EU golden visas in autumn 2026: Greece gets dearer, Portugal queues, Cyprus grows

In short

• Greece: the purchase tax on homes for non-EU buyers will rise from 3.09% to 15.45% from 1 July 2027. There is no law yet, but the government has named the rate and the date.
• Portugal: of 46,000 golden visa applications about 6,000 have been processed and another 30,000 people are booked for biometrics. The average wait on completed cases is 50.4 months.
• Cyprus: 1,681 sale contracts were signed in September 2026, a record for the month. Foreigners signed 41.9% of contracts and house prices rose 8.5% over the year.
• Hungary: a 10-year permit with no stay requirement looks ideal, but EU sanctions ban selling the fund units the programme rests on to Russian citizens.
• For a Russian in 2026 the workable options are Cyprus and Greece via a second citizenship. Portuguese and Hungarian funds are closed by the same sanctions ban.

Why the old formula broke

The "buy and get" formula rested on three assumptions. The entry price is known in advance. The state grants status quickly. And the programme is open to anyone with money. Autumn 2026 broke all three at once, in different ways in different countries.

In Greece the price moved: in nine months a tax will be added that turns a EUR 400,000 flat into a EUR 449,000 flat. In Portugal the timeline moved: the money is invested and there has been no decision for four years. In Hungary access itself moved: the programme exists, but a Russian citizen cannot enter it. Cyprus still holds all three assumptions, and that is where most buyers are going now.

I do not think golden visas are over. I think the era when they could be chosen from a brochure is over. Now they are chosen by calendar, by bank and by passport.

What this means for you. Countries can no longer be compared on entry price alone. You need the full price, the time to status and whether money from your passport will be accepted.

Greece: getting dearer on schedule

In September 2026 the Greek prime minister announced that the transfer tax on home purchases by individuals from outside the EU and EEA would rise from 3% to 15%. With the municipal levy that is 3.09% now and 15.45% after the change. The finance ministry named the date: 1 July 2027. The tax applies only to homes; commercial property and land are not covered. EU citizens and foreigners with long-term Greek residence are exempt.

Take the three golden visa thresholds. A EUR 250,000 property: EUR 7,725 in tax now, EUR 38,625 after July 2027. A EUR 400,000 property: EUR 12,360 versus EUR 61,800. A EUR 800,000 property in Athens or Mykonos: EUR 24,720 versus EUR 123,600. Nearly EUR 100,000 of difference for signing in the wrong month.

An important detail that is often missed. The rate is fixed by a notarial sale contract signed before 1 July 2027. A deposit, a reservation or a preliminary agreement do not fix it. There is no bill yet, transitional rules have not been published, and Greece holds elections in spring 2027. So I would not plan a deal for June: a margin of a few months is worth money here.

Russian citizens face a second restriction. Filing for a Greek golden visa on a Russian passport is currently suspended. There is no legal ban, but in practice the application is filed as a citizen of a second country, for example Vanuatu. I explained how this works in the article on a Vanuatu passport and Greek residence.

What this means for you. If Greece is in your plans, the deal must be closed at the notary before spring 2027. Every month after that adds the risk of overpaying 12% of the property price.

Latest figures on the tax and zones: the 15% tax for non-EU buyers, Greek golden visa zones and thresholds. The full amount for your family is shown by the Greek golden visa cost calculator.

Portugal: standing in a queue

On 7 October 2026 Portugal's Minister of the Presidency appeared before parliament's constitutional affairs committee. His figures: the migration agency has 46,000 golden visa applications in its queue, about 6,000 have been processed and around 30,000 people are booked for biometrics. A biometrics booking is not a decision; it is a line in a calendar. A year ago the same minister promised to clear the queue during 2026. Less than three months of the year remain.

According to surveys, the average wait on cases completed in the second quarter was 50.4 months. In the first quarter it was 43.9 months. The wait is not shrinking but growing.

The worst part is not the wait but how it counts towards citizenship. Since 19 May 2026 Portugal has a new law: nationals of countries outside the EU and the Portuguese-speaking community need 10 years of legal residence, and the clock starts with the issue of the first residence card. Four years in the queue do not count towards those 10. Someone who applied in 2022 may only start the clock in 2026-2027 and become eligible for a passport closer to 2037.

