Europe's most affordable golden visas, ranked by what a family really pays

Golden visa rankings usually list the minimum investment. For a family, that number can be misleading by 5% to 20%: transfer taxes, VAT, government fees per person, legal costs and, in some countries, annual obligations change the picture. The figures below are our estimates for two adults and two children under 18, built from official fees and typical transaction costs as of 30 September 2026. They exclude professional fees unless stated.

The ranking: estimated all-in cost for a family of four

The ranking changes with what you value. If you want a recoverable asset, the Greek and Cypriot property routes lead. If you want the lowest cash outlay with European residence, Latvia and Malta's rental option lead. If you want permanent status, only Malta and Cyprus give it at the start.

Greece: the €250,000 route that survived

Greece raised its property thresholds in 2024: €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and large islands, €400,000 elsewhere. The €250,000 threshold survives only for buildings converted from commercial to residential use, or listed buildings restored, where the conversion is completed before the application — and most new applications now use it.

What a Greek golden visa costs beyond the price

• Property transfer tax of about 3.09%, notary 0.65–0.8% plus VAT, land registry about 0.5%, lawyer 0.4–1% plus VAT.
• Government fees of €2,000 for the main applicant and €150 per dependant.
• The property must be at least 120 m² in the higher tiers and cannot be let short-term — breaches carry a €50,000 fine and loss of the permit.

The permit lasts five years, is renewable, requires no minimum stay and covers the spouse, children under 21 and parents of both spouses.

Hungary: cheap and long, but uncertain

Hungary's Guest Investor Programme requires €250,000 in an approved real-estate fund held for at least five years, or a €1 million donation to a university. It grants a ten-year residence permit, renewable for ten more, with no minimum stay, and the decision on the permit is issued within weeks. The direct property route was removed in December 2024.

The risk is political: the party that won Hungary's April 2026 election has said it intends to abolish the programme. No abolition law had been passed by the end of September 2026, but we advise clients to weigh that uncertainty before committing to a five-year fund holding.

If you proceed with Hungary, reduce the political risk where you can: confirm the fund's exit terms if the programme closes, keep the permit renewal documents ready, and treat the permit as valid for its stated term rather than assuming indefinite renewals under future rules.

Italy and Portugal: investment, not property

Italy's investor visa

Italy has no property route. The lowest option is €250,000 in an innovative Italian startup; alternatives are €500,000 in an Italian company, €2 million in government bonds or a €1 million philanthropic donation. Government fees are low, there is no minimum stay, and dependent parents can be included. The real cost is business risk: a startup investment can lose value, and the investment must be made within three months of arrival.

Portugal's remaining routes

Portugal ended its property and capital-transfer routes in 2023. The lowest option is now a €250,000 donation to cultural or heritage projects (€200,000 in low-density areas) — money you do not get back — or €500,000 in regulated funds, which you can. AIMA's grant fees of several thousand euros per person make the family total noticeably higher than the headline. The minimum stay is light — seven days in the first year, fourteen in each following two-year period — but processing has taken twelve to twenty-four months, and citizenship now requires ten years of residence. See Portugal's new citizenship clock.

Malta and Cyprus: permanent residence from the start

Malta Permanent Residence Programme

Malta's MPRP combines government fees and a property commitment: an administration fee of €60,000, a government contribution of €37,000, a €2,000 donation and €7,500 per additional adult dependant, plus either buying a property of at least €375,000 or renting one for at least €14,000 a year, held for five years. Applicants must also show assets of €500,000 (€150,000 liquid) or €650,000 (€75,000 liquid). In exchange, the family receives permanent residence at once, with no minimum stay, and it can include four generations.

Cyprus PR through a new-build home

Cyprus grants permanent residence for a new property of at least €300,000 plus 19% VAT, and an annual income of €50,000 for the main applicant plus €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 per child. Parents are not included, and the family must visit at least once every two years. Stamp duty was abolished from January 2026.

Latvia: the cheapest entry, rebuilt in 2026

Latvia's new Immigration Law, in force from 15 September 2026, ended the €250,000 property route and the bank-deposit route. The company route remains: €50,000 in a smaller company or €100,000 in a larger one, plus a €10,000 state fee. But the permit is now issued for two years instead of five, and the company must pay at least €40,000 a year in Latvian taxes — which turns a cheap residence permit into a genuine business commitment. A new €150,000 fund route is planned but the fund does not yet exist. Russian and Belarusian nationals are excluded from investor routes. Sources disagree on whether some changes take effect in January 2027, so we confirm current terms before any application.

Programmes that closed or do not qualify

• Spain closed its golden visa on 3 April 2025; existing permits remain valid.
• Ireland closed its investor programme in February 2023, and the Netherlands in January 2024.
• Bulgaria still offers residence for investment from about €307,000 in property, but a July 2026 bill would require permanent residents to spend more than half the year in the country.
• Montenegro grants one-year permits for property from €150,000 — a residence permit, not a golden visa, with no right to work.
• Austria and Switzerland offer residence to wealthy people through income or lump-sum tax regimes, not investment programmes — see Switzerland and Austria.

The running costs every golden visa adds

• Health insurance covering every family member for the local system's requirements, renewed annually.
• Renewals. Permits of two to five years mean repeated government fees, biometrics and document updates — Portugal's renewal fees alone run to thousands of euros per person.
• Property taxes and upkeep, such as Greece's annual property tax, municipal charges and building fees, if you buy.
• Translations and apostilles for every renewal and every new family member.
• Fund and management fees on fund routes, which reduce the value you recover at exit.
• Professional fees for lawyers and agents at application and each renewal.

Over a five-year horizon, running costs typically add €10,000 to €40,000 for a family, depending on the country and route. They rarely change the ranking, but they belong in the budget.

Who each programme covers

Processing times compared

Remember that a golden visa is an immigration status. It does not make you tax resident anywhere by itself, and a light stay requirement usually means you are not — which may suit you, or may leave a gap with your home country. We explain the difference in residence permit vs tax residence.

How to choose beyond the price

1. Decide whether you need a recoverable asset. Property and fund routes can be sold; donations and fees cannot.
2. Check the stay rules against your life. Greece and Hungary require no minimum stay; Cyprus requires a visit every two years; Portugal a few days a year.
3. Look at the end point. Permanent residence in Malta and Cyprus is immediate; citizenship takes seven to ten years almost everywhere — see EU citizenship in 2026.
4. Weigh political risk. Hungary and Greece show that rules can change within months.
5. Separate residence from tax. A golden visa does not make you tax resident anywhere by itself — read residence permit vs tax residence.

Cheap European golden visas: FAQ