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Golden visa changes, 2023 to 2026

10 dated changes to the programmes in the dataset since 2023, newest first. Each entry names the row it altered, states the rule before and after where the dataset records both, and cites the instrument or authority page that made the change.

An entry is added when a law takes effect, when an authority changes a published rule, or when a passed amendment is stopped, as happened in Latvia in June 2026. Announcements, bills and proposals are not entries until something changes; they may move a row's status to "changing" in the meantime. Dates are the date the change took effect, not the date it was reported.

All entries, newest first

  1. Latvia: President returns the investor-permit amendmentsLatvia row

    The President of Latvia returned the Immigration Law amendments passed on 11 June 2026 to Parliament for review. The amendments, which would remove the property route from 1 January 2027, are not in force. The dataset keeps the Latvia row at status "changing".1

  2. Latvia: Parliament passes amendments removing the property routeLatvia row

    The Saeima approved amendments that would end temporary residence permits based on a property purchase from 1 January 2027. The company share-capital route was not affected by the vote.1

  3. Portugal: naturalisation period rises to 10 yearsPortugal row

    Lei Orgânica 1/2026 came into force. Naturalisation now requires 10 years of legal residence for most third-country nationals and 7 years for EU and CPLP nationals, counted from the grant of the residence permit rather than from the application date. Applications pending on 19 May 2026 continue under the previous 5-year rule. The residence permit for investment itself was not changed.2

  4. Portugal: online renewals through the AIMA portalPortugal row

    AIMA opened online renewal of residence permits for investment through its portal. This is an administrative change; the qualifying amounts and stay rules are unchanged.3

  5. Portugal: Constitutional Court strikes down parts of the October 2025 nationality reformPortugal row

    Acórdão 1133/2025 found parts of the nationality reform adopted in October 2025 unconstitutional. A revised text was adopted as Lei Orgânica 1/2026 in May 2026. The dataset records the month of the ruling, not the day.2

  6. Spain: investor residence visa closedSpain row

    Articles 63 to 67 of Ley 14/2013, which created the investor visa and residence permit, were left without content by final provision 21 of Ley Orgánica 1/2025 with effect from 3 April 2025. No new applications are accepted. Holders keep their permits and renewal rights under a transitional provision.4

  7. Hungary: direct property option removedHungary row

    The EUR 500,000 residential-property route of the Guest Investor Programme was removed. The remaining routes are EUR 250,000 in approved real-estate fund units and a EUR 1,000,000 donation to a higher-education public-interest trust.5

  8. Malta: MPRP contribution and property figures revisedMalta row

    Amended Malta Permanent Residence Programme rules took effect. The property purchase minimum is EUR 375,000 and the rental minimum EUR 14,000 a year, each with a EUR 37,000 government contribution, a EUR 60,000 administration fee and a EUR 2,000 donation. Applicants must show assets of EUR 500,000 (EUR 150,000 financial) or EUR 650,000 (EUR 75,000 financial).6

  9. Greece: property thresholds raisedGreece row

    The minimum property investment rose to EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants, and to EUR 400,000 elsewhere. A EUR 250,000 threshold applies to commercial-to-residential conversions and listed-building restorations anywhere in Greece. One property of at least 120 m2 is required and short-term letting is not allowed.7

  10. Portugal: property and capital-transfer routes removedPortugal row

    Lei 56/2023 (Mais Habitação) removed property purchase and the EUR 1.5 million capital-transfer route from the residence permit for investment. Since that date the investment may not be directed, directly or indirectly, at real estate. Fund, research, cultural, company and job-creation routes remain.8

Reading the log

Five of the 10 entries removed something: Spain's whole programme, Portugal's property and capital-transfer routes, Hungary's direct property option, and, if the returned Latvian amendments are adopted, Latvia's property route. One raised thresholds (Greece). One revised a fee structure (Malta). Two concern naturalisation rather than the permit itself (Portugal, December 2025 and May 2026), and one is administrative (Portugal's online renewals). The direction across three years is consistent: fewer property routes, higher amounts where property survives, and longer waits for citizenship.

Sources

  1. Residence permits, investors. Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, Latvia. Accessed 3 September 2026.
  2. Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026, de 18 de maio, amending and republishing the Nationality Law (Lei n.º 37/81). Diário da República n.º 95/2026, Série I. Accessed 3 September 2026.
  3. Autorização de Residência para Investimento, Art. 90.º-A. AIMA. Accessed 3 September 2026.
  4. Ley 14/2013, de 27 de septiembre, consolidated text; articles 63 to 67 left without content from 3 April 2025 by Ley Orgánica 1/2025, final provision 21. Boletín Oficial del Estado. Accessed 3 September 2026.
  5. The latest updates to the Guest Investor Residency Programme. International Bar Association. Accessed 3 September 2026.
  6. Malta Permanent Residence Programme. Residency Malta Agency. Accessed 3 September 2026.
  7. Residence permits for investors. Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Accessed 3 September 2026.
  8. Lei n.º 56/2023, de 6 de outubro (Mais Habitação), amending the ARI regime. Diário da República. Accessed 3 September 2026.