A detailed analysis of the queue and of what to do if you have already applied was prepared by Andres Ferreira, head of our investment advisory department: "Portugal's golden visa: 6,000 decisions out of 46,000".

A Russian citizen faces one more restriction. The main option of the Portuguese programme today is investment fund units from EUR 500,000, and EU sanctions prohibit selling fund units to Russian citizens, just as in Hungary. What remains are donations to research and cultural heritage from EUR 250,000, with no return of the money.

What this means for you. Portugal remains a programme for those in no hurry who are ready to keep capital without status for several years. For a Russian citizen it is almost closed: funds are banned, leaving donations and years of queueing.

More on funds and Russian applicants: Portugal golden visa funds, Portugal golden visa for Russians.

Cyprus: growing and still open

Cyprus is doing what the other three have stopped doing: selling and issuing. In September 2026, 1,681 sale contracts were filed with the Department of Lands and Surveys, 13% more than a year earlier and more than in any September on record. Over nine months there were 14,969 contracts, already 83% of the whole of 2025. Foreigners signed 705 of the 1,681 contracts, or 41.9%, and buyers from outside the EU rose 26% year on year.

Prices follow demand. According to the Central Bank of Cyprus index, home prices rose 8.5% year on year in the second quarter of 2026. Famagusta, Larnaca and Paphos grew fastest, at about 10%. For permanent residence this means one simple thing: a EUR 300,000 plus VAT property will cost about EUR 325,000 a year from now.

There is a warning sign too. On 24 September 2026 the Deputy Minister of Migration told parliament that about 12,000 permits issued to investors since 2013 are being reviewed for compliance, and decisions on tightening the programme are expected. No new rules have been published yet. Separately, Cyprus is preparing for Schengen: the Commission has confirmed technical readiness, but the decision is taken unanimously by all states, and some have voiced reservations. Nicosia's target is 2027.

What is happening in the Cyprus market, who is buying, in which cities and how it affects permanent residence I covered separately in "Cyprus is selling homes at a record pace". It also includes a real deal of our client: permanent residence through an office yielding 5.5% a year.

What this means for you. Cyprus is now the most workable door into the EU for a Russian citizen. But record sales and a review of issued permits usually end in new conditions, and it is better to enter before them.

How we handle the deal from choosing a property to the card is shown on the page Cyprus permanent residence, turnkey, and the exact amount for your family is shown by the Cyprus permanent residence cost calculator. Related: Cyprus permanent residence for Russians, the review of 12,000 permits before Schengen.

Hungary: a fine shop window, a locked door

Hungary's guest investor programme looks the best in Europe. A 10-year permit renewable for another 10, no requirement to live in the country, unrestricted work, entry from EUR 250,000 in real estate fund units. No wonder it is the one shown most often in reviews.

The problem is that fund units are securities. And the EU sanctions regulation prohibits selling such units to Russian citizens and people living in Russia. There is one exception: the person already holds citizenship or a residence permit of an EU or EEA state or Switzerland. A second passport from a third country does not help: the Commission explicitly states that the ban applies to dual nationals holding a Russian passport. The Hungarian migration authority is also required to assess every application for compliance with sanctions.

A few days ago a man called me who had been sold this visa. A EUR 20,000 commission was taken, and when it became clear the case would not move, they refused to return it. He got the money back himself, through persistence. I covered this story and the mechanics of the ban in "Hungary's golden visa for Russians".

What this means for you. Hungary is good for everyone except Russian and Belarusian citizens. If it is offered to you on a Russian passport, ask the seller how they plan to get around the EU regulation.

Malta and Italy: officially closed

Reviews of golden visas usually include two more countries, and they deserve plain words. Malta grants permanent resident status for buying a home from EUR 375,000 or renting from EUR 14,000 a year, plus contributions to the state. Italy issues an investor visa for EUR 250,000 in an innovative start-up, EUR 500,000 in an Italian company, EUR 1 million in philanthropy or EUR 2 million in government bonds.

