For years, $500,000 was a kind of magic number for Americans seeking a European golden visa. It was enough to put residency in countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Italy within reach while providing a potential foothold in Europe without requiring a full-time move.
That traditional market has now completely changed.
Across Europe, governments have been raising investment thresholds and eliminating real estate as an option in their programs. The aim is to decouple residency from residential property to protect local housing markets. Instead, they are redirecting foreign capital toward funds, businesses, and alternative development sectors.
The result is a smaller and more complicated market for Americans seeking residency by investment at or below the $500,000 threshold.
Greece’s Overhauled Property Rules
Greece is perhaps the clearest example of this shift. The country’s golden visa remains one of Europe’s best-known property-based residency programs, but the price has changed substantially. In Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with populations above 3,100 people, the minimum real estate investment is now €800,000. In other parts of Greece, the threshold is €400,000. The €250,000 option survives only for specific investments, including the conversion of qualifying commercial or industrial properties into residences and certain historic buildings. Residential purchases under the standard routes must generally be at least 1,290 square feet, and short-term rentals are prohibited.
That means the once-common $250,000-to-$500,000 Greek property strategy has effectively become a two-tier market: substantially more expensive in the country’s most sought-after locations, with a narrower set of qualifying opportunities at the lower end.
Portugal’s “Out of Real Estate” Shift
Portugal has taken a different route. The country still operates a residency-by-investment program, but real estate is no longer a qualifying investment. Investors, instead, must choose among routes including qualifying investment funds and other permitted investments. The change is significant because Portuguese property was one of the defining products of Europe’s golden-visa boom.
Italy offers another illustration of how the sub-$500,000 market is changing. Its investor visa does not offer a traditional property-purchase route. Instead, investors can qualify through €2 million in Italian government bonds, €500,000 in Italian companies, €250,000 in an innovative Italian startup, or €1 million in a philanthropic initiative.
The €250,000 startup option technically puts Italy below the $500,000 threshold, but it comes with an important caveat: this is an investment in an operating company rather than a home. For investors whose original objective was to purchase a European property and obtain residency alongside it, Italy is not a substitute for the old-style golden visa.
Hungary’s Guest Investor Program
Hungary, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the more notable alternatives for investors seeking a lower entry point. Its Guest Investor Residence Permit allows a qualifying investment of €250,000 in an investment fund registered with the Hungarian National Bank. A separate route requires a €1 million donation to an eligible higher-education institution.
The country’s program illustrates the direction the market is moving: the lower-cost option remains, but investors are increasingly being asked to invest in financial or productive assets rather than simply purchasing a home.
Cyprus’s Sub-$500k Threshold
Cyprus is another country where a sub-$500,000 route remains available. Its investor immigration program requires at least €300,000 in qualifying investment, including certain new residential property purchases, other real estate, qualifying companies, or investment funds. Applicants must also demonstrate a secure annual income of at least €50,000, with additional income requirements for spouses and dependent children.
This European country, therefore, remains one of the more affordable options. But it comes with a different proposition from Greece: investors must consider the country’s residency requirements, income tests, and investment-maintenance rules rather than simply comparing headline purchase prices.Changing It Up
The broader trend is unmistakable. Europe is not eliminating residency by investment altogether; it is changing what governments want investors to invest in.
The old model was relatively straightforward: buy a qualifying apartment, obtain residency, and maintain the investment. Governments increasingly view that model as contributing to housing affordability problems and speculative real estate demand. The replacement is a system designed to direct foreign capital toward funds, companies, startups, employment, and other forms of economic activity.
For investors, that creates a paradox. The headline minimum investment may still be €250,000 or €300,000 in some countries, but the investment itself is becoming less tangible, less lifestyle-oriented, and potentially more complicated.
And some of Europe’s most famous programs have disappeared altogether. Spain closed its golden visa program to new applicants in April 2025, eliminating one of the continent’s most popular property-based routes.
The result is that the $500,000 European golden visa is not completely dead, but it is becoming an increasingly narrow category.
An investor with $500,000 today still has options. Hungary offers a €250,000 fund route. Cyprus starts at €300,000. Greece has a €400,000 property route outside its highest-demand markets, while Italy has a €250,000 startup route.
But compare that menu with the European golden-visa landscape of a decade ago, when buying a €250,000 or €500,000 property could open the door to residency in multiple countries.
The change represents more than higher prices. It signals a fundamental shift in the philosophy behind golden visas.
Europe still wants foreign capital. Now, it simply wants investors to do more with it than buy a house.
