Cheapest and fastest EU residency by investment (2026)

If you want a foothold in the EU and you’re comparing on price and speed, in 2026 the real contest is between Greece and Portugal — Spain left the field. Here’s the honest, current picture.

The cheapest headline: €250,000 (with conditions)

Two routes share the lowest entry point, and both have strings attached:

• Greece — €250,000: only for converting a commercial building into residential, or restoring a listed/heritage building. Standard homes cost more (below).
• Portugal — €250,000 cultural-heritage donation (€200,000 in low-density areas). It’s a donation, not an asset you keep — but it’s the lowest way in.

If you want an ordinary apartment you can hold and resell, Greece’s real entry price is €400,000 (most of the country, single property ≥120 m²), rising to €800,000 in Attica/Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and larger islands.

Portugal: funds, not property

Since October 2023, Portugal’s Golden Visa no longer accepts real estate. The mainstream route is now a €500,000 investment fund (regulated venture-capital/private-equity, non-real-estate), or the €250k donation above. Its headline perk is a very low stay requirement — about 7 days a year — but the trade-off is a heavy AIMA backlog, so the first card often takes 12–24 months.

Greece: still property-friendly, and faster

Greece kept real estate (repriced in 2024) and, in 2026, processes a clean file in roughly 4–9 months with no minimum stay. That combination — real assets plus speed — is why it’s the busiest programme right now. Non-real-estate options exist too (a €500,000 bank deposit, bonds or shares; €350,000 in a Greece-focused fund).

What quietly disappeared

Two things trip people up because older articles still list them:

• Spain’s golden visa was abolished on 3 April 2025. Don’t plan around it.
• Portugal’s €500k real-estate and €1.5M capital-transfer routes are gone (removed in 2023).

Quick comparison

	Cheapest route	Speed (2026)	Min. stay
Greece	€250k (conversion/restoration) / €400k standard	~4–9 months	None
Portugal	€250k donation / €500k fund	~12–24 months	~7 days/year
Spain	— (programme ended Apr 2025)	—	—

See your route in more detail on our Greece golden visa page and Portugal golden visa page, or compare all destinations on the golden visa hub.

Before you commit

These are six-figure decisions on a YMYL topic, so two honest cautions: source-of-funds due diligence is the most common reason applications fail, and the rules here change often (Greece repriced in 2024, Portugal reformed in 2023 and 2026, Spain ended in 2025). Always confirm the current thresholds on the official government portal and take professional legal advice before transferring money.

---

Educational summary, current as of July 2026. Not legal or financial advice; figures and rules change — verify with the official government source. GetVisaOdds is independent and not affiliated with any government.