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From €250,000 to €800,000 in Athens, Spain shut, Portugal dropped property. Fourteen years of investment-migration thresholds, chart by chart.
Across the fourteen years from 2012 to 2026, investment-migration programmes have moved in one direction: dearer, narrower, or gone. Greece lifted its Athens property threshold from €250,000 to €800,000. Portugal dropped its property route in 2023, Spain closed its programme in April 2025, and Cyprus, the UK, Ireland and Malta shut their investor citizenship or investor visa schemes. The lesson for Vietnamese investors is plain: a window that's open today may not be open tomorrow.
Source: Law 5100/2024 (Greece); Regulation amending the Turkish Citizenship Law (Official Gazette, 13 May 2022); Greek government data via Uglobal (Aug 2026); compiled by NAC
When a Vietnamese family starts looking at investment migration, what it usually sees is a number: €250,000, €500,000 or US$400,000. Few people notice that the number has a shelf life. The same programme can double, triple or close outright with a single announcement.
This piece lines up the turning points, from the start of Europe's golden visa wave in 2012 to today. Every threshold has been checked against the legal text or a reputable source. These are the minimums for the most common route, before taxes, fees and attached conditions.
Greece: From €250,000 to €800,000 in Two Years
Greece launched its programme in 2013 under Law 4146/2013, with a €250,000 property threshold nationwide. It held for a decade, which is exactly why Greece became Europe's most popular programme. Then things moved fast.
View data table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 250 |
| 2014 | 250 |
| 2015 | 250 |
| 2016 | 250 |
| 2017 | 250 |
| 2018 | 250 |
| 2019 | 250 |
| 2020 | 250 |
| 2021 | 250 |
| 2022 | 250 |
| 2023 | 500 |
| 2024 | 800 |
| 2025 | 800 |
| 2026 | 800 |
Source: Law 4146/2013; threshold rise from 1 Aug 2023 (AMNA); Law 5100/2024, in force from 1 Sep 2024
The first jump came in August 2023. The threshold rose to €500,000 in central Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini, with €250,000 elsewhere. Just a year later Law 5100/2024 pushed it to €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands of more than 3,100 people, and €400,000 everywhere else, from 1 September 2024.
The conditions tightened too. The investment must be a single property of at least 120 m², and it can't be let short-term, on pain of a €50,000 fine and possible revocation. €250,000 survives only for two narrow cases: converting commercial buildings to homes and restoring listed buildings.
The market reacted at once. Greek government data shows new applications fell from 4,553 in the first half of 2025 to 2,551 in the first half of 2026, a 44% drop. As of 31 July 2026, Greece had 34,278 active investor residence permits.
Turkey: Thresholds Don't Only Go Up
Turkey shows thresholds can move both ways. At launch on 12 January 2017, its citizenship-by-property route was set at US$1 million. On 19 September 2018 it cut that to US$250,000 to attract foreign capital. On 13 June 2022 the threshold rose again, to US$400,000.
Turkey's 2018 cut was the exception, not the rule.
View data table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 1,000 |
| 2018 | 250 |
| 2019 | 250 |
| 2020 | 250 |
| 2021 | 250 |
| 2022 | 400 |
| 2023 | 400 |
| 2024 | 400 |
| 2025 | 400 |
| 2026 | 400 |
Source: Regulations amending the Turkish Citizenship Law (Sep 2018 and Official Gazette 13 May 2022), via Mondaq (incl. 12 Jan 2017 launch) and Norton Rose Fulbright
The 2018 cut was the exception, not the rule. It followed Turkey's 2018 currency crisis, when the dollar-lira rate jumped and the US$1 million bar lost its appeal. Once the programme grew crowded, the bar went back up. The property must also be held for at least three years.
The Doors That Have Closed
Since 2020, at least six major programmes have closed outright or dropped their property route. The stated reasons are strikingly similar: security and source-of-funds concerns, pressure from the European Union and, above all, domestic housing crises.
