The list of countries that will give you residency for buying property has been shrinking for three years, and most of what is published about it is out of date. Portugal removed real estate from its golden visa in October 2023. Spain closed its programme outright. Ireland closed its investor programme before that.
This is a reference, country by country, of what still works in 2026, what it costs, and what you actually get. Thresholds move, so treat every number here as a starting point to verify rather than a quote.
The short answer
Property-linked residency still exists in roughly a dozen places. They divide cleanly into three groups.
EU programmes, which are expensive and getting more so, but come with Schengen access: Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary.
Non-EU programmes, which are cheaper and faster but carry no EU rights: Georgia, Turkey, the UAE, Panama, Thailand.
Programmes that no longer accept property, which still dominate search results: Portugal, Spain, Ireland.
Which group is right for you is decided almost entirely by one question: do you need EU access? If yes, your budget starts around 250,000 EUR and climbs. If no, the entry price drops by more than half.
The EU options
Greece is the highest-profile survivor and now runs a tiered system. The old flat 250,000 EUR entry no longer applies everywhere; in high-demand areas including Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini, thresholds are substantially higher. It remains the most popular EU property route and grants Schengen mobility.
Malta runs a permanent residence programme combining property (purchase or lease) with government contributions and a charitable donation. The total package is considerably more expensive than the property component alone suggests, which is a recurring feature of Maltese programmes.
Cyprus offers permanent residency at a property threshold generally starting around 300,000 EUR plus VAT, with income requirements attached. Cyprus is in the EU but not in Schengen, which surprises people.
Latvia and Hungary both recognise property-linked routes with periodic changes to structure and threshold. Both are worth checking directly rather than trusting a comparison table, this one included.
The pattern across all of these: the advertised threshold is the floor, not the cost. Budget an additional 7 to 12 percent for transfer taxes, notary, legal and agent fees, plus ongoing holding taxes that in several of these countries are meaningful.
The non-EU options
Georgia has the lowest genuine entry point of any serious programme. Residential property with an appraised market value of at least 150,000 USD makes you eligible for a short-term residence permit, typically one year and renewable while you own the property, with spouse and minor children included as family members. A separate route exists at 300,000 USD for larger investments.
What makes Georgia unusual is not the threshold but everything around it: no purchase tax, no stamp duty, a registration fee measured in tens of dollars, a flat 5 percent on rental income for registered individual landlords, and zero capital gains tax after two years of ownership. The total cost of getting in and out is close to the lowest anywhere. The mechanics are in our residence permit guide.
The threshold rose from 100,000 to 150,000 USD on 1 March 2026, with property registered before that date assessed against the old figure. That repricing is worth noting as a signal about future direction.
Turkey runs a property-linked residence permit at roughly 200,000 USD, and separately sells citizenship at 400,000 USD held for three years. It is the only country on this list offering a genuine passport for property. Transaction costs run around 4 to 6 percent and rental income is taxed progressively. We compare the two directly in Georgia vs Turkey.
The UAE grants renewable residence visas tied to property ownership, with longer ten-year visas at higher thresholds. No income tax, excellent infrastructure, and entry prices for anything well-located that are far above the others here.
Panama and Thailand both operate property-linked or property-adjacent residence routes that suit specific profiles, particularly retirees, and both are worth investigating if geography is not a constraint.
What none of these give you
A passport, with one exception. Only Turkey converts property into citizenship. Everywhere else you are buying residency, which is a permission to live somewhere, not a nationality. Marketing that blurs this is the single most common misrepresentation in the sector.
Automatic renewal. Every one of these permits is conditional. Sell the property and the permit generally goes with it. Programmes are repriced and restructured with little notice, as Portugal and Spain both demonstrated.
A good investment by default. A property that qualifies for a visa is not automatically a property worth owning. The strongest version of this strategy is buying something you would have bought anyway, with the permit as a bonus rather than the justification. The weakest version is overpaying for whatever clears the threshold.
How to actually evaluate one
Four questions, in order.
- Do you need EU access? This alone eliminates most of the list in one direction or the other.
- What is the total cost, not the threshold? Add transfer taxes, legal fees, agent commission, annual holding tax, and rental income tax. In several EU markets this adds 15 to 20 percent over five years. In Georgia it adds very little. Our cost breakdown shows what an honest itemisation looks like.
- Would you own this property if the visa did not exist? If the answer is no, you are buying a permit and accepting a bad asset to get it.
- Can you verify the title independently? In every jurisdiction, confirm ownership against the public registry before money moves. Georgia's is digital, free and open to anyone, and you can check a property yourself in seconds. Most countries have an equivalent; use it.
If Georgia is on your shortlist, the complete buyer guide covers the process end to end, and our Portugal alternatives analysis makes the honest case for and against.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Residency programmes change frequently and several on this list have been restructured more than once; every figure is current as of 2026 and should be verified with a qualified immigration lawyer in the relevant country before you commit funds.