Spain Golden Visa Closed: Your 2026 Alternatives
Spain terminated its golden visa in April 2025 — the programme is gone, and no property purchase in Madrid or Barcelona carries a residence permit anymore. If you were partway through a Spanish plan, the question is no longer whether to redirect but where: as of 2026, only a handful of EU programmes still exchange investment for residence, and they differ far more than Spain's alternatives ever did.
Here is the realistic field, in one paragraph each.
Where Spain's Investors Are Going
Portugal — funds only, from EUR 500,000. The property route closed in 2023; what remains suits investors who want managed fund exposure rather than an apartment with their name on the title.
Greece — property survives, repriced: EUR 800,000 in Athens, Thessaloniki and the prime islands, EUR 400,000 elsewhere. The advertised EUR 250,000 tier covers only conversions and heritage restorations, with a short-term rental ban.
Malta — roughly EUR 300,000–375,000 in property plus around EUR 100,000 in non-returnable government contributions.
Hungary — EUR 250,000 through a real-estate fund. You never own an actual property.
Latvia — the like-for-like replacement: a single completed property from EUR 250,000 with full title in the public Land Book (central Riga included), or EUR 100,000 into a Latvian company's share capital — one of the EU's lowest entry points. Up to five years of residence for the family, one short visit a year, no relocation, no language exam.
For the Spanish-programme profile — a direct property purchase at an accessible price in a capital city — Latvia is the only remaining like-for-like offer. Everything else asks you to change either the asset type or the budget. Our full map of golden visa Europe in 2026 runs the comparison in detail.
Before You Redirect: Three Checks
Total cost, not threshold. Latvia adds a one-off 5% state fee on the property price (or EUR 10,000 flat on the company route), a 1.5% Land Register fee, and modest per-person processing and insurance fees — around EUR 17,500 all-in for a family of four at the EUR 250,000 level. Cheaper than it sounds; check any alternative's equivalent figure before comparing.
Citizenship. Latvia's investment route is closed to Russian and Belarusian citizens under current law — their open Latvian route is the EU Blue Card through employment.
Legislative status. Programmes are moving everywhere — Spain's closure proved how fast. Latvia's existing Immigration Law, real-estate route included, remains fully in force as of July 2026; a new law was adopted but returned by the President for a second review and has not taken effect. Wherever you redirect, ask about pending changes first — and decide on a timeline measured in months, not years.
Had a Spanish Budget Ready?
A Spain-sized budget maps comfortably onto the Latvian programme with room to spare. We'll show you exactly what it delivers — costs, timeline, and the honest caveats — before you commit to anything.
Contact CORVUS for an assessment of your situation →
General information, not legal advice. Latvian figures current as of July 2026; verify other programmes with local counsel.
Author: Valērija Barišņikova — sworn attorney (Latvia), CORVUS Attorneys-at-Law (ZAB Corvus Vanags Legal SIA). Reviewed by Andrejs Voroncovs — sworn attorney (Latvia), founder of CORVUS Attorneys-at-Law. Mag. iur. with distinction, University of Latvia; member of the Latvian Bar Association and of its commission for tax and financial matters. Profile → The firm has handled migration cases since 2004 — hundreds of cases for clients from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the USA and Canada. Member of the Russell Bedford international network.