Residency by investment

UAE golden visa calculator: what does a golden visa cost?

Headline thresholds are only the start. Malta's MPRP costs €375,000 for the qualifying property and another €99,500 in government fees and contributions, €474,500 before anyone counts lawyers. Pick a programme and family size to see the full figure, itemised.

€250,000

lowest Greek tier, commercial conversions and listed restorations

Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum

2 closures

Portugal's property route (Oct 2023) and Spain's whole programme (Apr 2025)

our closures guide

AED 2m

Dubai property threshold for a 10-year golden residence permit

Dubai Land Department

Programme and route

Spain is not listed because its golden visa ended on 3 April 2025. Portugal's real-estate route ended in October 2023, only the fund route remains.

Dependants joining you (spouse, children, parents)

Adds per-person government fees where the programme publishes them. The qualifying investment itself does not increase for most programmes. Portugal's and Italy's per-person fees are not modelled; see the assumptions.

Total minimum outlay

500,000

Qualifying investment plus the government fees each programme publishes, in the programme's own currency (see the currency line). Portugal's and Italy's per-applicant fees are shown as zero because we could not read a current official schedule, not because they are free. Legal fees, taxes and due-diligence costs come on top.

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Minimum qualifying investment	500,000
Estimated government and processing fees	0
Currency for this programme	EUR (€)

The basis

Programme rules change quickly. Figures reflect the published rules as of this page's updated date, always verify current status and fees with the official programme or a licensed immigration adviser before committing money.
Portugal: the real-estate and capital-transfer routes ended in October 2023 (Law 56/2023, "Mais Habitação"); the surviving fund route requires €500,000 in qualifying non-real-estate funds. AIMA's fee table was replaced with effect from 1 March 2026 and we could not read the current values from AIMA (aima.gov.pt), so no Portuguese government fees are modelled here: get the current taxas from AIMA before budgeting. Note also that Portugal's naturalisation rules changed on 19 May 2026 (Organic Law 1/2026): naturalisation now needs 10 years of legal residence, 7 for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU member states (justica.gov.pt).
Spain is excluded because the programme ended on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, applications are no longer accepted.
Greece: tiers in force since 1 September 2024, €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with over 3,100 inhabitants; €400,000 elsewhere (both with a 120 m² minimum property size); €250,000 anywhere for commercial-to-residential conversions or listed-building restorations. The ministry lists a €2,000 electronic fee plus a €16 charge for printing the permit; only the €16 card charge is modelled per family member, because the ministry's page does not publish a separate family-member fee (migration.gov.gr).
Malta (MPRP): property-purchase route, €375,000 minimum qualifying property (or €14,000 a year in rent), held for five years, plus a €60,000 non-refundable administrative fee, a €37,000 government contribution and a €2,000 donation to a Maltese NGO, and a €500 residence card per person (residencymalta.gov.mt, S.L. 217.26 as amended by LN 310/2024 and LN 146/2025). Each adult dependant other than the spouse adds €7,500, which the calculator does not apply automatically: add it yourself for parents, grandparents or adult children.
UAE: the Dubai Land Department issues a 10-year renewable golden residence permit to an owner of Dubai property worth AED 2,000,000 or more, with total service fees of AED 9,884.75 for the main applicant (medical AED 700, Emirates ID AED 1,153, residency confirmation AED 2,856.75, DLD fees AED 4,020, administrative fees AED 1,155) and AED 100 per additional sponsored family member (dubailand.gov.ae). Each dependant also pays their own visa, medical and Emirates ID fees, which the DLD schedule does not price, so they are not modelled. The federal portal's summary table lists real-estate investors under a five-year duration (u.ae), so confirm the duration for the emirate you buy in.
Italy: investor-visa thresholds are €250,000 (innovative start-up), €500,000 (an Italian limited company), €1m (philanthropy) or €2m (government bonds) (investorvisa.mise.gov.it). The portal does not publish an application fee schedule, so no Italian government fees are modelled; consular visa and residence-permit charges apply and should be confirmed with the consulate and questura.
Cyprus: permanent residence via €300,000 (plus VAT) in a first-sale house or apartment, or €300,000 in other real estate, company share capital or collective-investment units, plus a secured annual income from abroad of at least €50,000, rising by €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 per dependent minor child. A €500 fee is charged on submission plus €70 per person for the Alien Registration Certificate (Migration Department, gov.cy).
No currency conversion is applied, each result is shown in the programme's own currency. Professional fees (lawyers, due diligence), property transfer taxes and health insurance are excluded and can be substantial.

