Five programmes, one comparison
Do Spain and Portugal still have golden visas in 2026?
Spain no longer has a golden visa. Portugal still does, but buying property no longer qualifies. If residence through property is your goal, the main options in 2026 are the UAE and Greece.
Spain: closed to new applicants since 3 April 2025. Portugal: open, but through funds and other routes, not property.
Spain
Spain ended its investor visa through Organic Law 1/2025 of 2 January 2025. The change took effect on 3 April 2025, three months after publication.
Applications submitted before that date are decided under the old rules. Permits that were valid on 3 April 2025 stay valid for the period they were issued for, and their renewals follow the rules in force when the first permit was granted.
So a family that already holds a Spanish golden visa can keep it. A new buyer cannot get one.
Portugal
Portugal removed property from its golden visa through Law 56/2023, in force from 7 October 2023. The programme itself continues. The most common route now is an investment of at least €500,000 in a qualifying Portuguese fund. Other routes include donations to culture or research and creating jobs.
The minimum stay is light: seven days in the first year, then 14 days in each two-year period.
The road to citizenship is longer
Portugal's new Nationality Law, Organic Law 1/2026, came into force on 19 May 2026. Citizens of EU and Portuguese-speaking (CPLP) countries now need 7 years of legal residence. Everyone else needs 10 years, up from 5. The clock now starts only when the first residence permit is issued. Nationality applications filed before 19 May 2026 follow the old law.
What this means for property buyers
If you want residence that comes from buying a home, look at:
- the UAE, with a 10-year visa for property worth AED 2,000,000 or more;
- Greece, with a 5-year permit from €250,000 to €800,000, depending on the area and the type of property.
Cyprus and Malta also link residence to property, with extra conditions. Our full comparison sets out the numbers.
- Organic Law 1/2025, final provision 21, summarised in KPMG Spain legal alert
- Law 56/2023 and current Portuguese routes: Global Citizen Solutions, updated October 2026
- Organic Law 1/2026: Sovereign Group
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