Guide
Golden visas that ended: Spain, Portugal property, UK, Ireland and more
Updated
The list of closed programmes is now long enough that checking status is the first step of any golden-visa plan. Here is what has ended, when, and what, if anything, replaced it.
The closures, in order
| Programme | Route that closed | Closed | What remains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus citizenship (CIP) | Citizenship for €2m+ investment | November 2020 | Permanent residence from €300,000 + VAT continues |
| UK Tier 1 (Investor) | £2m in UK investments | 17 February 2022 | Nothing equivalent, route closed to new applicants |
| Montenegro citizenship | Citizenship by investment | 31 December 2022 | Programme lapsed |
| Ireland IIP | €1m investment / €500,000 endowment | February 2023 | Nothing equivalent |
| Portugal (property routes) | €500,000 real estate and capital transfer | October 2023 (Law 56/2023) | €500,000 fund route, business and culture routes |
| Netherlands investor permit | €1.25m investment | 1 January 2024 | Programme scrapped |
| Spain (entire programme) | €500,000 real estate and other routes | 3 April 2025 (Organic Law 1/2025) | Nothing, no investor residence route |
Why programmes are closing
Housing pressure is the common thread. Portugal's Law 56/2023 ("Mais Habitação") and Spain's Organic Law 1/2025 both framed the closure as a housing-affordability measure, ending property-linked routes while Portugal kept non-property investment alive. The UK closed Tier 1 (Investor) in February 2022 over illicit-finance concerns; Cyprus suspended its citizenship scheme in November 2020 after an undercover investigation.
What this means if you were planning to apply
- Spain: no new applications since 3 April 2025. Visas issued before that date run their course under transitional rules.
- Portugal: buying property no longer qualifies, the practical route is €500,000 into a qualifying (non-real-estate) investment fund, which our calculator models.
- Everywhere: closure usually comes with months of warning and a surge of last-minute applications. If a programme you are counting on is politically contested, price in the possibility it closes before you complete.
Dates are taken from the closing legislation or official announcements. Verify current status on the official programme site before committing funds, this page states the position as of its updated date.