Golden Visas in 2026: What's Alive, What's Dead, and What You're Actually Buying

A golden visa is a residence permit a government sells for a qualifying investment, typically €50,000 to $1,000,000-plus in funds, property, or donations. As of May 2026, seven EU states still run one (Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK ended theirs). It buys residence only: not citizenship, not tax residency, not permanence.

Published 2026-07-03 · by Jordan Urbs

Every top Google result for “golden visa” is published by a company that collects a placement fee when you wire the money.

That doesn’t make them liars. It makes them salespeople… and salespeople don’t lead with obituaries.

So this page leads with the obituaries.

Four European programs died between February 2023 and April 2025, the EU’s top court outlawed citizenship-for-sale entirely, and Portugal moved its citizenship goalposts mid-game in May 2026. Everything below was checked on 3 July 2026 (this market rots fast; treat undated pages as suspect).

What a golden visa is, and the three things it isn’t

A golden visa is residency-by-investment: a government grants a renewable residence permit in exchange for a qualifying investment in fund units, property, a business, a bank deposit, or a straight donation (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/golden-visa/).

Three things it is not:

Not citizenship. You’re buying a permit, not a passport. And the “residency now, EU passport in 5 years” pitch just took a torpedo: Portugal’s new Nationality Law, in force since 19 May 2026, stretched naturalization to 10 years of legal residence for most applicants (7 for CPLP and EU citizens), counted from first permit issuance (source: https://www.sovereigngroup.com/news/portugal-nationality-law-update/). Applications filed before that date keep the old 5-year clock (source: https://www.fragomen.com/insights/portugal-extends-citizenship-timeline-mobilityminute.html).

Not tax residency. A residence permit and tax residency are separate legal statuses; tax residency typically triggers at 183+ days of physical presence, or via economic-ties tests that vary by country (source: https://coatesglobal.com/golden-visas-tax-residency-day-counting/). Most golden visas demand almost no presence precisely so you don’t become a tax resident by accident.

Not permanent. Programs get repriced or killed on political whim, which brings us to the graveyard.

The graveyard, with dates

Spain ended its golden visa on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, framed as a housing-crisis response after non-EU buyers picked up roughly 27,000 properties in 2023 (source: https://www.imidaily.com/analysis/every-golden-visa-still-open-in-europe-in-2026/).

Portugal’s famous real-estate route died in October 2023 under Law 56/2023, the “Mais Habitação” package, and funds with any direct or indirect real-estate exposure were disqualified with it (source: https://connaughtlaw.com/portugal-golden-visa-real-estate-eliminated/).

Ireland closed its Immigrant Investor Programme in February 2023, and the Netherlands discontinued its investor residence in January 2024 (source: https://www.imidaily.com/analysis/every-golden-visa-still-open-in-europe-in-2026/).

And the big one: on 29 April 2025, the EU Court of Justice struck down Malta’s citizenship-by-investment scheme, ruling that selling passports “amounts to the commercialisation of Union citizenship” (source: https://curia.europa.eu/site/upload/docs/application/pdf/2025-04/cp250052en.pdf). EU citizenship-for-sale is over. Malta’s residency program, the MPRP, survives (source: https://lindemannlaw.ch/insights2/maltas-golden-passport-scheme-under-eu-scrutiny-five-key-questions-answered/).

That’s four dead programs and one dead category in about 26 months.

(The broker sites mention none of this above the fold. I checked.)

Still alive in Europe, verified 3 July 2026

Seven EU states still run golden visa programs as of May 2026: Portugal, Greece, Italy, Malta, Hungary, Latvia, and Bulgaria (source: https://www.imidaily.com/analysis/every-golden-visa-still-open-in-europe-in-2026/).

