Direct answer: Among Portugal, Greece and Italy, the lowest legal minimums are €250,000: a converted commercial building or restored listed building in Greece, or an innovative startup in Italy. The cheapest mainstream route is a €400,000 home in Greece outside the high demand areas. But the cheapest to enter is not always the cheapest to own, so count fees, what you get back and what you must prove before you choose.
Headline minimum versus all in cost
The all in cost is the investment, plus state fees, plus professional fees and taxes, minus whatever you can realistically get back at the end.
| Route | Legal minimum | Main state fees (main applicant) | What you get back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece, conversion or listed building | €250,000 | €2,000 permit fee plus €16 card, plus transfer tax | A property, which may rise or fall in value |
| Italy, innovative startup | €250,000 (and €1,000,000 of funds shown) | About €116 visa plus permit card fees | Startup shares, which may be worth nothing |
| Greece, ordinary home | €400,000 (€800,000 in high demand areas) | €2,000 plus €16, plus transfer tax | A property |
| Portugal, fund | €500,000 | €9,261.70 for the first permit at standard rates, plus €8,418.90 per family member | Fund units, redeemed on the fund's terms |
| Italy, company or venture capital fund | €500,000 | About €116 visa plus permit card fees | Shares or fund units |
Professional fees (lawyers, notaries, engineers, fund fees) are not set by any state, so they are not in this table. Our cost calculator adds them as labelled estimates for your family.
Greece
€250,000 is real but narrow: the building must already have been converted to residential use, after 5 April 2024, before you apply, or be a listed building you restore by your first renewal.
Restoration costs come on top of the price, and failing to finish carries a €150,000 fine. Converted properties need an engineer's report. For most families the realistic Greek entry is a €400,000 home outside Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and the larger islands. You also cannot rent it short term. More on the Greece page.
Portugal
Portugal is not the cheapest: the fund route starts at €500,000 and AIMA's fees are the highest of the three, especially for families, because each family member pays a grant fee.
A family of four pays four grant fees at €8,418.90 each at the standard rate, before renewals. What Portugal offers for that money is a light stay requirement and a financial asset rather than a house to look after. See the Portugal page.
Italy
Italy's €250,000 startup route has the lowest investment and the lowest state fees, but you must still show you own €1,000,000 available to transfer to Italy, and the investment carries real business risk.
That proof of funds rule is the part almost every "cheapest golden visa" list leaves out. See the Italy page.
What about other countries?
Spain closed its golden visa on 3 April 2025, and the programs still running elsewhere in the EU use different structures, so we do not compare them like for like here.
Hungary's guest investor program starts at €250,000 in a registered real estate fund, and Malta runs a permanent residence program with its own contributions and property rules. We cover only Portugal, Greece and Italy in depth. See residency by investment in Europe.
Which golden visa fits you?
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Sources
- Law 5100/2024, codified Migration Code text including Article 100 (investor residence), Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Hellenic Republic. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Circular 9 of 24 September 2024 on investor residence permits (golden visa), Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025 (document list for investor permits), as reproduced, forin.gr. Secondary source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Lei n.º 23/2007 (Foreigners Act), consolidated text, Articles 3, 82, 90-A, 98, 99, Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa (consolidated text of the law published in Diário da República). Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Decreto Regulamentar n.º 84/2007, Articles 65-B to 65-K (ARI rules), Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Tabela de taxas e demais encargos a cobrar pelos procedimentos administrativos (fee table, updated 26 February 2026), AIMA. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Decreto Legislativo 286/1998, Article 26-bis (entry and residence for investors), text in force, Normattiva, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Investor Visa for Italy, applicant guide (2021 edition, Ministry of Economic Development), hosted by the Embassy of Italy in Abuja, Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Consular fee table (extract), October to December 2026, Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Ley Orgánica 1/2025 and consolidated Ley 14/2013 (end of Spain's investor residence), Boletín Oficial del Estado. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Guest investor residence permit, National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, Hungary. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
- Malta Permanent Residence Programme Regulations (S.L. 217.26), Legislation Malta. Official source. Last checked 28 October 2026.
This page is general information, not legal, tax, immigration or investment advice. Rules and fees change, so check the sources above and the date we last checked them. Applications are handled by our partners, not by us, and no approval, permit, return or timeline is guaranteed. We are paid for introductions; here is how.