Golden Visa Calculator is an independent information site. It is not affiliated with any government or migration agency, and nothing here is immigration, legal, tax or investment advice, immigration advice is a regulated activity in several jurisdictions, including the UK. Programme rules and fees change frequently: verify current status with the official programme or a licensed adviser before committing funds.

Golden visa programmes compared, 2026

Last updated 2026-08-15

Minimum qualifying investment, route and current status for the major residency-by-investment programmes, including the ones that have closed, which most comparison sites still list as open.

Compiled from official programme sources (Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Residency Malta Agency, Dubai Land Department and the UAE government portal, Italy's investor-visa portal, the Cyprus Migration Department) read on the updated date above; closures dated from the legislation or official announcement that ended them. Portugal's figures come from the published route rules; its government fees are not stated here because AIMA's fee table changed on 1 March 2026 and we could not read the current values. Fee lines match the calculator's tables.

Golden visa programmes compared, 2026
Programme	Minimum investment	Route	Status
Portugal	€500,000	Regulated investment fund (non-real-estate)	Open, real-estate route ended Oct 2023
Spain	€500,000 (was)	Real estate	Ended 3 April 2025
Greece	€800,000	Real estate. Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, larger islands	Open
Greece	€400,000	Real estate, rest of the country	Open
Greece	€250,000	Commercial-to-residential conversion or listed restoration	Open
Malta (MPRP)	€375,000 property + €99,500 fees and contributions	Property purchase + government contribution	Open
UAE	AED 2,000,000	Property (10-year Dubai golden residence)	Open
Italy	€250,000 / €500,000	Innovative start-up / company shares	Open
Cyprus	€300,000 + VAT	New residential property	Open

Two major European golden visas have closed since 2023: Portugal ended its real-estate route in October 2023, and Spain ended its programme entirely on 3 April 2025.
Greece's €250,000 conversion-and-restoration tier is the lowest major golden-visa threshold in Europe as of 2026, but standard property now costs €400,000, or €800,000 in Athens and the prime islands.
Malta's MPRP property-purchase route costs €474,500 up front once the €60,000 administrative fee, €37,000 government contribution, €2,000 NGO donation and €500 residence card are added to the €375,000 minimum property.
Portugal's naturalisation clock lengthened on 19 May 2026: 10 years of legal residence, or 7 for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU member states, so a golden visa no longer leads to a passport application in five.

Cite this page

“Golden visa programmes compared, 2026”, Golden Visa Calculator, https://goldenvisacalculator.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). Compiled from official programme sources (Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Residency Malta Agency, Dubai Land Department and the UAE government portal, Italy's investor-visa portal, the Cyprus Migration Department) read on the updated date above; closures dated from the legislation or official announcement that ended them. Portugal's figures come from the published route rules; its government fees are not stated here because AIMA's fee table changed on 1 March 2026 and we could not read the current values. Fee lines match the calculator's tables.

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Go deeper

Each one cites where its numbers come from.

Questions, answered directly

Does Spain still have a golden visa?

No. Spain's golden visa ended on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, no new applications are accepted, on any route.

Can you still get Portugal's golden visa by buying property?

No, the real-estate route ended in October 2023. Portugal's programme continues through the €500,000 investment-fund route. AIMA's fee table changed on 1 March 2026, so get the current government fees from AIMA rather than from any comparison page.

What is the cheapest golden visa in Europe?

Greece's €250,000 tier for commercial-to-residential conversions and listed-building restorations, in force since September 2024. Ordinary Greek property qualifies at €400,000, or €800,000 in Athens, Thessaloniki and the prime islands.

How much does the UAE golden visa cost?

AED 2,000,000 in qualifying Dubai property for the 10-year golden residence permit, plus AED 9,884.75 in Dubai Land Department service fees for the main applicant and AED 100 per additional sponsored family member on the DLD side. Dependants also pay their own visa, medical and Emirates ID charges, and other emirates differ.

Do these totals include lawyers and taxes?

No. The calculator covers the qualifying investment plus government and processing fees only. Legal fees, due diligence, property transfer taxes and health insurance come on top and can add several percent.

Is a golden visa the same as citizenship by investment?

No. A golden visa grants residency, not a passport. Some programmes can lead to citizenship later, but the clocks are long: Portugal now requires 10 years of legal residence for naturalisation, or 7 for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries and EU member states, since 19 May 2026.

Sources

Compare programmes before you commit

Investment, fees and family costs, itemised per programme, closures flagged.

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