The three that matter for most readers:

Portugal now centers on €500,000 into a CMVM-regulated investment fund that may not hold real estate directly or indirectly (source: https://getgoldenvisa.com/portugal-golden-visa-investment-fund-option), with a €200,000 cultural-donation route alongside it. Average required presence is about 7 days a year (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/golden-visa-portugal/). Which is exactly why the new 10-year citizenship clock stings: minimal presence plus a 5-year passport was the whole pitch. Portugal’s tax side is its own subject, covered in the Portugal crypto tax guide.

Greece is the last mainstream EU option still accepting property, in three tiers under Law 5100/2024: €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and larger islands; €400,000 elsewhere with a 120-square-meter minimum; €250,000 for commercial-to-residential conversions or heritage restorations anywhere (source: https://janushermes.com/blog/greece-golden-visa-tier-system-2026). No minimum stay, but short-term rental of the qualifying property is banned (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/greece-golden-visa-new-rules/).

Latvia, at €50,000 via the company-investment route, is the cheapest EU ticket still open (source: https://immigrantinvest.com/blog/cheapest-golden-visa-countries/).

Still alive outside Europe, verified 3 July 2026

UAE: AED 2 million (about $545,000) in Dubai Land Department-registered real estate buys the 10-year golden visa, and the old 50%-paid-upfront rule was removed in February 2026 (source: https://www.visahq.news/2026-05-12/ae/property-route-to-uae-golden-visa-clarified-as-aed-2-million-threshold-survives-april-rule-changes/). No minimum stay is required to keep it (source: https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/visa-and-emirates-id/residence-visas/golden-visa). The tax picture lives in the Dubai/UAE crypto tax guide.

Panama: the Qualified Investor Visa grants permanent residency at $300,000 in real estate (or $500,000 in securities, or $750,000 on deposit) with a 5-year hold. The reduced $300K real-estate tier expires 15 October 2026, after which it rises to $500,000 under Executive Decree 193 of October 2024 (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/panama-qualified-investor-visa/).

Costa Rica: $150,000 in qualifying investment under Law 9996 earns renewable temporary residency, permanent after 3 years (source: https://crie.cr/residency-for-investors-in-costa-rica/). That reduced threshold sunsets 14 July 2026 (11 days after this page went live) and is expected to revert to $200,000 unless renewed (source: https://www.fragomen.com/insights/costa-rica-citizenship-by-investment-guide.html).

Georgia: repriced for 2026. The property-based residence threshold jumped from $100,000 to $150,000 (source: https://www.imidaily.com/europe/georgia-to-hike-property-based-investor-visa-to-150000-next-month/), and the separate investment-residence permit wants $300,000 (source: https://immigration-georgia.com/georgia-residency-by-investment/).

Thailand: the LTR “Wealthy Global Citizen” visa runs 10 years at $1 million in global net assets plus $500,000 invested in qualifying Thai instruments; the $80,000 annual-income requirement was dropped in February 2025, and the government fee is THB 50,000 (source: https://ltr.boi.go.th/ and https://www.hlbthai.com/thailand-long-term-resident-ltr-visa/).

Cayman Islands: CI$2 million (about US$2.4 million) in developed residential real estate buys a lifetime permanent-residence certificate at 1 day per year of presence, plus a new CI$200,000 one-time issue fee in force since 1 May 2026 (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/cayman-islands-residency-by-investment/).

Singapore: the Global Investor Programme starts at S$10 million into a Singapore business and climbs to S$50 million for the family-office route, with 183 days a year of presence expected at renewal time (source: https://getgoldenvisa.com/singapore-global-investor-program). The ceiling case, not a retail option.

United States: the Trump Gold Card opened for applications on 10 December 2025 at $1 million for individuals or $2 million corporate, plus a $15,000 processing fee (source: https://www.trumpcard.gov/). Uptake so far: 338 applications and exactly one reported approval as of 23 April 2026 (source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trumps-gold-card-visa-starting-1-million-granted-just-1-person-far-whi-rcna341855). Whether it exists in 2029 is anyone’s guess… I wouldn’t build a five-year plan on it.

