Which EU Countries Still Offer a Path to Citizenship Through Business Investment?

If you have been researching EU citizenship through investment, you will have noticed that the landscape looks very different in 2026 than it did just three years ago. Programs that were once considered reliable pathways have been closed, curtailed, or quietly made harder. The European Commission has been pushing member states to end what it calls the "commercialisation of EU citizenship", and it has largely succeeded. But not entirely.

A small number of EU countries still offer a legitimate route from investment to citizenship. The routes are longer, more expensive, and more scrutinised than before. They also require genuine commitment, not just a wire transfer. Understanding what actually remains, and what has changed, is essential before investing a single euro.

This guide covers every active EU option in 2026: what closed, what survived, what changed, and which route might suit your circumstances.

What Has Changed and Why?

The past three years have reshaped the entire EU investment immigration landscape. Three major closures stand out.

Spain closed its Golden Visa to new real estate applications in April 2025, ending a twelve-year programme that had attracted billions in foreign investment. The government cited housing affordability concerns, the same political pressure that has driven similar closures elsewhere.

Ireland shut its investor programme in February 2023, citing low utilisation and political opposition.

Malta, which had operated one of Europe's last true citizenship-by-investment programmes, was ordered to close it by the European Court of Justice. On April 29, 2025, the ECJ ruled that Malta's Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment programme did not comply with EU law, as it allowed citizenship to be granted mainly based on financial investment without requiring a genuine connection to the country. On July 24th, 2025, Malta officially abolished its citizenship for exceptional services by direct investment with the introduction of Act XXI of 2025.

The ECJ ruling established a principle that now governs the entire sector: the acquisition of Union citizenship cannot result from a commercial transaction. This means any EU country that tries to grant citizenship purely in exchange for money, without requiring genuine residence, integration, and connection to the country, risks the same legal challenge Malta faced.

The programmes that survive in 2026 all share one feature: they offer residency first, and citizenship only after years of genuine presence. The days of buying an EU passport without ever living in Europe are over.

The EU Countries That Still Offer a Route

Portugal: Residency by Investment, Citizenship After 10 Years

Portugal's Golden Visa remains the most well-known and widely used investment residency programme in the EU. The programme grants a five-year residency permit in exchange for secure investment options such as regulated investment funds, cultural donations, research funding, and job creation. Real estate purchases no longer qualify following their removal from the programme in October 2023.

The path to citizenship, however, has become significantly longer. Following parliamentary approval in April 2026 and the President's signature in May 2026, the minimum residency period for naturalisation increases from five years to ten years for most applicants, and to seven years for EU and CPLP nationals.

What makes Portugal still attractive despite this change is its exceptionally low physical presence requirement. All other EU nations require citizenship applicants to reside for a minimum of 183 days per year. Portugal's minimum stay requirement is far more flexible than that of other nations. Golden Visa holders need only spend an average of seven days per year in Portugal to maintain their residence status, meaning they can continue to live and work elsewhere while keeping the clock ticking toward citizenship.

Investment options from 2026:

• Minimum €500,000 in qualifying investment funds
• €250,000 in cultural heritage contributions or research activities
• Job creation (minimum ten permanent jobs)

The honest picture: Portugal remains a strong long-term option for investors who value flexibility and do not need a European passport quickly. The ten-year timeline is a significant commitment, but the ability to spend minimal time in Portugal while qualifying makes it uniquely practical for busy entrepreneurs and business owners. Processing delays through AIMA, Portugal's immigration agency, are also a real operational risk; more than 20,000 golden visa applicants still await appointments, with processing times hitting a record 39.6 months.

Greece: Residency by Investment, Citizenship After 7 Years

Greece's Golden Visa has survived the wave of closures that ended similar programmes elsewhere, and in 2026, it remains one of Europe's most active residency-by-investment options. It also offers one of the cleaner paths to EU citizenship among the remaining programmes, provided you are willing to commit to genuine residence.

Greece's Golden Visa now has tiered investment requirements:

•  €250,000 for properties involving the conversion of commercial real estate into residential units or the restoration of listed buildings, €400,000 in lower-demand regions, and €800,000 in high-demand zones, including Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and large islands. Investment fund subscriptions of €350,000 and bank deposits of €500,000 are also qualifying routes.

On the citizenship timeline, Greek Golden Visa holders can apply for citizenship after 7 consecutive years of legal residency with a minimum of 183 days annually in Greece. Requirements include Greek language proficiency at the B1 level and passing integration examinations covering Greek history, culture, and politics.

That 183-day annual requirement is the key constraint. Unlike Portugal, Greece demands a genuine presence; you cannot live in Dubai and clock up a week in Athens every summer. If you want Greek citizenship, you must actually live there. For investors who are willing to do so, Greece is an appealing option: the seven-year timeline is shorter than Portugal's, the investment thresholds are reasonable by EU standards, the climate and quality of life are significant draws, and Greece allows dual citizenship.

Greece suits investors who genuinely want to relocate to Europe and are prepared to build a life there. It is less suitable for those seeking a purely financial, low-presence route to an EU passport.