For Russian citizens both doors are closed, and unlike Hungary they are closed in plain text. Malta's residency agency has not accepted applications from Russian and Belarusian citizens since March 2022, citing the impossibility of full checks. Italy suspended its investor visa for Russians and Belarusians on 14 July 2023, and since March 2024 also for nationals of other countries who hold a second, Russian or Belarusian, passport. The notice is posted directly on the programme's government portal.

This is an important detail for understanding the market. Where the ban is written on a government website, nobody sells the programme to Russians. Where the ban follows from a sanctions regulation, as in Hungary, sellers appear. The difference is not in the law but in how easily a client can check what is being promised.

What this means for you. Malta, Italy and Hungary are closed to Russian citizens. Dual citizenship with a third-country passport does not open these doors.

My ranking for autumn 2026

Here it all is in one table. This is not a ranking of programmes in general but a ranking for a specific person: a Russian citizen who needs a European residence permit within a year or two.

I added Spain because people keep asking. Spain's golden visa was abolished from 3 April 2025; permits already issued remain valid until expiry and no new applications are accepted. Other grounds remain for living in Spain: financial independence and the remote work visa.

Countries side by side: Cyprus or Greece, Portugal or Greece.

Where waiting costs money

Clients often say: let us wait until things are clearer. In 2026 waiting stopped being free, but in each country it has its own price.

Greece punishes waiting hardest and with an exact date. Cyprus punishes gradually, through rising prices. Portugal punishes with time that does not count. Hungary is the only one where waiting costs nothing, but only because the door is closed anyway.

What this means for you. If the decision is ripe, postponing it by six months in 2026 is almost always more expensive than taking it now.

When you do not need a golden visa at all

Now let me talk you out of it. A golden visa is an expensive tool, and many people do not need it.

• You need Europe only for travel. A second passport with visa-free Schengen and a residence permit bought for tourism are different budgets. If you travel on holiday, count visas, not property.
• You have a steady income rather than capital. Greece grants residence to financially independent persons, Spain for financial independence and remote work. That is cheaper than EUR 300,000-800,000 in a property.
• You are not ready to keep money in one country for 5 years or more. A golden visa requires keeping the investment. If you need the capital in two years, the programme becomes a trap.
• You have no clean source of funds. An EU bank will ask questions before the migration authority does. Without documents on the origin of money no programme will work.

Today the rules are changed not only by migration law but by the tax code, the sanctions regulation and bank compliance. So before choosing a country we check three things: whether the bank will accept the money, whether the deal will close before the new rates, and what happens to the status granted if the programme is tightened.

Anna KovalevskayaHead of Legal, BRIDGES

Common mistakes

1. Choosing by the lowest threshold. EUR 250,000 in Greece means converting a commercial property, not any flat. A threshold without conditions is not a price.
2. Paying a deposit and assuming the tax is fixed. In Greece only a notarial contract before 1 July 2027 fixes the rate.
3. Buying a Hungarian visa on a Russian passport. EU sanctions close the programme's main option and a second passport does not help.
4. Counting on a Portuguese passport in 5 years. It is now 10 years, counted from the card issue date, not the filing date.
5. Treating Schengen in Cyprus as a guarantee. The decision is unanimous and no date is set. It is too early to buy for future Schengen.

What to do now

My conclusion

Autumn 2026 separated the golden visas that work from those that merely look good. For a Russian citizen Cyprus and Greece via a second citizenship work. Portugal works for the patient, and not through funds. Hungary does not work at all. The main point is simple: in 2026 the winner is not the one who found the cheapest programme but the one who calculated the full price and acted before the next rule change.

Sources

Greece: government and finance ministry statements on the transfer tax, September 2026. Portugal: the Minister of the Presidency before parliament's constitutional affairs committee on 7 October 2026, Organic Law 1/2026 on nationality. Cyprus: Department of Lands and Surveys data for September 2026, the Central Bank of Cyprus residential property price index for Q2 2026, statements by the Deputy Minister of Migration. Hungary: guest investor programme rules, EU Regulation 833/2014 and Commission guidance. Spain: Organic Law 1/2025. Author: Sergey Evdokimov, Managing Partner of BRIDGES. Facts checked on 14 October 2026.

Related: Greek golden visa, Cyprus permanent residence, Portuguese golden visa, Hungary, Greece or Portugal.