Which EU investor residence route asks for the least capital

Of the eight national investor residence programmes in the European Union that The Legation Times has read in official texts, Latvia’s states the lowest amount: €50,000 in a company’s share capital, plus €10,000 paid to the state. Greece, Portugal, Hungary and Italy each start at €250,000, but only for specific kinds of investment. Cyprus asks for €300,000, Malta for a €375,000 home or €14,000 a year in rent, and Luxembourg for €500,000.

The lowest amount in each country

The table sets out the smallest amount each programme states and what the money has to go into. Amounts are as published by each government; none includes legal or agency fees. France’s investor card and any Bulgarian route, whose official text The Legation Times has not reached, are not compared here.

In Portugal, creating 10 jobs also qualifies, with no amount stated. Amounts were re-read on official pages on 5 October 2026 for Latvia, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Cyprus and Malta. Permit terms and holder conditions come from The Legation Times’ reading of 26 September unless a page re-read on 5 October restated them; all Greek and Luxembourg figures come from the 26 September reading, and Luxembourg’s official page was last updated in July 2023.

The lowest figure is not the full cost

In Latvia, the permit on the €50,000 route stays valid only if the company pays at least €40,000 in taxes in each reporting year, and it lasts up to two years. A second option takes €150,000 placed for at least five years with a state-established fund manager, again with €10,000 to the state, for a permit of up to five years. The new Immigration Law, in force since 15 September 2026, contains no property route (formerly €250,000) and no bank subordinated-debt route (€280,000).

In Greece, €250,000 is a narrow exception. Under Law 5100/2024 and the migration ministry’s Circular 1 of 21 April 2026, a home bought in the ordinary way must be worth at least €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands of more than 3,100 inhabitants, and €400,000 elsewhere, for a single property of at least 120 square metres.

Portugal no longer accepts property. Besides the €250,000 arts and heritage option and job creation, an investor can put €500,000 into non-real-estate fund units, research or a company with five jobs. The other option stated on Hungary‘s immigration authority page is a €1,000,000 donation to a higher-education institution run by a public-interest trust foundation. Italy also accepts €500,000 in an Italian company, a €1,000,000 donation or €2,000,000 in government bonds.

In Cyprus, the investor must also show a secured income of at least €50,000 a year from abroad, rising by €15,000 for a spouse and €10,000 for each minor child.

In Malta, the property is only one part. The main applicant pays a non-refundable €60,000 administrative fee and a €37,000 government contribution, plus €7,500 for each adult dependant other than the spouse and a €2,000 donation to a local NGO. Applicants must also hold capital assets of at least €500,000, of which €150,000 is financial, or €650,000, of which €75,000 is financial.

What each permit asks of the holder

Cyprus and Malta grant permanent residence. The Cyprus permit lapses if the family does not take up residence within a year of approval, is absent for two years, or acquires permanent residence in another country; the card is valid for ten years. The Maltese regulations The Legation Times read on 26 September set no minimum number of days.

Greece’s permit is named a permanent investor residence permit but is issued for five years and renewed; time spent abroad does not prevent renewal. Hungary’s permit runs for up to ten years and can be extended once by up to ten more. Italy’s runs for two years and is renewable in three-year periods, provided the investment is maintained. Neither Hungary’s immigration authority page nor the Investor Visa for Italy site states a minimum stay; The Legation Times has not checked the underlying laws on this point.

Portugal’s immigration agency asks for at least seven days in the first year and 14 days in subsequent years on its main page; its own FAQ says 14 days in each subsequent two-year period, the wording of the implementing regulation. Latvia’s company permit remains valid only while the firm pays at least €40,000 a year in taxes; the law did not show a minimum stay in the text read. Luxembourg’s permit lasts up to three years and is renewable.

Routes that have closed, or may change

Ireland closed its investor programme on 15 February 2023, the Netherlands on 17 April 2024 and Spain on 3 April 2025. Portugal removed its property options from 7 October 2023.

Luxembourg’s parliamentary committee recommended on 16 September 2026 that the investor permit be repealed; on 5 October the bill’s page still showed it in committee, with no plenary vote. The Legation Times reported the bill on 2 October. In Cyprus, the deputy migration minister told a House committee on 24 September that decisions to tighten the programme were expected, according to press reports The Legation Times covered. As of The Legation Times’ 30 September check no draft or new amount had been published, and the official page read on 5 October still gave €300,000. The Legation Times’ analysis of which countries still accept property sets out which routes still accept a home purchase.

For Vietnamese applicants

Vietnamese nationals apply as third-country nationals under every programme above. A residence permit is not citizenship. Portugal now requires 10 years of legal residence before naturalisation for nationals of countries outside the EU and the Portuguese-speaking community; Vietnam is in that group. Naturalisation applications lodged before 19 May 2026 are assessed under the previous rules. In Cyprus, an investor seeking a passport needs at least eight years of legal residence, as The Legation Times reported on 2 October.

The Legation Times’ programme pages for Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Latvia and Luxembourg list each programme’s conditions.

What this article does not establish

The total cost of any route, including legal fees and purchase taxes; processing times; the length of Portugal’s permit; the minimum stay under Latvia’s new law; Greece’s financial-investment options from €350,000, whose later amendments were not checked; whether Luxembourg’s 2023 information page is current; how programmes in Bulgaria, Estonia or France would compare; and whether the Luxembourg bill will pass.