What EU Countries Still Issue Golden Visas?  

Would you like to acquire legal residence in the European Union? Some EU countries still issue golden visas to foreign investors making considerable contributions to their economies. However, the number of these countries is growing smaller.

Becoming a legal resident in a foreign country can be a long process but not if you are affluent enough. A golden visa is a residence permit issued by some European countries to foreign investors. While a golden visa legalizes your stay in a foreign country, it does not oblige you to live there permanently.

The world seems to have lost political stability, and such events as Brexit limit people’s mobility. The USA is also going through troubled times, and the number of applications for European golden visas from Americans has been growing. Amidst these uncertainties, many are exploring alternative routes to secure their future and enhance their freedom of movement. One such option gaining attention is obtaining Lithuanian citizenship by descent. This method allows individuals with Lithuanian ancestry to reclaim their citizenship, granting them access to the European Union and its benefits. For those seeking stability and broader opportunities, Lithuanian citizenship by descent offers a promising pathway.

The sad thing is that the number of European countries administering golden visa programs is growing smaller. Portugal has reformed its program dramatically, which gave rise to criticism on the part of the autonomous region of Madeira.

What is the essence of golden visa programs and why do the EU authorities oppose them?

What is a golden visa?

A golden visa is a legal residence permit issued to foreign nationals who buy real property in the country, make a donation, or invest in the country in some other way. The applicant has to be over 18 years of age and have no criminal past.

Golden visa programs are similar to golden passport programs but they don’t give instant citizenship of a foreign country. On the other hand, a golden visa can lead to citizenship by naturalization after several years.

Why do the EU authorities oppose golden visa programs?

The European Commission called upon all European countries to stop ‘selling’ legal residence permits to foreign investors in 2022. Brussels is even more opposed to golden passport programs but it is concerned with golden visa programs too.

Even though it is a multibillion-euro industry, the European officials are afraid that these schemes are potentially threatening against the background of the military conflict in Ukraine. The European authorities are especially worried that some sanctioned individuals might have golden visas.

In October 2022, the European Commission called upon Albania to ‘abstain from developing a citizenship-by-investment (golden passport) program’. The Commission warned that such a program would create risks in terms of security, money laundering, tax evasion, terrorist financing, corruption and infiltration of organized crime into Europe and would be incompatible with EU regulations.

In addition, the EU government agency has suspended the visa-free agreement with Vanuatu in the South Pacific, as InternationalWealth reports. Vanuatu grants citizenship for money and Vanuatu passport holders used to have visa-free access to the Schengen Zone before. Now they don’t and we will have to see how the situation is going to develop.

What EU countries have terminated their golden visa programs?

In February 2022, the Government of Great Britain canceled golden visas that allowed wealthy foreign individuals to obtain legal residence in the UK. The main reason for that was blocking access to dirty money from Russia.  

Ireland dismantled its Immigrant Investor program in February 2023. The program allowed acquiring legal residence in Ireland in exchange for a 500,000-euro donation or annual investments of 1 million euros for three years.

In February 2023, the Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio Costa announced reformation of the Portuguese golden visa program. Even though the program has not been completely dismantled, foreigners cannot acquire legal residence in Portugal by purchasing real property in the country any longer. This was the most popular investment option alongside a few other options but the increased demand for real property in Portugal had led to a housing crisis in the country.

The autonomous region of Madeira announced that it was not going to give in without a fight, however. The president of the region Miguel Albuquerque said that he was going to continue issuing golden visas to foreigners purchasing real property on the archipelago.  

Thanks to the program, many wealthy foreigners acquire residential accommodations in Madeira and spend their money there. Obviously, this brings a lot of benefits to the local economy. According to Albuquerque, the Azores – another autonomous region of Portugal – also opposes cancellation of the golden visa program.  

What made the Portuguese golden visa program especially attractive is the fact that the foreign property owner did not have to spend too much time in Portugal to keep the golden visa. He or she had to stay in the country only for 7 days per year on average to keep the residence permit.

What EU countries still administer golden visa programs?

Before we answer this question, we would like to note that there is only one country in the EU that ‘sells’ its citizenship to foreigners and this is Malta. The EU authorities are pressuring Malta extremely hard trying to make it close the citizenship-by-investment program but Malta has been strong. The program has not been canceled thus far.

The Maltese passport costs quite a lot, however (around a million euros), while there are other – more affordable – opportunities to legalize your stay in the EU. Spain, Italy, and Greece administer golden visa programs.

Spain

Spain launched its residence-by-investment program in 2013. Foreign nationals and members of their core families can qualify for residence permits if they invest in the country’s economy. That is to say, they can ‘buy’ legal residence in Spain and, consequently, in the entire EU.  

You have to invest 500,000 euros into real property in Spain to qualify for a residence permit. Alternatively, you can make a 1-million-euro deposit in a Spanish bank or put 2 million euros in Government bonds. After living in Spain for 10 years, you are eligible to apply for citizenship of Spain by naturalization.

The program has opponents in Spain, however. Last year, representatives of Más País, a center-left political party, claimed that the program needed to be seriously revised as it did not bring enough benefits to the Spanish economy.

Italy

Italy’s residence-by-investment program was launched in 2017. If you invest 500,000 euros into the Italian economy via an LLC registered in the country, you become eligible for a 2-year residence permit. If you invest more, the permit validity term is going to be longer.

Your family members can be added to the application for legal residence and golden visa holders have access to a preferential tax regime in Italy. After 10 years, you can apply for citizenship of the country.

Greece

Greece offers the fastest route to legal residence in the EU: the application processing can take only 60 days. The Greek residence-by-investment program also used to be the most affordable one as the required investment amount was 250,000 euros. The low price and the Mediterranean climate made Greece the most popular country with foreign investors looking for legal residence in Europe. The price was doubled last year, however.

Admittedly, there are not very many residence-by-investment programs in the EU but some of them are still available and they certainly deserve your attention.