Europe's residency-by-investment market has contracted sharply, but it has not disappeared. As of 2026, a number of countries still grant residence permits to applicants who make a qualifying investment, according to a new review of the sector published by knoxradio.com under the headline "The countries where you can still buy European residency, and what it actually costs in 2026."

The review arrives after several years of closures and tightenings across the continent. The most consequential change came in 2023, when Portugal ended its real-estate route and Spain followed in 2025 by shutting down its golden visa programme altogether. Ireland closed its Immigrant Investor Programme in February 2023. Hungary relaunched its guest-investor scheme, then suspended it. These exits have left a much smaller menu for applicants seeking European residence through capital rather than work or family ties.

What remains, the review finds, is a set of programmes concentrated in specific corners of Europe. Each carries its own minimum investment threshold, its own processing timelines, and its own conditions on physical presence, renewal, and eventual eligibility for permanent residence or citizenship. The total cost an applicant actually pays typically exceeds the headline investment figure once government fees, legal costs, due-diligence charges, and family-member add-ons are counted — a gap the review sets out to quantify for 2026.

Who does this affect? Three groups mainly. First, non-EU nationals seeking visa-free movement within the Schengen Area and a European base for travel or business. Second, families planning long-term relocation who want a residence foothold before committing to full emigration. Third, investors weighing European programmes against alternatives in the Gulf, the Caribbean, or elsewhere that offer citizenship rather than residence.

Which steps change under the remaining programmes? The application sequence is broadly similar across countries: select a qualifying asset or contribution, engage a licensed intermediary, pass background and source-of-funds checks, submit the application, make the investment, and collect the permit. What differs is the entry price, the renewal conditions, and — critically — whether the residence comes with any real path to permanent status. Some regimes require genuine presence; others renew on the investment alone. Applicants comparing offers in 2026 should read those renewal terms closely, because a permit that lapses when an asset is sold is a different product from one that does not.

The European policy environment also remains hostile to these schemes. The European Parliament has repeatedly called for the phasing-out of all investor-migration programmes in EU member states, citing security, money-laundering, and rule-of-law concerns. That pressure does not ban national residence schemes — migration remain largely a member-state competence — but it explains why the list of open programmes keeps shortening and why several surviving schemes have raised thresholds or tightened vetting in recent revision rounds.

For anyone considering a route this year, the operating principle is simple: verify every figure against the official programme authority before committing money. Minimum investment amounts, dependent fees, and eligibility rules change frequently, and third-party listings — including cost roundups like the one cited here — can lag behind official amendments. The authoritative source for each scheme is the government department or licensed agency that administers it, and only that source can confirm current thresholds and deadlines.

This article summarises a published review for general information. It does not constitute legal, tax, or investment advice, and no reader should rely on it as a basis for an individual application decision.