worldwide taxation. Tax outcomes are highly individual. Treat every figure here as a starting point and obtain advice from a cross-border tax specialist before relocating or investing.

The Trump Gold Card - America's $1M golden visa

In 2026 the United States entered the investment-migration market with the Trump Gold Card. The individual version requires a USD 1,000,000 direct contribution to the US government, and a corporate version costs USD 2,000,000, where a company sponsors an individual. Officials have framed it as an expedited route to lawful permanent residency (a green card) operating through the existing EB-1 and EB-2 employment-based categories. Its defining feature, compared with the long-standing EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, is that it carries no job-creation requirement, whereas EB-5 requires an at-risk investment of roughly USD 800,000 or more and the creation of at least ten full-time US jobs.

The program is new, the implementing regulations were still being finalized through 2026, and it is politically charged, so we report it strictly factually and advise verifying the current rules with a licensed US immigration attorney. Because it grants a green card, it makes the holder a US tax resident on worldwide income, an important difference from EU or Caribbean programs. Read the full neutral breakdown in our Trump Gold Card guide, and compare it with the broader EB green card categories.

How to choose

The right program depends almost entirely on your goal. Rather than chasing the cheapest or fastest headline, match the program to what you actually want from it. The guide below maps the most common objectives to the program that serves each one best in 2026.

• Lowest cost: Latvia (EUR 50K business) for EU residency; Vanuatu or Dominica for a cheap passport.
• Fastest status: UAE (~2 weeks); Hungary or Cyprus (2-3 months) within the EU.
• EU citizenship eventually: Portugal (only 7 days/year; naturalization timeline 5-10 years, under review in 2026).
• Instant second passport: Turkey ($400K real estate) or the Caribbean ($200K+ donation).
• Family relocation: Malta or Greece, both family-friendly with strong inclusion rules.
• Tax optimization: Bulgaria (10% flat) or the UAE (0% income) - only if you become tax resident.
• No physical presence: Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Malta, and Italy all require little or none.
• Access to the United States: the Trump Gold Card, or an E-2 treaty country such as Grenada or Turkey.

Common mistakes and scams

The golden visa industry attracts intermediaries whose incentives do not always align with yours, and the fast pace of rule changes makes outdated advice a genuine hazard. The most frequent and costly errors are avoidable.

• Acting on outdated information, such as the Spain golden visa or the Portugal real estate route, both of which have ended.
• Conflicts of interest, where the same party both sells you the investment and advises you on the visa.
• Failing to confirm independently that your specific investment qualifies under the current law, not last year's.
• Underestimating the total cost once taxes, legal fees, due-diligence fees, and government contributions are added.
• Assuming a residency permit makes you tax resident, or that a second passport erases US worldwide tax.

Before committing any funds, use regulated agents who conduct proper due diligence and read our guide on common visa rejection reasons to understand how applications fail.

Golden visa deep dives by country

Explore the full 2026 guide for each program, with exact thresholds, costs, tax, and step-by-step application.