Demand for EU citizenship keeps climbing, and the latest official figures confirm it is not a temporary spike. This guide updates the underlying Eurostat data with the most recent full-year figures, looks at how one of Europe’s most popular real-estate-linked citizenship routes was closed to new applicants, and lays out which residency and citizenship-by-investment pathways real estate investors can still actually use today.
EU Citizenship Grants Hit a New High
According to Eurostat, 1,177,232 people acquired citizenship of an EU country in 2024, up 11.6% compared with 2023, and 54.5% higher than a decade earlier in 2014, when 762,100 people were granted citizenship. This is the clearest sign yet that the surge first flagged in earlier reports was not a one-off: EU citizenship acquisitions have been on a sustained multi-year upward trend rather than a temporary post-pandemic bump.
Which Nationalities Received the Most EU Citizenships
Syrians, Moroccans, and Albanians remain the top three nationalities acquiring EU citizenship, a pattern that has held consistent across recent years even as the total volume has grown. In 2024, Syrian nationals were the largest single group with 110,100 new citizenships granted, followed by Moroccan nationals (97,100) and Albanians (48,000). The vast majority of new citizens — 88.0% — came from outside the EU, while citizens moving between EU member states accounted for the remaining 10.6%.
Which Countries Grant the Most Citizenships
Germany, Spain, and Italy remain the EU’s three largest citizenship-granting countries by volume. Germany granted 288,700 citizenships in 2024 (24.5% of the EU total), followed by Spain with 252,500 (21.4%) and Italy with 217,400 (18.5%). Together, these three countries account for nearly two-thirds of all EU citizenships granted, reflecting both their large resident foreign populations and, in Spain’s and Italy’s case, comparatively accessible naturalisation pathways for long-term residents.
Which Countries Saw Applications Decline
Not every EU country followed the overall upward trend. France, the Netherlands, and Portugal have each seen periods of declining citizenship or residency-application numbers in recent years, generally tied to specific policy tightening rather than falling underlying demand. Portugal’s case is the most dramatic and the most relevant for real estate investors specifically, covered in detail below, but the broader pattern is worth noting: individual country trends can move in the opposite direction of the EU-wide total, which is exactly why investors should evaluate a specific programme’s trajectory rather than assuming the overall EU growth trend applies uniformly everywhere.
The Portugal Golden Visa Story: A Cautionary Tale for Real Estate-Linked Citizenship
One of the most important developments since the original version of this trend was first tracked has nothing to do with application volume — it’s a structural change that real estate investors specifically need to understand. Portugal’s Golden Visa programme, long one of Europe’s most popular residency-by-investment routes via real estate, stopped accepting real estate investments entirely in October 2023 under Law 56/2023. Neither residential nor commercial property purchases qualify any longer, at any price point, and the rehabilitation-project and low-density-area discount routes that used to make property an even more attractive option have also been eliminated.
Portugal’s Golden Visa now runs on three pillars only: an investment fund route (€500,000), a cultural heritage donation (€250,000, reduced to €200,000 in low-density areas), and a scientific research contribution (€500,000) — none of which involve buying property directly. On top of that, a 2026 nationality law reform extended the residency period required before applying for citizenship from 5 years to 10 years for most applicants, though the 5-year timeline for permanent residency itself was left unchanged.
The lesson for investors is straightforward: a real-estate-linked residency or citizenship route that looks attractive today is not guaranteed to stay open on the same terms indefinitely. Portugal’s property route existed for over a decade before being closed with relatively short notice, and the citizenship timeline for those who stayed in the programme was extended after the fact. Investors evaluating a citizenship-by-investment decision now should weigh not just the current terms of a programme, but how exposed that programme looks to the kind of political and housing-market pressure that ended Portugal’s real estate route.
Where Real Estate Investors Can Still Get Residency or Citizenship Today
With Portugal’s property route closed, several other markets continue to offer active, real-estate-linked residency or citizenship pathways. Uinvest Group operates across four of the strongest remaining options:
Turkey: Citizenship by Investment, Not Just Residency
Turkey continues to offer full citizenship — not just residency — for a real estate investment of at least $400,000, the lowest entry point among comparable Tier-1 citizenship-by-investment programmes still active in 2026. The property must be held for a minimum of three years (enforced through a title-deed restriction that lifts automatically afterward), there is no residency requirement, no language test, and the whole process typically runs 6–12 months from signed deed to passport, with full family inclusion. See our guide on obtaining Turkish citizenship through real estate investment for the full process.
Dubai: Golden Visa Residency (Not Citizenship)
The UAE’s Golden Visa offers 10-year renewable residency — not citizenship — for a real estate investment of AED 2,000,000 or more (roughly $545,000), combinable across multiple properties. It comes with zero personal income tax and no capital gains tax on the underlying investment. Full details are in our Dubai Golden Visa guide.
Oman: A Lower-Cost Residency Route
Oman’s residency-by-investment route offers a considerably lower entry point than Portugal’s former real estate option ever required, making it accessible to a broader range of investors seeking a Gulf residency base rather than full citizenship. Our Oman Golden Residency vs Owner Visa guide compares the two Omani options in detail.
Northern Cyprus: Residency With a Path to EU-Adjacent Living
Northern Cyprus continues to offer a straightforward residence permit route tied to property ownership, popular with buyers seeking a Mediterranean base with a comparatively low cost of entry relative to EU member-state programmes.
