From Ireland to Latvia: why one programme after another is disappearing, and what options investors still have
On 15 September 2026, Latvia closed a programme that had opened the door to a residence permit in the Schengen area for investors from all over the world for roughly sixteen years. A property purchase from 250,000 euros, a subordinated bank deposit from 280,000 euros: neither exists any more for new applicants. Those who filed by 14 September are still assessed under the old rules, everyone else is too late. And Latvia is only the latest chapter in a story that has started to read like a countdown.
Golden visas in Europe: the list of closures keeps growing
Europe has closed or hollowed out a whole series of golden visa programmes in a short time. Ireland ended its investor programme in February 2023. Portugal removed real estate as a route to residence in October 2023. Spain followed on 3 April 2025: Organic Law 1/2025 ended the investor scheme altogether, not only the property route but also deposits, shareholdings and government bonds. Malta had to give up its citizenship-by-investment scheme in April 2025 after the EU Court of Justice ruling, which we covered in our article on residency vs. citizenship.
Now Latvia. The country recast its immigration law over the summer of 2026, the President first sent it back to parliament for another review, and it finally entered into force on 15 September. The property route and the subordinated bank deposit ended, and according to Latvian law firms so did the category of state securities. What remains is the company investment route, on shorter terms: two years of residence instead of five, still with 50,000 to 100,000 euros of equity and a one-off state fee of 10,000 euros. The law also provides for a new fund route at 150,000 euros, to be held for five years. So far it exists only on paper, because the state fund it depends on has not yet been created, according to the migration authority.
Why Europe’s golden visas are disappearing now
Three reasons show up in almost every debate, and they reinforce each other. The first is housing. When rents rise in Lisbon, Barcelona or Riga, every foreign buyer becomes politically suspect, rightly or not. The second is security: Latvia’s new law is explicitly aimed at investors from Russia and Belarus, and the President named exactly these gaps in his reasoning (statement of 19 June 2026). The third is pressure from Brussels, noticeable at the latest since the Malta ruling.
But, you might object, aren’t these isolated cases that can be filed away as politics? Possibly. Yet the direction has pointed the same way for a few years now, and a programme that is politically unpopular has few defenders once an election campaign starts. Keep that in the back of your mind in any planning.
Golden visas in 2026: Greece and Portugal stay open
Greece is the most prominent survivor, though considerably more expensive than before. In Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and on islands with more than roughly 3,100 inhabitants, the threshold is 800,000 euros. In the rest of the country it is 400,000 euros. The money has to go into a single property, which on these regular routes must measure at least 120 square metres. Small units can no longer be added up, and short-term letting à la Airbnb can cost you the permit plus a 50,000 euro fine (overview by the IBA). A 250,000 euro exception exists only for completed conversions of commercial to residential property and for the restoration of listed buildings. There is no residence requirement.
Portugal stays open, but no longer through real estate. Qualifying investment funds from 500,000 euros, cultural and heritage support from 250,000 euros, research funding, and business investment or job creation under statutory conditions all come into question. Physical presence is minimal at seven days in the first year and 14 days per two-year period afterwards. Processing at the AIMA agency, by contrast, remains a risk: reports vary widely, but many cases take more than a year from filing to card, especially when biometrics appointments are delayed. On top of that, since 19 May 2026 naturalisation requires ten years of residence (seven for EU and CPLP nationals).
Cyprus, Malta, Italy and Hungary at a glance
Cyprus asks for at least 300,000 euros for permanent residence. In the usual property route you buy a new-build from a developer, plus VAT, and other qualifying investments such as funds or company stakes exist alongside. You also need proof of income of about 50,000 euros a year for the main applicant, plus 15,000 euros per spouse and 10,000 euros per child. Important for planning: Cyprus is not part of Schengen. Malta’s Permanent Residence Programme comes to roughly 99,000 euros in fees and contributions, plus a property from 375,000 euros or a rental from about 14,000 euros a year. Italy relies on startups (from 250,000 euros), company stakes (500,000), donations (1 million) and government bonds (2 million).
Hungary, according to its immigration authority (as of March 2026), retains its Guest Investor residence permit, for instance via shares in a registered real estate fund from 250,000 euros. Check the currently accepted investments directly with the authority before deciding, particularly as observers see open questions about the programme’s future after the change of government in spring 2026.
A worked example: 500,000 euros for a couple from Dubai
A clarification first: for citizens of an EU member state a golden visa is simply not a topic, because they can settle anywhere in the EU anyway. These programmes target third-country nationals. For them, a residence permit from a Schengen state allows short visits to the other Schengen countries, usually up to 90 days in any 180. It is not EU free movement, though, and gives no right to settle or work elsewhere.
Take an entrepreneur couple with Indian passports who live in Dubai and plan up to 500,000 euros for a foothold in Europe. In Athens 800,000 euros would be due, so the budget falls short. A single apartment on the Peloponnese of at least 120 square metres at around 400,000 euros would meet the threshold. The 400,000 euros is the investment threshold, however. Taxes, notary, registration, insurance and furnishing come on top, and whether the remaining 100,000 euros or so covers them depends on the property, the financing and the tax situation. Treat the figure as a calculation frame, not a cost forecast.
Portugal via the fund route would tie up the entire 500,000 euro budget, before advisory and administrative costs, and for at least five years. A fund is not a property: return and repayment depend on the manager. Cyprus is cheaper on the minimum investment at 300,000 euros, but VAT and the income proof, depending on family size, come on top. Cypriot status is also not a Schengen residence permit, so the short visa-free visits within Schengen fall away. There is no single right answer, only a trade-off between capital lock-up, access and political risk.
What this means for your residence planning
Do not build your residence plan on one programme whose terms can change at any time. Two things have proven robust over the last few years. First, transitional rules: whoever files before a cut-off date is usually still assessed under the old law (Latvia: 14 September). Second, a plan B outside the EU. Panama’s Friendly Nations Visa or the UAE Golden Visa follow different logic and carry different risks, but they do not depend on the European housing debate.
For tax and legal detail, such as questions on tax residence, a licensed adviser from the Singabiz Network is the right address.
How you can proceed
If you are weighing which residence solution fits your budget, your family and your time horizon, talk to us. We look at your situation and tell you openly which route fits and which does not. And if someone claims a golden visa is „guaranteed forever“, ask them which programme has not changed in the last three years. The answer is likely to be short.