The crypto angle, kept honest

Two claims circulate about crypto and golden visas. One is a hoax, one is real, and the difference is a million dollars.

The hoax: in July 2025, TON marketed a scheme claiming $100,000 of staked Toncoin earned you a UAE golden visa. UAE regulators (ICP, SCA, and VARA, jointly) denied it within a day — digital-asset holdings are not an eligible pathway, and TON isn’t even licensed in the UAE (source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/07/07/uae-authorities-debunk-reports-of-getting-golden-visa-by-staking-toncoin).

The real one: El Salvador’s Freedom Passport takes a $1,000,000 non-refundable contribution paid in BTC or USDT (that’s 10 BTC at $100K BTC) for citizenship, capped at 1,000 applications a year (source: https://citizenx.com/citizenship-investment/el-salvador). The wider experiment it sits inside is covered in the El Salvador bitcoin guide.

If someone is selling you a crypto-for-visa shortcut anywhere else… assume TON until proven otherwise.

The menu at a glance

ProgramMinimum ticketThe catch
Portugal fund route€500,000Citizenship clock now 10 years for new applicants
Greece property€250,000–€800,000 by tierNo short-term rental of the qualifying property
Malta MPRPProperty + contributionResidency only; the passport version was struck down
Latvia company route€50,000Cheapest EU ticket, lowest profile
UAE propertyAED 2M (~$545,000)Visa without tax residency by default
Panama QIV$300,000 until 15 Oct 2026Rises to $500,000 after the deadline
Costa Rica investor$150,000 until 14 Jul 2026Expected to revert to $200,000
Georgia property$150,000Repriced up 50% for 2026; no citizenship-by-investment
Thailand LTR$1M assets + $500,000 investedA 10-year visa, not permanent residency
Cayman IslandsCI$2M + CI$200,000 feeLifetime certificate at 1 day/year presence
Singapore GIPS$10M+183 days/year expected at renewal
US Gold Card$1M + $15,000 feeOne reported approval as of April 2026
El Salvador Freedom Passport$1M in BTC/USDT (10 BTC at $100K BTC)Citizenship, non-refundable, 1,000/year cap

Every row is sourced inline above; all figures verified 3 July 2026. They churn… treat the table as a starting grid, not a quote.

What you’re actually buying

On the trust spectrum, a golden visa sits at the far end: a pure trusted-third-party product, meaning your access depends entirely on an institution’s continued goodwill.

You wire six figures to a government in exchange for a permission slip that same government can reprice or revoke, and between 2023 and 2025 four of them did exactly that (sources above).

That doesn’t make golden visas useless. A second residency is a genuine exit option, and exit options are the whole point of flag theory and jurisdictional arbitrage.

But hold it as an option, not an identity. Know what the money buys (residence), what it doesn’t (citizenship, tax status, permanence), and what the government on the other side can change without asking you.

Will Panama extend its $300K window past October? Will Greece hold the €250,000 tier through 2027? I honestly don’t know. Nobody does, and anyone who claims certainty here is selling something.

The menu brokers won’t lead with

Residency does not require six figures.

Paraguay grants temporary residency with no minimum investment, income proof, or deposit under Law 6984/2022, and do-it-yourself costs run around $750 (source: https://goresident.com/residency/paraguay). Permanent residency follows after 2 years. An optional investor route added in 2026 grants direct permanent residency from $70,000 (source: https://paraguaysovereign.com/residency/investor-pass/).

That’s roughly 700x cheaper than Portugal’s fund route (the brokers have no incentive to open with it).

The full under-$100K menu, including Georgia’s visa-free year and the income visas in Portugal and Costa Rica, lives in the second residency guide. And the perpetual traveler myth covers why collecting permits without a tax plan solves nothing.

Where this leaves you

The honest version, fellow builders: golden visas are real, several of the famous ones are dead, and the survivors sell residence… nothing more.

If you buy one, buy it for what it is (a legal place to stand, plus a hedge against your home country changing the rules), price in the political risk the sales pages omit, and re-verify every number here the week you act.

