The term
What is a golden visa, and what each state actually calls it
A residence permit granted because you placed a defined amount of money in the country — not because you have a job offer there, family there, or protection needs. That is the whole of the idea. It is not a passport, it is not a travel visa, and it is not one programme: four of the five jurisdictions compared here grant a different instrument under a different law, and none of those laws uses the words golden visa.
Golden passport, golden residency and visa by investment are the same nickname wearing different clothes, and none of them is a status anyone can hold. What a holder actually holds is one of the four below. Cyprus has no row because its regulation could not be established from any primary source, and a name we have not read is a name we do not print.
The four real instruments
| Jurisdiction | What the law calls it | How long it runs | See the working → |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | ARI — autorização de residência para investimento | Two years, then three | See the working → |
| Greece | Residence permit for investment activity | Five years, renewable | See the working → |
| Malta | Permanent residence certificate | Permanent from the outset | See the working → |
| UAE | Ten-year golden residence | Ten years | See the working → |
Citizenship by investment in Europe: what no longer exists
A golden visa grants residence, not a passport. The distinction is not terminological: none of our five jurisdictions sells citizenship. Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and the UAE grant a residence permit, after which citizenship comes by naturalisation — on the ordinary periods and with the ordinary examination.
Malta was the last EU member state where citizenship by investment existed. It is not suspended but repealed: after the Court of Justice's judgment in case C-181/23, Act XXI of 2025 and L.N. 159 of 2025 removed the relevant part of the regulations entirely. Pages still quoting contribution amounts in 2026 are selling something that has been deleted.
What each one costs and how long it takes
The thresholds, the wait to a first permit and the tax regime, side by side. Every figure links to the act it came from.
| Jurisdiction | How long it runs | What the law calls it | Read the jurisdiction → |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | €500,000 | 60 days by law, a year or more in practice | Read the jurisdiction → |
| Greece | €400,000 | Lawful residence on filing, card in months | Read the jurisdiction → |
| Malta | €375,000 | Not published; 6–12 months in practice | Read the jurisdiction → |
| UAE | AED 2,000,000 | 7–10 working days published, 2–4 weeks end to end | Read the jurisdiction → |