Golden visa (residence by investment)

Each country sets its own routes and amounts. Portugal's immigration agency AIMA lists routes such as creating at least ten jobs or transferring €500,000 into Portuguese non-real-estate investment funds, and says the investment cannot go directly or indirectly into real estate. Greece's real estate route requires €800,000 in its most sought-after areas and €400,000 elsewhere under Law 5100/2024.

Several routes have closed. Spain ended its investor visa on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, and Ireland closed its Immigrant Investor Programme to new applications on 15 February 2023. In March 2022 the European Commission asked member states to run strict checks before issuing any residence permit by investment.

A golden visa is an immigration status. It does not decide tax residence. Spain's tax agency says a person can hold a residence permit in a state and still not be tax resident there.

Not to be confused with

• Citizenship by investment. Citizenship by investment grants nationality and a passport, while a golden visa grants only a residence permit.
• Tax residence. Tax residence comes from tax law tests, not from holding an investor permit.

Sources

• Autorização de Residência para Investimento – Art. 90.º-A (AIMA)Official guidance
• Increase of the minimum real estate investment for a Golden Visa (Greek Housing Policy Portal)Official guidance
• Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, consolidated text (BOE)Primary law
• Why has the IIP closed and what happens now? (Immigration Service Delivery, Ireland)Official guidance
• Commission urges Member States to act on golden passports and golden residence permits schemes (28 March 2022)Official guidance
• Agencia Tributaria: Persona física residente en EspañaOfficial guidance

Related

Countries covered

General

Sources

6 sources

Tax year

Current rules as checked

Review

Not professionally reviewed
Sources checked November 9, 2026