Residence permits in Spain, Portugal and France: the order of steps for a property buyer
For a buyer from the CIS, the cheapest European residence permit right now is the Spanish digital nomad visa, says the guest, a consultant on foreign bank accounts and residency. The costliest mistake is the order of steps: bring the capital in and buy while still a non-resident, then apply for residency, because the permit makes you a tax resident.
Where in Europe is a residence permit most accessible?
The answer depends on what you measure. By price, she names the Spanish digital nomad visa, the route for people who work remotely. By speed, she names Malta, which she says is rarely discussed. The digital nomad visa is the most widespread route in both Spain and Portugal.
For bringing capital into Europe through property, the easiest countries are the ones actively selling it: Spain, Portugal, Poland and Hungary. In her words, these governments want to earn from property and have built a whole range of options around it.
Asked where she would put USD 1 million, she split the answer by goal. For return on property, Spain or Portugal. For relocation, some families look at Budapest. For pure investment, she would spread the money across several countries rather than pick one.
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Why does the order of steps matter so much?
Because a residence permit usually makes you a tax resident, and from that day the capital you show in the country is taxed. Clients who come to the guest already holding EU residency, she says, leave her very little room to help.
Her sequence is fixed. First sort out the finances and work out how they will be handled. Then calculate the taxes and the bracket you will fall into. Only then start on the residence permit. Spain's digital nomad visa is her example: it turns the holder into a Spanish tax resident.
So the property is best bought while the buyer is still a non-resident, and the visa comes afterwards. She warns that after relocation a badly built structure can mean paying something like 40 to 45% in tax.
What are the most common mistakes?
The first is relying on one specialist. Knowledge differs between advisers, the guest says: one knows how to buy in Budapest without a personal account there, another sends the client to a Hungarian bank and, months later, to a refusal.
A refusal from a bank is hard to undo, and at that point the property plan can simply end. Her advice is to line up several consultants online, on finance, tax and the legal status of the family, and gather the first information before travelling anywhere.
The second mistake is the wrong sequence of steps, described above. Only after the groundwork, she says, does it make sense to visit the country and start making decisions.
When should the bank account be opened?
In the Spanish case, before the residence permit, and it can be done by power of attorney without travelling. She adds that within the EU the account does not have to be Spanish: a Polish bank is often a simpler route for a purchase in Spain.
The passport decides what is possible. The guest says some EU banks will not open an account for certain nationalities at all, whatever the documents, so the bank is chosen by the passport first and by the country of purchase second.
In her experience UK banks and payment providers accept capital from the Emirates and Hong Kong more readily than EU banks, provided the origin of funds is documented. The EU, she says, has far more barriers, and an account always starts with a clean explanation of where the money came from.
Can you still get residency by buying property in Europe?
In far fewer places than the reputation suggests. Portugal removed property from its golden visa in 2023, and the guest confirms there are no property programmes there any more beyond a few remaining quotas. Spain closed its investor visa altogether in April 2025.
Greece kept a property route. The minimum is now EUR 400,000 in most of the country and EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and the larger islands, and the guest is careful to note it gives residency, not a passport.
What survives are non-property routes: remote work, business and startup visas, study and employment. Buying a home and obtaining the right to stay are two separate processes, and the purchase rarely advances the permit.
How does the startup visa work in Spain and France?
The applicant does not have to create a startup. The guest describes joining an already operating one as a co-founder, with up to five co-founders allowed in one company, and the visa is issued on that basis. The founder does not have to work in the business.
It costs more than the digital nomad visa, she says, but it does not require residence and does not make the holder a tax resident. That is why it is popular in France: buyers of property on the Cote d'Azur use it to legalise their stay beyond short visits.
Both countries promote the sectors these companies work in, with special economic zones where they are registered. As with any visa built on a company, the conditions sit with the immigration authorities, so check them against the law in force on the day you apply.
Which passport programmes are genuinely legal?
Turkey is the clean example she gives: citizenship for an investment in property for the whole family, for nationals of countries not under sanctions. The official property minimum is USD 400,000, unchanged since 2022, rather than the higher figure that circulates.
The Caribbean programmes still run. A one-off investment, usually handled online, and the passport is posted to the applicant. The guest says these passports are good for travel and weak for banking: with one, opening an account in Europe is very hard, while the US and Latin America are easier.
Grey schemes she compares to a casino. Either the contractor takes a deposit and does nothing, or the state side drags on for years, as with the queues for Romanian passports. Oleg Svyatenko adds that such passports often end in arrests at the border.
How do Cyprus, Portugal and Spain compare for a buyer?
Cyprus is chosen for its easy taxation and its Russian-speaking lawyers and consultants, the guest says, but she rarely recommends it. Southern Cyprus property is overheated in her view, the island sits in a zone of geopolitical risk, and she never recommends the north.
Portugal attracts through its many residency routes, including study, company formation and investment funds, and lower taxation for IT specialists. It is less overheated than Spain, though prices are high there too.
In Spain the Costa Blanca has the largest Russian-speaking community, and Marbella is the luxury end, with branded villas and entry from about EUR 2 million. The digital nomad visa remains the most common route in both countries.
Which regions does she avoid for a family relocation?
She separates four questions: where you invest, where you live, where the children study and where the business is run. The modern world, she says, lets all four sit in different countries.
For a genuine family move she avoids north-eastern Europe for now, the parts of Latin America near Venezuela and Cuba, and the region around Iran, which in her view touches Turkey, Cyprus and Israel. Austria she describes as a country that has stayed neutral for decades.
Her last point is about schooling: a child at school in a country is one of the strongest markers of tax residence there. Families who want to stay non-resident, she says, sometimes choose boarding schools abroad. That is a decision for a tax adviser, not a broker.
Frequently asked
Does the Spanish digital nomad visa make you a tax resident?
Yes, according to the guest. Holding it makes you a Spanish tax resident, which is why she advises bringing capital in and buying property while still a non-resident, and applying for the visa afterwards.
Can you get a residence permit in Portugal by buying property?
No longer as a rule. Portugal removed property from its golden visa in 2023. Residency now comes through other routes, such as remote work, study, company formation or investment funds.
How much does Turkish citizenship by investment cost?
The official minimum for the property route is USD 400,000, and the passport covers the family. Nationals of sanctioned countries face restrictions, the guest says.
What is the Greek golden visa threshold now?
EUR 400,000 in most of Greece and EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and the larger islands. It grants residency, not citizenship.
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