An EU passport by investment is no longer sold directly by any member state. The only route left runs through a residency-by-investment program, commonly called a Golden Visa: you invest a qualifying amount in one country, hold legal residency there for several years, and then apply for citizenship through ordinary naturalization. Minimum investments start around €200,000, and the timeline from first euro to passport is typically five to ten years depending on the country.
Why Direct Citizenship for Cash Is Gone
Malta ran the last standing citizenship-by-investment scheme in the EU. Under its Exceptional Services by Direct Investment program, applicants could pay a non-refundable contribution of €600,000 with a three-year residency requirement, or €750,000 with a one-year requirement, plus property and donation obligations.
In April 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled the scheme unlawful, finding that Malta granted nationality based primarily on financial transactions rather than a genuine connection to the country.1Court of Justice of the European Union. Judgment of the Court in Case C-181/23 – Commission v Malta (Citizenship by Investment) Malta amended its Citizenship Act in July 2025 and stopped accepting new applications. Cyprus had already closed its own program years earlier after fraud scandals, and no other member state has launched a replacement.
The ruling reaches further than Malta. The court established that EU member states cannot treat citizenship as a commodity, which makes any future direct citizenship-for-cash program extremely unlikely. Anyone still marketing “EU citizenship by investment” as a product today is either describing a closed program or misleading you.
What a Golden Visa Actually Gives You
A Golden Visa is a residency permit, not a passport. It grants you the right to live in the issuing country, and it lets you travel throughout the 29-country Schengen Area for short stays of up to 90 days within any 180-day period.2Your Europe. Residence Rights It does not let you settle, work, or access public services in other EU countries. Living in France on a Greek Golden Visa is not an option without a separate French permit.
After five years of continuous legal residency, you may qualify for long-term resident status under EU Directive 2003/109/EC. That status grants broader rights, including the ability to apply to reside in a second member state for work or study, though the second country can still impose conditions like labor market tests.3EUR-Lex. Directive 2003/109 – Long-Term Resident Status Full freedom of movement across the EU only comes with citizenship.
Which EU Countries Still Offer Investment Residency in 2026
The map shrank in 2024 and 2025. Spain abolished its Golden Visa in April 2025. Portugal eliminated its real estate route. Here is where the remaining programs stand.
Greece
Greece is the most active market and still allows direct real estate investment. Pricing is tiered by location:
- Zone A, €800,000: Athens and the wider Attica region, the municipality of Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with populations above 3,100.
- Zone B, €400,000: most of the rest of Greece, including Crete, the Peloponnese, mainland regions, and smaller islands.
- Zone C, €250,000: available anywhere, but only for converting commercial properties to residential use or restoring listed heritage buildings.
Greece imposes no minimum stay to hold the visa itself, which makes it popular with investors who want Schengen travel without relocating. Greek citizenship through naturalization is a different matter: it requires at least 183 days per year of physical presence over seven years, plus language, history, and culture exams.
Portugal
Portugal’s Golden Visa is still available but narrower than before. Real estate was removed as a qualifying investment in 2023. Two routes remain:
- Cultural and artistic donations of at least €200,000 to qualifying institutions or projects.
- Fund investments of at least €500,000 in qualifying Portuguese investment funds.
Physical presence is minimal: roughly seven days per year on average, structured as 14 days over the first two-year permit and 21 days over each subsequent three-year renewal. Naturalization is available after five years of legal residency, which is one of the shorter paths in the EU.
Italy
Italy’s investor visa runs at four different investment levels:
- €250,000 into an innovative startup.
- €500,000 into an Italian limited company.
- €1,000,000 as a philanthropic donation.
- €2,000,000 into government bonds.
The bond route is the most expensive and the most passive. Italian naturalization generally requires ten years of legal residency, so this is a longer walk to a passport than Greece or Portugal. Golden Visa holders do not benefit from the four-year track available to citizens of other EU member states.
Hungary
Hungary reintroduced its guest investor program in 2024 with a 10-year residency permit. The most-used route is a minimum €250,000 investment in a Hungarian real estate fund supervised by the central bank, with shares held for at least five years. A direct residential property purchase route at €500,000 exists in the legislation but had not been implemented as of early 2026. A third option is a €1,000,000 non-refundable donation to a higher education or cultural institution.