Hungary: Guest Investor Residency, Citizenship After 8 Years

Hungary's Guest Investor Programme launched in July 2024 and quickly became one of the fastest-growing options in the EU residency-by-investment market. Two investment routes are available: €250,000 in a government-accredited real estate fund, or a €1 million donation to a higher education institution.

The initial residence permit is valid for ten years, longer than most EU programmes, and there is no minimum stay requirement to maintain it. This makes Hungary competitive in terms of flexibility for the residency phase.

Citizenship, however, requires a more substantial commitment. Hungary allows permanent residency after 3 years and citizenship after a total of 8 years, but the citizenship strategy generally requires genuine relocation, with residence continuity limited to around 45 days outside Hungary per year during the naturalisation period.

Hungary is a non-Schengen EU country as of 2026; it has not yet joined the Schengen Area. This means that Hungarian residency does not provide the same freedom of movement within the Schengen zone that Portuguese or Greek residency does. For investors focused primarily on Schengen access, this is a meaningful distinction.

Hungary offers the most affordable entry point among major EU investor programmes and a genuine path to citizenship. The non-Schengen status reduces its appeal for travel-focused investors, and the naturalisation requirements are strict in practice. Best suited to investors who can genuinely commit to building a presence in Hungary.

Latvia: The Most Affordable Entry Point

Latvia is frequently overlooked but offers the lowest investment threshold for EU residency of any remaining programme. Latvia's programme starts at €50,000 for business investment, making it uniquely accessible for entrepreneurs who cannot meet the €250,000+ thresholds of other programmes.

Citizenship through naturalisation requires five years of continuous residence, Latvian language proficiency, and a knowledge test on Latvian history and the constitution. Latvia is a Schengen member and an EU member, which means residency provides full freedom of movement.

Latvia's programme is underwritten by most immigration advisers because the thresholds are less profitable for them to recommend. For entrepreneurs who want an affordable route into EU residency with a genuine path to citizenship, it deserves serious consideration, particularly for those building a business with EU market access in mind.

Bulgaria: Immediate Permanent Residency

Bulgaria holds a distinctive position: it is the only EU programme granting immediate permanent residency, available for an investment of approximately €512,000 in Bulgarian government bonds or investment fund securities.

Citizenship is available after five years of continuous legal residence. Bulgaria joined the Schengen Area in January 2025, significantly increasing its appeal for investors who want visa-free travel across Europe.

Bulgaria's immediate PR status removes a step in the journey compared to other programmes. The citizenship timeline of five years, combined with new Schengen membership, makes this one of the more straightforward remaining EU routes, though the investment requirement is higher than in Hungary or Latvia.

What Closed: The Full Picture

Understanding what is no longer available helps avoid the outdated information that still circulates widely online.

The ECJ Ruling and What It Means Going Forward

The April 2025 ECJ ruling on Malta was not just about Malta. It set a legal boundary for how EU member states can use citizenship as a tool for attracting investment. The court found that the programme breached Article 4(3) of the Treaty on European Union, which requires mutual trust and sincere cooperation between EU member states, and that granting EU citizenship purely in exchange for financial investment, without requiring a real connection to the country, undermines the nature of EU citizenship and the integrity of the union.

The practical consequence is that any EU country considering a purely transactional citizenship-by-investment model now has clear legal risk. The programmes that survived, Portugal, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, and Bulgaria, all involve residency first, genuine presence requirements for naturalisation, language and integration tests, and years of real engagement with the country. That distinction matters for anyone evaluating these routes: what remains is a residency-by-investment market, not a citizenship-by-investment market.

Comparing the Active EU Routes: Quick Reference

The Route Most Entrepreneurs Actually Choose

For entrepreneurs specifically, as opposed to passive investors, the most relevant programmes are those that allow you to build a genuine business base in a country while working toward citizenship.

Portugal and Greece both have dedicated startup and entrepreneur visa categories that operate alongside the investment residency route. For a founder who wants to register a European company, build a team, and eventually gain EU citizenship, combining a startup visa with a residency pathway is often more practical than a pure investment route.

Ireland, while its investor programme is closed, still offers an entrepreneur and startup visa that provides residency and a path to citizenship through naturalisation after five years. The same applies to the Netherlands, Germany, and Estonia, none of which have investment residency programmes but all of which offer entrepreneur and founder visas leading to long-term residency and eventual citizenship.

For anyone whose primary goal is an EU base for business rather than a passport, those routes, explored in detail in our guides to each country, may be more relevant than the investment programmes covered here.

The EU citizenship by investment landscape in 2026 is significantly narrower than it was five years ago, and it is likely to narrow further. The ECJ ruling against Malta has given the European Commission a legal framework it will use again. Programmes that appear flexible at the residence stage often become strict at the citizenship stage.

What remains are genuine integration pathways that happen to require investment as a qualifying condition. For the right investor, someone who wants to build a real European life, is prepared to commit years to the process, and can meet the financial thresholds, these routes are valuable and well-established.

But anyone expecting to wire money and receive a passport should have updated their expectations by now. The EU has made clear where it stands on that question.