Deadlines first: Costa Rica’s $150,000 tier sunsets 14 July 2026, Panama’s $300,000 tier on 15 October 2026.

This page is a dated map, observations rather than legal or tax advice; a licensed immigration professional in the target country is the last gate before wiring anything.

From the atlas

Portugal

Portugal exempts crypto gains on assets held more than 365 days; shorter holds pay 28%. The 2023 regime ended the old zero-tax era, and even exempt sales must be reported. As an EU member, CARF/DAC8 reporting applies from January 2026. Good for patient holders wanting EU access — less so for active traders or anyone reclassified as professional.

Trusted third party

Malta

Malta charges no capital gains tax on long-held personal crypto treated as capital, while trading activity is taxed as income at up to 35% — and the line between the two is decided case by case. Non-domiciled residents are taxed only on remitted income. EU membership brings MiCA clarity and CARF reporting from 2026; the golden-passport program was struck down by the EU court in April 2025.

Trusted third party

United Arab Emirates

The UAE levies 0% personal income and capital gains tax on crypto for individuals across all emirates, with no personal tax filing at all. A 10-year golden visa costs about AED 2M (~$545K) in property. The catches: business activity falls under 9% corporate tax, CARF reporting starts by 2028, and citizenship is effectively unavailable.

Trusted third party

El Salvador

El Salvador charges no capital gains tax on bitcoin and sells citizenship for a $1M BTC or USDT donation. Bitcoin remains legal tender on paper, but a January 2025 IMF deal made acceptance voluntary and ended tax payments in BTC. Cheap and bitcoin-friendly — yet the rules track one president's agenda and one creditor's conditions.

Trusted third party

Panama

Panama taxes only Panama-source income, and crypto traded on foreign exchanges is generally treated as foreign-source — so gains are untaxed for residents. There is no crypto-specific tax law at all. The Qualified Investor visa grants immediate permanent residency at $300K. The catches: legal silence means ambiguity, business activity inside Panama is taxed up to 15–25%, and local banks treat crypto proceeds warily.

Trusted third party

Thailand

Thailand exempts personal capital gains on crypto sold through Thai SEC-licensed exchanges from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2029, under Ministerial Regulation 399. The 5-year DTV nomad visa needs about THB 500K (~$14K) in savings. The catches: the exemption is temporary and channel-specific, offshore gains remitted to Thailand may still be taxed, and the remittance rules have already shifted twice since 2024.

Trusted third party

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands levies no income, capital gains, or wealth tax at all — crypto disposals are simply untaxed, with nothing to structure around. A 25-year residency certificate requires about $1.2M invested, including $600K in developed real estate, plus ~$146K annual income. The catches: CARF reporting went live January 1, 2026, living costs are among the world's highest, and citizenship is a decades-long prospect.

Trusted third party

Costa Rica

Costa Rica taxes only local-source income, and occasional personal crypto sales on foreign platforms are generally untaxed — there is no crypto-specific tax legislation. Rentista residency takes $2,500/month of income or a $60K deposit. The catch: the favorable result comes from legal silence, so habitual trading could be reclassified as taxable local income, and the documentation burden sits with you.

Trusted third party

Georgia

Georgia exempts individuals from income tax on crypto sales — Ministry of Finance guidance treats the gains as foreign-source income outside Georgian tax. Citizens of roughly 95 countries get a visa-free year, and tax residency comes at 183 days or via a high-net-worth program. The catches: the exemption rests on guidance rather than deep statute, and the political environment is volatile.

Trusted third party

Paraguay

Paraguay taxes only local income under Law 6380/19, so crypto gains realized on international exchanges are 0% for residents — and it is not a CARF signatory as of mid-2026. Residency is among the cheapest anywhere, roughly $1,000–2,000 in fees. The catch: route proceeds through local banks and they may be reclassified as Paraguayan-source income taxed at 8–10%.

