Golden Visas in 2026: Which Residency-by-Property Routes Are Still Open, and What They Really Buy

The cheap door into Europe is shut. Portugal ended its property route in October 2023 and, in May 2026, doubled its citizenship wait to 10 years. Spain closed its golden visa in 2025. Malta withdrew citizenship by investment in 2025. Italy's flat-tax residence rose to €300,000 per year from January 2026. The United States runs EB-5 (from US$800,000) and a new US$1m Gold Card, neither of which is a property route.

The direction of travel is one way: higher thresholds, fewer property doors, more selectivity.

The Gulf leads, the US surges, and parts of Europe now export demand. The UAE has been the top destination for millionaire migration for two years running, on no personal income tax, a deep prime market, and 10-year renewable residency.

Henley recorded German enquiries up around 16% between late 2025 and early 2026, and France moved from outside the top 40 source nationalities in 2024 into the top 15 in 2026. Henley calls the underlying behaviour a sovereign portfolio: families assembling rights across several jurisdictions rather than relocating once.

The brochure sells the threshold. The value sits in the conditions. Four checks before you buy:

• Does the right survive a sale — or does selling the property end the residency?

• Does the route lead to citizenship or stop at residence, and on what timeline? The UAE route, at any price, stops at residence.

• What are the day-count rules? Physical presence increasingly determines tax residency, not just visa validity.

• What tax residency does the move trigger? A new right can create a new liability. Plan both together, with qualified advice.

Thresholds are indicative and move with policy and exchange rates. Sources: Henley & Partners, Global Citizen Solutions, published 2026. A UK property confers no residency or visa right at all.

One number is doing a lot of quiet work in this market: five years. That is the horizon over which a residency right proves whether it was an asset or a lease. The buyers who win in 2026 ask what the right is worth in five years, not what the apartment costs today.

The right behind the purchase: citizenship and residency in 2026 goes deeper on the full 2026 programme table across nine jurisdictions, the migration flows, and the residency-buyer diligence checklist. Access it through the free Explorer tier.

[Explore the free Explorer tier →]

Which countries still offer residency through property in 2026?

Mainly the UAE (from AED 2m, around US$545,000), Greece (from around €400,000), and Qatar (from US$200,000). Portugal moved to a fund route in 2023, Spain closed its programme in 2025, and the United States runs EB-5 and the new Gold Card rather than a property route.

Does the UAE Golden Visa lead to citizenship?

No. It is a 10-year renewable residency. The 2026 expansion added talent, student, and self-sponsored categories and admits off-plan buyers on staged plans, but the route stops at residence.

Does buying property in the UK give you residency?

No. A UK property confers no residency or visa right on its own. UK residency and visas are governed separately from property ownership.

What changed in European golden visas in 2026?

Portugal doubled its citizenship wait to 10 years in May 2026, Italy's flat tax rose to €300,000 per year from January 2026, and Spain and Malta's closures from 2025 remain in force. Greece is the main European property route still open.

This article is information only and is not tax, legal, immigration, or investment advice. Programme and tax rules change frequently and vary by circumstance; take qualified professional advice. Property values can fall as well as rise and capital is at risk. Figures are rounded and attributed to Henley & Partners, Global Citizen Solutions, Knight Frank, and Diário da República.