Golden Visa Loans

Golden Visa News & Updates

Policy changes, programme updates, and industry intelligence

Updated daily
15 updates tracked
Sources: Official Government Announcements
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BREAKINGPINNED•Immigration Law, Latvijas Vestnesis No. 167, 1 September 2026

Latvia Closes Its Property and Bank-Deposit Investor Routes

Latvia's new Immigration Law, adopted 20 August 2026 and published 1 September 2026, enters into force on 15 September and repeals the 2002 law outright. From that date neither real estate (EUR 250,000) nor subordinated bank capital (EUR 280,000) is a ground for a residence permit; the government securities route went on 20 May 2026. What remains is company share capital from EUR 50,000, now carrying a EUR 40,000 annual company tax test and a 2-year permit, plus a new EUR 150,000 alternative investment fund route. Applications filed up to and including 14 September are still examined under the old law. Existing property and bank-capital holders may renew for up to five years at EUR 1,000 per permit year.

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•Governmental Housing Policy Committee Decision 1/2026 (reported)

Greece Floats a Multi-Property Golden Visa Tied to Long-Term Letting

The National Housing Policy Strategy 2026-2035 proposes a new golden visa category allowing an investor to acquire more than one property provided every unit is offered exclusively for long-term letting, with short-term letting excluded. This requires future legislation and is not in force. The thresholds in Law 5038/2023 are unchanged: EUR 800,000 across the whole Region of Attica, the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Thira and islands over 3,100 inhabitants; EUR 400,000 elsewhere; EUR 250,000 for a single property either converted to residential use or containing a listed building to be restored.

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•Eerste Kamer dossier 36.748

Dutch Box 3 Actual-Return Bill Stalls in the Senate

The Wet werkelijk rendement box 3 passed the Tweede Kamer on 12 February 2026 but has not passed the Eerste Kamer: the final vote was postponed on 7 July 2026 for want of a majority, and reporting around Prinsjesdag 2026 suggests the bill will be parked while a realised-gains alternative is explored. It is not law. Note too that 36% is already the Box 3 rate for 2026, and that property and unlisted shares would be taxed on realisation, not accrual, so for a normally performing portfolio the incremental liability is close to nil.

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•Law 7582, Resmi Gazete No. 33270, 4 June 2026

Turkey Enacts a 20-Year Exemption on Foreign-Source Income

Law No. 7582 inserts Article mukerrer 20/D into the Income Tax Law, exempting new Turkish tax residents from Turkish tax on foreign-source income and gains for 20 years, with a 1% inheritance and gift rate during the period. It applies to those becoming resident from 1 January 2026, conditional on no Turkish domicile or tax liability in the preceding three years. There is no investment requirement of any kind: this is a residence-based tax incentive, not a golden visa benefit. Turkey's separate citizenship-by-investment property threshold remains USD 400,000, unchanged since 13 June 2022.

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•immigration.govt.nz Active Investor Plus

New Zealand Admits Philanthropy to the AIP Growth Category, Capped at 20%

From 1 June 2026 philanthropic donations to registered New Zealand charities count toward the Active Investor Plus visa in the Growth category, capped at 20% of the total invested. Philanthropy is uncapped in the Balanced category. It is an asset class within the minimum, not a route of its own and not a discount: Growth still requires NZ$5,000,000 over 36 months and Balanced NZ$10,000,000 over 60. The AIP has no expression-of-interest stage and no points system, so donations earn no points.

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•Lei Organica 1/2026, Diario da Republica 1.a serie No. 95

Portugal Raises the Citizenship Residency Requirement to 10 Years

Lei Organica 1/2026, promulgated 3 May and published 18 May 2026, came into force on 19 May. The residency requirement rises from 5 years to 10 for most third-country nationals and to 7 for CPLP and EU nationals, with A2 Portuguese, a civics assessment and a means-of-subsistence test added. Article 7(2) preserves the old law for applications already pending on 19 May, so it is not retroactive in the way widely reported. The change that does bite Golden Visa holders is the revocation of the rule allowing time since the residence permit was applied for to count: the clock now runs from issuance, so AIMA delay no longer counts toward citizenship.

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•Cabinet Decision 10 April 2026; PM parliamentary answer 6 May 2026

Mauritius Announces a US$1m Golden Visa — Announced, Not Yet Open

Cabinet approved the framework on 10 April 2026 and the Prime Minister set out the detail in a parliamentary answer on 6 May. It requires USD 1,000,000 invested within 12 months of arrival in fintech, AI, biotechnology, renewable energy or global treasury, with a five-working-day processing target and roughly 100 recipients a year expected. Read what it grants carefully: a multiple-entry visa of up to two years, renewable only by fresh application, with no automatic labour market access. It is not a residence permit and not permanent residence. As at September 2026 no government notice, regulations, application form or fee schedule had been published, and the EDB's own August 2026 permit newsletter does not mention it. For durable status the established routes remain the Occupation Permit (investor minimum now USD 100,000, ten years) and the property route (USD 375,000 under an approved scheme, residence for as long as the property is held).