| Date | Country | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2012 | Portugal | Golden visa launched, property from €500,000 |
| 2013 | Greece | Launched, property from €250,000 |
| 2013 | Spain | Launched, property from €500,000 |
| Jan 2017 | Turkey | Citizenship by property launched at US$1m |
| 2017 | Italy | Investor visa launched; start-up route halved to €250,000 in 2020 |
| Sep 2018 | Turkey | Citizenship threshold cut from US$1m to US$250,000 |
| 2019 | UAE | 10-year golden visa launched |
| 1 Nov 2020 | Cyprus | Citizenship programme closed (€2m in property) |
| 17 Feb 2022 | United Kingdom | Tier 1 Investor visa closed (£2m) |
| 13 Jun 2022 | Turkey | Threshold raised to US$400,000 |
| 15 Feb 2023 | Ireland | Immigrant Investor Programme closed (€1m) |
| Aug 2023 | Greece | €500,000 in Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini |
| Oct 2023 | Portugal | Property and real-estate fund routes removed |
| Sep 2024 | Greece | €800,000 / €400,000 |
| Dec 2024 | Hungary | €500,000 property route dropped before launch |
| Jan 2025 | Malta | MPRP: property from €375,000 nationwide |
| 3 Apr 2025 | Spain | Golden visa ended |
| 29 Apr 2025 | Malta | EU Court of Justice rules citizenship scheme breaches EU law |
| Sep 2026 | Panama | Resale homes US$500,000; new homes from developers stay at US$300,000 |
Spain is the clearest example of speed. Organic Law 1/2025 was published on 3 January 2025 and the programme ended three months later, on 3 April 2025. Between 2013 and 2023 Spain issued 14,576 property-linked golden visas. The UK and Ireland moved faster still: the UK shut Tier 1 Investor on the day it was announced, and Ireland gave a single day's notice.
Malta marks a new boundary. On 29 April 2025 the EU Court of Justice held that EU citizenship "cannot result from a commercial transaction". Malta has since moved to a merit-based model for exceptional contributions and dropped the word "investor" altogether. Its MPRP permanent-residence programme continues, with new thresholds and fees from January 2025.
Europe's Minimums Today
After fourteen years of adjustments, Europe's typical threshold has shifted from €250,000 to roughly €400,000–€500,000. The €250,000 routes that remain are mostly funds, start-ups, cultural contributions or property with narrow conditions – not an ordinary apartment purchase.
The chart figure isn't the full bill. Malta's MPRP also charges a €50,000 administration fee and a €30,000 contribution for buyers. Cyprus requires a minimum annual income of €50,000. Transfer taxes, legal fees and running costs can add a meaningful amount on top.
Beyond Europe: Wider Doors, Still Moving
Outside the EU, programmes have generally been steadier, but they haven't stood still. Panama has just split its threshold by property type, in September 2026. Malaysia rebuilt MM2H in 2024 with three deposit tiers. The UAE, which launched its golden visa in 2019, now asks for property worth at least AED 2 million for the 10-year permit.
After fourteen years of adjustments, Europe's typical threshold has shifted from €250,000 to roughly €400,000–€500,000.
Panama is the most recent reminder. In 2024 it planned a rise to US$500,000, then scrapped the plan at the last minute. In September 2026, Executive Decree 17 made the rise official for resale homes, while keeping US$300,000 for buyers of new homes direct from developers, with a six-month transition for contracts already signed.
A practical strategy for Vietnamese investors
Treat every threshold as having an expiry date. Most changes come with short transition windows, usually tied to a signed contract or deposit. A family that has decided should complete its file early rather than wait for the "right moment".
Read the trend, not just the number. Threshold rises are usually preceded by signals: overheated house prices, EU pressure, political debate. In Greece, an apartment in Glyfada now has to meet the €800,000 bar because it sits in Attica.
Diversify beyond the EU. Turkey, Panama and the UAE follow policy logic quite different from Europe's. A property such as Pullman Panama City or Marmara Pearl in Istanbul keeps a family from depending on decisions made in Brussels alone.
Check every attached condition. Minimum floor area, short-let bans, holding periods and income requirements all affect returns. A low threshold with tight conditions can be less attractive than a higher one with flexible terms.
Frequently asked questions
Does Portugal still have a golden visa?
Yes, but without a property route since October 2023. The main routes now are investment funds from €500,000, cultural contributions from €250,000, or job creation.
Is Greece's €250,000 option still available?
Only in two narrow cases: converting commercial buildings to homes and restoring listed buildings. An ordinary purchase needs €400,000 or €800,000 depending on location.
Do closures affect people who already hold permits?
Usually not. Spain, the UK and Ireland all kept existing permits valid under their own transition rules. Renewal rights can be limited, though, so each case needs checking.
NAC strategic insight
Looking back over fourteen years, the pattern is clear: when an investment-migration programme becomes too popular, it gets dearer or it closes. Portugal, Spain and Greece all took that road; they only differed in speed. Nobody can say for certain which threshold will change when, but the warning signs can be read.
NAC helps Vietnamese families compare programmes on the latest data, vet the attached property and map a route before the window closes. If you'd like to know which programmes still fit your family, book a consultation with NAC.
Sources
- International Bar Association — The Greek Golden Visa after the 2024–2026 overhaul (2026)
- gov.ie — Minister announces closure of the Immigrant Investor Programme (2023)
- Mondaq — Turkish citizenship: regulation amending the threshold to USD 400,000 (2022)
- IMI Daily — Panama raises investor visa property minimum to US$500,000 (2026)
- Uglobal — High thresholds drive sharp drop in new Greek residency filings (2026)
