When you compare the different European Union countries Golden Visa programs you can do it through several different angles.
You can consider, for instance, the following:
- Quality of life and safety in each country.
- Investment options and minimum required amount.
- Stay requirements during the time of the residence card.
- Number of years and requirements for citizenship.
- Inclusion of family members as resident of the country.
Almost universally considered, the top five European Golden Visa programs are:
- Portugal.
- Greece.
- Malta.
- Cyprus.
- Italy.
In this article our focus will be to compare, on an objective and factual basis, the different countries´ Golden Visa programs according to the above factors.
Starting by the quality-of-life criteria, the Expat Insider ranking covering 53 countries, considers Portugal the 15th best country to live, Greece the 27th, Cyprus the 36th, Malta the 46th and Italy the 47th.
If you consider safety as your main criteria, the William Russell that ranks the top 20 safe countries in the world, only includes Portugal in this elite group as the 7th safest country in the world, immediately after Switzerland which is the 6th.
In terms of investment options minimum amount, Portugal, Greece and Italy all start with € 250,000 Euros while Cyprus and Malta start on the € 300,000 threshold. Greece, Cyprus and Malta have real estate investment as an alternative, while Portugal Golden Visa is more focused on the investment funds and Italy on innovative start-ups and government bonds (€ 2,000,000).
In terms of stay requirements they are either none or very light. Only Portugal requires a stay of 7 days per year and Cyprus a visit to the country every two years. However, in terms of stay requirements for citizenship purposes things change completely because Malta will require an effective residency stay between 12 and 36 months before applying for citizenship, Greece and Cyprus require an effective 7-year legal stay in the country while Italy is even more stringent, requiring 10 years legal stay. As said, Portugal only requires a stay of 7 days per year for 5 years.
On top of the stay requirements, Greece and Italy will require to apply for citizenship, passing on a B1 language test (medium/high level) and Portugal a A2 language test (beginners). Malta and Cyprus have no language requirements.
Regarding the family members no big differences between countries. All include the applicant´s spouse or de facto partner (the latter just in the case of Portugal and Malta programs), children and parents of the applicant and the spouse. Malta even includes the grandparents!
As you can see from the above, many different factors have to be considered. In our opinion, Portugal, in terms of quality of life and path to citizenship, together with Malta on this last one, has a clear advantage, but Greece, Malta and Cyprus might have an edge in terms of investment if your focus in on the real estate.
| Program | Minimum Investment | Qualifying Types of Investment | Stay / Residency Requirement | Path to Citizenship / PR | Family Inclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Portugal Golden Visa |
€250,000 donations and €500,000 investment funds | Investment funds; scientific research; company investment; cultural donation. | Very light: 14 days per 2 years (~7 days/year). | Citizenship after 5 years; permanent residency possible after 5 years. | Yes — spouse, dependent children, parents. |
|
Italy Golden Visa |
Four routes: €250,000 in innovative startup; €500,000 in Italian company shares; €1,000,000 philanthropic donation; €2,000,000 government bonds. | Equity (startups, companies); public-interest philanthropic donation; government bonds. | No strict residence requirement to maintain permit. | Permanent residence after 5 years (cannot be absent for >10 months); citizenship after 10 years of residence. | Yes — spouse, dependent children, parents. |
|
Greece Golden Visa |
€250,000 (general areas); €800,000 (Athens, Thessaloniki and main cities). | Real estate (residential or commercial) and other approved assets. | Very minimal: no residency required, as long as the investment is maintained. | Citizenship after 7 years of actual residence plus Greek language exam. | Yes — spouse, children, parents. |
|
Malta Permanent Residency (MPRP) |
Several routes: property purchase €375,000; property rental €14,000/year for 5 years; net worth €500,000 (including €150,000 in financial assets); government contribution €37,000 plus NGO donation €2,000. | Property (purchase or rental); financial assets; government contribution; NGO donation. | No minimum stay required. | Path to citizenship is not automatic; naturalization possible but not guaranteed. | Yes — spouse, children, parents / grandparents (depending on dependency). |
|
Cyprus Permanent Residency |
€300,000+ in real estate (new property), local business shares, or investment funds. | Real estate (new); business investment; regulated investment funds. | Very light: typically one visit every two years. | Citizenship by investment is closed; naturalization possible after 5–8 years. | Yes — spouse, dependent children, dependent parents. |
A final note in terms of nationalities of the applicants. Italy and Portugal currently dominated by U.S. investors, Malta by Chinese, Cyprus also by Chinese but also by Russians and countries from Middle East and Greece by Chinese, Turkish and Lebanese