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•Directorate General of Immigration press release, 20 May 2026

Indonesia Golden Visa: 1,274 Issued in Its First Two Years

Indonesia's Golden Visa launched on 25 July 2024 under Permenkumham 22/2023 and had issued 1,274 visas against Rp 52.1 trillion of investment by 18 May 2026. Thresholds run from USD 350,000 in government bonds, listed shares, funds or deposits for a 5-year passive investor visa (USD 700,000 for 10 years), through USD 2,500,000 and USD 5,000,000 for an individual establishing a company, to USD 25,000,000 and USD 50,000,000 for corporate investors. Each figure belongs to one specific category and duration.

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•u.ae federal portal; GDRFA-DLD memorandum as reported

Dubai Merges Its Property Residency Channels — Dubai Only, Not Federal

GDRFA Dubai and the Dubai Land Department signed a memorandum in April 2026 merging Golden Residency, Retiree Residency and Property Residency into a single digital channel. This is an emirate-level administrative merger, not a federal consolidation: GDRFA is constituted per emirate, and ICP remains the federal authority, with Abu Dhabi routing through its own Residents Office. Separately, and later in April, Dubai removed the AED 750,000 floor on the two-year property investor visa, which is a different and lower-tier product. The Golden Visa property threshold itself is unchanged at AED 2,000,000.

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•Washington State Legislature; Chapter 238, Laws of 2026

Washington Enacts a 9.9% Tax on Income Over $1m — and It Is Already in Court

ESSB 6346 was signed by Governor Ferguson on 30 March 2026 as Chapter 238, Laws of 2026. It imposes 9.9% on individual income above a $1,000,000 standard deduction (the same figure for a married couple, not each), from 1 January 2028, with first returns due April 2029. Two qualifications matter. The bill is deliberately drafted as a tax on the receipt of income, and a constitutional challenge relying on Culliton v. Chase (1933) was filed in April 2026, with argument possibly reaching the state Supreme Court in 2027. And 9.9% above $1m is not new: it has been the upper tier of Washington's capital gains excise tax since tax year 2025.

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•Industry Source

UK £5M Investor Route Floated — Still a Proposal, Not a Programme

A GBP 5m invite-only route was floated by the Office for Investment in 2026, but there is no statement of changes to the Immigration Rules and no timeline. The Tier 1 (Investor) visa closed on 17 February 2022 and nothing has replaced it. This must not be treated as an available route.

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•Udlaendinge- og Integrationsministeriet, 6 March 2026

Denmark Suspends Most Citizenship Case Processing

The Ministry of Immigration and Integration announced on 6 March 2026 that processing of most citizenship cases is paused, with narrow exceptions for stateless children born in Denmark, certain children of Danish fathers, proof-of-citizenship cases and Nordic declaration cases. The pending naturalisation bill L 98 lapsed when parliament was dissolved for the 24 March election. Danish citizenship can only be granted by an Act naming each applicant, introduced twice yearly, so a pause in the bill cycle stops naturalisation entirely. Reporting in September 2026 suggests processing may not resume until late 2027. The residency requirement is 9 years and has not changed.

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•immigration.govt.nz; Overseas Investment Office

New Zealand AIP Holders Can Buy One NZ$5M+ Home on a Fast-Tracked Consent

Active Investor Plus visa holders receive Overseas Investment Office consent for one residential property valued at NZ$5m or more within five working days. The home is a separate purchase and does not count toward the NZ$5m Growth or NZ$10m Balanced investment. Purchasing property does not by itself trigger New Zealand tax residency.

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•Executive Order 14351, 90 FR 46031; trumpcard.gov

US Gold Card Opened to Applicants — One Approval, Two Lawsuits

Executive Order 14351 of 19 September 2025 created the Gold Card, and applications opened on 10 December 2025 at a $15,000 non-refundable fee plus a $1,000,000 gift for an individual, or $2,000,000 per employee for corporates. Treat it with caution. It rests on an executive order rather than statute, routes applicants through EB-1 and EB-2, and therefore cannot bypass the per-country limits that create the backlogs for Chinese and Indian nationals. DHS has conceded in litigation that petitions will not necessarily be processed faster than ordinary ones. By April 2026 one person had been approved, from 338 applicants and 165 who had paid the fee. Two federal suits are pending in the District of Columbia; no injunction has issued, and the fees are non-refundable.

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•EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022

EB-5 Minimums Face Their First Inflation Adjustment on 1 January 2027

The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 set the minimums at $800,000 for a targeted employment area and $1,050,000 for a standard investment, and provides for adjustment every five years. The first adjustment is due on 1 January 2027. The adjusted figures have not been published, so any specific number circulating for 2027 is a projection rather than a rate.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How often do golden visa programmes change their requirements?
Golden visa programmes typically update requirements 1-3 times per year. Major changes often coincide with government budget announcements or election cycles. In 2025-2026, we've seen significant changes in Portugal (fund routes only), Greece (increased thresholds in prime areas), and UAE (streamlined processing).
Where does goldenvisas.ai get its golden visa news?
We source updates from official government gazettes, immigration law firms, and verified industry contacts. All updates are fact-checked before publication and include source attribution.
How do policy changes affect existing golden visa applications?
Most programmes grandfather existing applications under previous rules if submitted before the change date. However, processing delays can push applications past cut-off dates. We recommend acting quickly when favourable windows exist, particularly using Lombard financing to avoid liquidation delays.
Which golden visa programmes are most stable?
UAE, Malta, and New Zealand have shown the most policy stability over the past 5 years. Portugal and Greece have made multiple changes to thresholds and qualifying investments. Caribbean CBI programmes remain stable but face increasing due diligence requirements.

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