Trusted third party

Singapore

Singapore has no capital gains tax, so personally held crypto sells tax-free — a rule firmly in place heading through 2026. The catch: IRAS can reclassify frequent, high-volume activity as trading income taxed at up to 24%, and residency is the hard part — employment passes or a S$10M investor program. CARF reporting is slated for 2027.

Trusted third party

Frequently asked questions

What is a golden visa?
A golden visa is residency-by-investment: a country grants a renewable residence permit in exchange for a qualifying investment such as fund units, real estate, a business, a bank deposit, or a donation (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/golden-visa/). It grants residence, not citizenship, and holding one does not by itself make you a tax resident (source: https://coatesglobal.com/golden-visas-tax-residency-day-counting/).
Which countries still offer golden visas in 2026?
In the EU, as of May 2026: Portugal, Greece, Italy, Malta, Hungary, Latvia, and Bulgaria (source: https://www.imidaily.com/analysis/every-golden-visa-still-open-in-europe-in-2026/). Outside the EU: the UAE (source: https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/visa-and-emirates-id/residence-visas/golden-visa), Panama (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/panama-qualified-investor-visa/), the Cayman Islands (source: https://www.eracayman.com/blog/residency-through-real-estate-investment), Costa Rica (source: https://www.fragomen.com/insights/costa-rica-citizenship-by-investment-guide.html), Georgia (source: https://www.imidaily.com/europe/georgia-to-hike-property-based-investor-visa-to-150000-next-month/), Thailand's LTR visa (source: https://ltr.boi.go.th/), Singapore's GIP (source: https://getgoldenvisa.com/singapore-global-investor-program), the US Gold Card (source: https://www.trumpcard.gov/), and El Salvador's crypto-denominated citizenship program (source: https://citizenx.com/citizenship-investment/el-salvador). Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK have ended theirs.
Is the Portugal golden visa still available?
Yes, but the real-estate route died in October 2023 under Law 56/2023 (source: https://connaughtlaw.com/portugal-golden-visa-real-estate-eliminated/). The main route now is €500,000 into a regulated investment fund with no real-estate exposure, plus a €200,000 cultural-donation option; average required presence is about 7 days a year (source: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/golden-visa-portugal/). Since 19 May 2026, citizenship takes 10 years for most applicants, up from 5 (source: https://www.sovereigngroup.com/news/portugal-nationality-law-update/).
Can I get a golden visa with bitcoin or crypto?
Mostly no. When TON marketed a claim in July 2025 that staking $100,000 of Toncoin earned a UAE golden visa, UAE regulators jointly denied it within a day: crypto holdings are not an eligible pathway (source: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/07/07/uae-authorities-debunk-reports-of-getting-golden-visa-by-staking-toncoin). The one real crypto-denominated program is El Salvador's Freedom Passport: a $1,000,000 non-refundable contribution (10 BTC at $100K BTC) paid in BTC or USDT, for citizenship (source: https://citizenx.com/citizenship-investment/el-salvador).
Does a golden visa make me a tax resident?
No. A residence permit and tax residency are separate statuses. Tax residency is typically triggered by 183+ days of physical presence per year, or by economic-ties tests that vary by country (source: https://coatesglobal.com/golden-visas-tax-residency-day-counting/). Most golden visas require little or no presence precisely so holders don't become tax residents by default, which also means the visa alone changes your tax bill nowhere.
Is a golden visa worth it?
Depends what you're buying. It's a revocable permission slip: Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands all killed their programs between 2023 and 2025 (source: https://www.imidaily.com/analysis/every-golden-visa-still-open-in-europe-in-2026/), and Portugal stretched its citizenship clock from 5 to 10 years in May 2026 (source: https://www.sovereigngroup.com/news/portugal-nationality-law-update/). Cheaper residencies exist: Paraguay requires no minimum investment at all (source: https://goresident.com/residency/paraguay). Treat a golden visa as one option on the mobility menu, not the default.