Golden Visas—Portugal And Greece Ramp Up As Spain Closes Its Doors

Golden visa schemes offer EU residency through investment. Still, rising concerns over housing, security, and fairness have led many EU countries to shut them down or tighten regulations. As Spain legally closes its scheme, demand in Greece and Portugal has spiked, with Portugal introducing a digital process to fast-track applications.

Golden Visas—The EU Trend Is To Close Residency-By-Investment Doors

EU golden visa schemes allow non-EU nationals to gain legal residency by making financial investments in a country, most notably through real estate purchases (provided they don't use mortgages). Most schemes offer permanent residency rather than citizenship, and once obtained, they allow Americans and others to travel freely around Europe's Schengen Area.

However, many EU countries have closed their schemes. Spain recently legally ended its residency-by-investment scheme, announcing that it will officially close on 3 April 2025. Euronews reported that The Netherlands ended its golden visa scheme in January 2024. And since the start of the Ukraine war, the U.K. and Ireland ended their schemes in 2022 and 2023 because of heightened security fears.

Spain's Golden Visa Scheme Led To A Real Estate Hike

Spain's investor visa required a minimum property investment of $523,000 (€500,000), granting residency for three years. However, concerns grew over its impact on housing availability, particularly in major cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez highlighted that the vast majority—94%—of these visas were granted in connection to real estate investments in already strained housing markets.

Between 2013 and 2023, Spain issued 14,576 golden visas, with most going to nationals from China, Russia, the U.K., the U.S., Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela, and Mexico. In Barcelona alone, purchases linked to the scheme accounted for over 5% of annual residential property sales. Experts argue that foreign property buyers have driven up prices, forcing residents out of city neighborhoods.

Following Spain's announcement, interest in alternative European golden visa schemes has surged.

Interest In Greece's Golden Visa Explodes After Spain's Closure

Greece, in particular, has seen a notable rise in American applicants, with monthly government figures increasing from 302 to 383 by November 2024. Greece has one of the fastest golden visa processes, granting residency within 60 days.

Previously, the investment threshold was around $262,000 (€250,000), but in September 2023, it rose to $840,000 (€800,000) in areas where housing was in high demand, like Athens and Santorini, and $420,000 (€400,000) elsewhere. Residency holders don't need to live in Greece to maintain their visa status.

Portugal Golden Visa Scheme Is Ramping Up

Portugal's golden visa program has raised more than $7.2 billion (€7 billion) since it was created in 2012, and most participants are Chinese, Brazilian, and U.S. nationals.

While Portugal removed the part of the program in 2023 that offered golden visas through real estate purchases, non-Europeans can still apply for fast-track residency through various options, including a minimum $525,000 (€500,000) investment in eligible funds.

This policy has changed the nature of the population. Since 2018, the foreign population in Portugal has more than doubled—it now stands at one million, one-tenth of the total population.

There has been a long delay in processing applicants, but Portugal is accelerating its golden visa processing. The Agency for Integration, Migration, and Asylum (AIMA) is replacing its paper-based system with a digital one to tackle a backlog of 45,000–50,000 applications. Investors can now transfer their applications online, aiming to speed up approvals. The move follows legal action from applicants who have waited years for mandatory biometric appointments. Under the new system, AIMA will automatically schedule these appointments within 30 to 90 days and accept documents in English, Spanish, and French without translation.

Other EU Golden Visa Schemes

Hungary bucked the trend by reintroducing its golden visa scheme in July 2024 after discontinuing it in 2017. The Guest Investor Program offers residency through three routes: investing in real estate funds, purchasing property, or donating €1 million to education. The visa includes family members and allows visa-free EU travel.

Italy introduced its golden visa in 2017, offering non-EU nationals a two-year residence permit for a minimum investment of $262,000 (€250,000) through an Italian limited company. The scheme allows visa holders to include family and benefit from a favorable tax regime.

EU Golden Visa Schemes Are Controversial

Golden visa programs allow non-nationals to gain citizenship or residency through investment, which means they often bypass standard requirements such as language proficiency or residency duration that apply to the rest of the population. Critics argue these schemes are unfair, benefiting only the wealthy while enabling corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. Proponents claim they bring in outside investment, injecting foreign capital into a country's economy.

In 2018, at least half of EU countries offered some form of these programs, some of which suffered related scandals—and after which the EU Parliament asked for stricter regulations, such as proving a genuine connection to the country and publishing lists of new citizens.

Additionally, EU golden visas raise concerns about exploiting shared European privileges, including freedom of movement. The European Parliament has expressed strong reservations about selling citizenship, arguing that "any national scheme that may involve the direct or indirect outright sale of EU citizenship undermines the very concept of European citizenship."

Golden visa schemes remain contentious in Europe. and the closure of Spain's scheme signals a broader EU trend toward tightening regulations, but demand remains strong in countries still offering investor residency.