Greece vs Spain, Portugal, and the UAE for property investment.
Three years ago, Spain, Portugal, and Greece all offered comparable investor residency routes tied to real estate purchase. Buyers genuinely could compare them on price alone. That's no longer true. Spain's route is gone. Portugal's residential route is gone. Greece kept its programme but restructured the thresholds by geography.
What used to be a straightforward price comparison across three near-identical EU programmes is now a comparison between fundamentally different frameworks.
- Spain — abolished its property Golden Visa in April 2025, no replacement
- Portugal — closed its residential real estate route in 2023, non-residential routes remain
- Greece — restructured rather than abolished, €400,000 entry point still open outside prime zones
- UAE — a fundamentally different model, flat threshold, no zone system, 0% annual tax
Where each market actually stands
| Market | Residency via property? | Entry point | Acquisition tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | Yes — restructured 2024 | €400K regional / €800K prime | 3.09% |
| Spain | No — abolished April 2025 | N/A | 7% ITP resale (Andalucía) |
| Portugal | No — residential route closed 2023 | N/A | Varies by region |
| UAE (Dubai) | Yes — flat threshold | AED 2M (~USD 545K) | 4% DLD |
Four markets, four different cases
Full freehold, a live Golden Visa route at €400,000 outside prime zones, and one of the lower transaction tax rates in the EU.
Deep secondary market and legal clarity, but property purchase no longer supports investor residency since April 2025.
Since 2023, residential property purchase no longer qualifies for Golden Visa purposes. Other investment routes remain open.
A single flat threshold qualifies anywhere in designated freehold zones. 0% annual tax and the deepest secondary market of the four.
Which framework fits which objective
A buyer whose primary objective is EU residency at the most accessible entry point currently has one real option among these four: Greece. A buyer prioritising the deepest, most liquid secondary market might still prefer Spain. They'd accept that residency now runs through a separate, unrelated visa category.
Comparing these four markets as if they're still offering the same product. Evaluate each against your actual objective — capital preservation, EU residency, rental yield, or lifestyle — not against a headline entry price that no longer means what it used to.
Practical considerations that don't show up in a price comparison
| Consideration | Greece | Spain | Portugal | UAE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currency | EUR | EUR | EUR | AED (USD-pegged) |
| Schengen access | Yes | Yes (non-residency routes only) | Yes (non-residency routes only) | No |
| Language of contracts | Greek (certified translation used) | Spanish | Portuguese | English widely used |
| Path to citizenship | Possible after extended residence | N/A for real estate route | N/A for real estate route | Not through Golden Visa |
How we got here: a short timeline
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Portugal removes residential real estate as a qualifying Golden Visa investment |
| 31 Aug 2024 | Greece's Law 5100/2024 takes effect, replacing the flat threshold with three geographic zones |
| April 2025 | Spain abolishes its property-linked Golden Visa entirely, with no replacement route |
| 2026 | Greece issues further operational guidance (Circular 1/2026, Law 5275/2026) clarifying the 2024 reform |
If Greece is the market that fits, go deeper with our Greek ownership framework and Greece investment guide covering current entry points and the buying process.
A licensed international advisory built on formal professional standards
Tropical Riviera International Realty is a licensed international real estate advisory. Bhavesh Koonja, our principal broker, holds both the REALTOR® and Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designations through the National Association of REALTORS®.
We advise across all four markets covered here, matching buyers to the framework that fits their objective. See our International Real Estate overview for our full ten-market coverage.
WhatsApp Us Now (+230 5256 5725)- REALTOR® — National Association of REALTORS®
- Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) — NAR designation
- Bilingual — English and French advisory
- Ten markets served — Mauritius, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Bali, Zanzibar, and Greece
Related reading
See our Greece Golden Visa zones explained for the three-tier threshold breakdown behind the numbers in this comparison.
See our foreign buyer's guide to Greek freehold ownership for the seven-step acquisition process.
See our guide to ENFIA and Greek property taxes for the full Greek cost stack referenced above.
See our Greece property market situation 2026 for where prices and demand stand right now.
Greece vs Spain, Portugal, UAE FAQ
Which EU countries still offer a Golden Visa through direct real estate purchase?
Greece remains open at €400,000 outside prime zones. Spain and Portugal have both closed their residential real estate routes. Other EU countries maintain separate programmes not covered here.
Is it still possible to get Spanish residency by buying property after April 2025?
Not through the property Golden Visa route, abolished in April 2025. The Non-Lucrative Visa and Digital Nomad Visa remain as separate, unrelated residency routes.
How does the UAE Golden Visa property threshold compare to Greece's €400,000 zone?
The UAE requires AED 2,000,000 (~USD 545,000) as a single flat threshold. Greece's €400,000 regional threshold is lower but only applies outside Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, and Santorini, where it rises to €800,000.
Practical Considerations
Does Greece's Golden Visa lead to full EU citizenship eventually?
Possibly, but not automatically and not on the same timeline as the residency permit itself. Citizenship runs under Greece's separate naturalisation law, with its own residence-duration and integration requirements. Confirm current citizenship requirements with immigration counsel rather than assuming residency alone leads there on a fixed schedule.
Can I buy property in these four markets using USD instead of the local currency?
Funds are typically converted to the local currency at completion — EUR for Greece, Spain, and Portugal; AED for the UAE, though AED is USD-pegged, which reduces currency risk relative to the EU markets. The purchase price and taxes are calculated in the local currency regardless of what currency you're funding the purchase from.
Which of these four markets is easiest to navigate without speaking the local language?
The UAE, where English is widely used in contracts and daily transactions. Greece, Spain, and Portugal all conduct legal documentation in the local language, with certified translation used for foreign buyers — a competent local lawyer bridges this in all three, but it adds a procedural step the UAE generally doesn't require.
Talk through which market fits your objective
Tell us your priority — residency, yield, or capital preservation — and we'll walk through which of these markets actually fits.
WhatsApp — Start the Conversation