Malta (Residency Only)
With the citizenship program closed, Malta’s Permanent Residence Programme is the remaining investment-based option. It grants indefinite residency with no minimum physical presence, but the cost stack is heavy: a government contribution of €37,000, an administration fee of €60,000 paid in installments, either a property purchase of at least €375,000 or a lease at €14,000 per year for five years, and proof of capital of at least €500,000. Malta’s residency program does not currently provide a defined pathway to citizenship.
Cyprus (Residency Only)
Cyprus offers permanent residency from a €300,000 investment in new residential property, commercial real estate, or company shares. Applicants must also show annual income from abroad of at least €50,000, plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each child. The old fast-track from Cypriot permanent residency to a passport is no longer available in 2026.
From Residency to Passport: The Timeline
This is the part that catches applicants off guard. The Golden Visa gets you in the door; the walk to a passport is measured in years.
Portugal offers the fastest realistic path at five years of legal residency, with basic Portuguese language skills required and its minimal presence rules. Greece requires seven years of physical presence at 183 days per year, plus language and culture exams. Italy generally requires ten years of continuous legal residency. Malta’s residency program provides no defined route to citizenship at all.
Long-term resident status under Directive 2003/109/EC arrives at the five-year mark in any member state, but it is not citizenship. It carries no passport and no voting rights, and a second EU country can still gate your entry with labor market tests and other conditions.3EUR-Lex. Directive 2003/109 – Long-Term Resident Status
Most EU member states allow dual citizenship, so naturalizing usually will not force you to renounce your current passport. A handful of countries impose restrictions or require renunciation in specific circumstances, so verify the rule in the country where you plan to apply before assuming both passports are yours to keep.
Background Checks That Actually Sink Applications
Every EU investment program runs extensive due diligence, and vetting is where applications most commonly stall or fail. Authorities verify that your capital comes from legitimate, taxable sources and screen for criminal history, sanctions exposure, and links to money laundering or terrorism financing.4European Commission. Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism at EU Level
Applicants tied to countries on the Financial Action Task Force’s high-risk list face additional scrutiny.5Financial Action Task Force. High-Risk and Other Monitored Jurisdictions If your country of origin or a country where you hold financial accounts appears on that list, expect longer processing times, more document requests, and a higher chance of rejection. The February 2026 FATF edition identifies specific jurisdictions subject to a call for action.6Financial Action Task Force. High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action – 13 February 2026
Most programs require you to be at least 18, have no criminal record, and hold private health insurance with minimum Schengen medical coverage of €30,000 covering hospitalization, emergency treatment, prescription medication, and repatriation.7NetherlandsWorldwide. What Kind of Insurance Do I Need When Applying for a Visa for the Netherlands Failing to disclose a prior visa rejection from any country can trigger immediate disqualification and forfeiture of fees already paid.
Practical document work eats more time than most applicants budget for. Police clearance certificates are needed from every country where you have lived for six months or more, and they typically expire 24 months after issuance, so sequencing matters. Bank statements need stamped confirmation and source-of-funds letters. Foreign-language documents require certified translation and notarization, and originals like birth and marriage certificates need an apostille.
Tax Residency Is a Separate Question
Holding a Golden Visa does not automatically make you a tax resident of the issuing country. Tax residency is set by each country’s domestic rules, typically triggered by spending more than six months per year in the country, keeping a permanent home there, or centering your economic life there.8Your Europe. Income Taxes Abroad Spend seven days a year in Portugal on a Portuguese visa and you are unlikely to trigger Portuguese tax residency.
Cross that threshold, though, and you can become subject to worldwide income taxation in the country. Some countries offer special regimes for new residents, and Portugal’s Non-Habitual Resident regime has been popular with investors, though it has been reformed multiple times. The details vary sharply by country and change often, so country-specific tax advice is not optional at this stage.
American investors carry an extra layer. The United States taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live, and EU residency or even EU citizenship does not reduce that obligation. Financial accounts at EU institutions are reported automatically to tax authorities through the Common Reporting Standard, so U.S. tax authorities will know about the accounts you open.