What Other EU Countries Still Offer Investment Migration
Portugal’s closure did not end investment migration in Europe entirely, though it did narrow the field of programmes offering a direct real estate route. Greece continues to run a real estate-linked Golden Visa, but raised its minimum investment thresholds substantially from September 2024 — to €800,000 in high-demand prime areas like Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, and Santorini, and €400,000 elsewhere, with only limited exceptions retaining the older, lower thresholds. Spain went further and closed its real estate-linked Golden Visa route entirely, ending new applications from April 2025 after issuing more than 15,000 such visas over twelve years, explicitly citing housing affordability pressure as the reason. Investors who already held a Spanish Golden Visa before the closure were unaffected, but new applicants can no longer use property to qualify for residency. This broader pattern across Southern Europe — tightening or closing property-based investment migration routes in response to housing affordability concerns — is the single most important structural trend for real estate investors evaluating EU-adjacent citizenship or residency options to understand, and it reinforces why markets like Turkey, the UAE, and Oman, which are not EU member states and are not subject to the same political pressure, have become increasingly attractive by comparison.
Comparing the Remaining Options
| Programme | Grants | Typical Entry Point | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Full citizenship | $400,000 real estate | Active, no residency requirement |
| Dubai (UAE) | 10-year residency | ~$545,000 (AED 2,000,000) real estate | Active |
| Oman | Residency | Lower entry point than Turkey/Dubai | Active |
| Northern Cyprus | Residence permit | Property purchase-linked | Active |
| Portugal | Formerly residency → citizenship | Real estate route removed Oct 2023 | Closed to new real estate applicants |
Why Germany, Spain, and Italy Grant So Many Citizenships
The concentration of citizenship grants in Germany, Spain, and Italy reflects three different underlying stories. Germany’s large total reflects both its sizeable long-term resident foreign population and reforms in recent years that shortened the standard naturalisation residency requirement. Spain grants citizenship relatively liberally to nationals of former Spanish colonies in Latin America after just two years of legal residency, versus the standard ten-year requirement for most other nationalities, which is a major driver of its high volume given strong ongoing migration from Latin America. Italy’s figures are shaped heavily by jus sanguinis (citizenship by descent) claims from the large Italian diaspora, particularly in South America, alongside standard naturalisation of long-term resident immigrants. None of these three routes involve real estate investment directly, which is part of why real estate-linked citizenship-by-investment programmes like Turkey’s occupy a distinct niche: they offer a faster, investment-based alternative to the years-long residency-based naturalisation processes that account for most of the EU’s citizenship grants.
How to Choose Between an Active Programme
With Portugal’s property route closed, investors comparing the remaining active options should weigh four factors specifically. First, whether the goal is full citizenship (Turkey) or long-term residency short of citizenship (Dubai, Oman, Northern Cyprus) — these are not interchangeable outcomes. Second, the total investment required and whether it must remain locked in for a minimum holding period, as Turkey’s three-year property restriction illustrates. Third, any residency or physical presence requirements, since some programmes (like Turkey’s) impose none, while others require minimum time spent in-country. Fourth, and perhaps most important given the Portugal precedent, how long the programme has run on its current terms and how exposed it looks to the kind of housing-affordability political pressure that led Portugal to close its property route in the first place.
Why This Matters for Anyone Considering Citizenship by Investment
The Eurostat data confirms that global demand for EU citizenship and residency continues to grow year after year, which puts sustained pressure on the governments running these programmes to tighten or close the most accessible routes over time — exactly what happened in Portugal. This dynamic argues for two things: moving on a still-open, well-structured programme sooner rather than later if it fits an investor’s goals, and choosing a programme with a track record of stability rather than the cheapest option available at a single point in time. Turkey’s $400,000 citizenship route, in particular, has now run on broadly consistent terms since the threshold was last raised in June 2022, giving it a longer recent track record of stability than Portugal’s real estate option had in its final years.
What’s Driving the Long-Term Growth in Citizenship Demand
The 54.5% increase in EU citizenship grants over the past decade is not driven by any single factor. Sustained migration flows tied to conflict and economic conditions in source countries account for a significant share, particularly for the top nationalities like Syrians and Afghans in earlier years. Wealthier investors seeking a second passport or long-term residency for mobility, tax planning, or family security reasons have also grown as a distinct segment, driving demand for investment-linked programmes specifically rather than standard years-long naturalisation. And several EU countries have gradually simplified naturalisation requirements for long-term residents over the past decade, converting what was previously permanent residency into full citizenship for people already settled in the country. These three forces — conflict-driven migration, investment-driven mobility planning, and policy simplification — are largely independent of each other, which is part of why the overall growth trend has proven durable even as individual countries and programmes have moved in different directions.
What Happens If a Programme Closes While You’re Mid-Process
Portugal’s closure offers a useful case study on transition handling that is worth understanding before committing to any programme. When the real estate route closed in October 2023, applicants who had already submitted a valid application before the cutoff date were generally permitted to continue under the old rules, while new applicants after that date could no longer use property as a qualifying investment. This kind of grandfathering is common when investment migration programmes change, but it is not guaranteed, and the exact cutoff mechanics vary by country and by the specific legal change involved. Investors should always confirm, in writing from a qualified local lawyer, exactly how a potential future rule change would affect an in-progress application before committing significant capital to any residency or citizenship-by-investment programme.
How Uinvest Group Can Help
Uinvest Group has direct experience structuring real estate purchases for residency and citizenship-by-investment purposes across Turkey, the UAE, Oman, and Northern Cyprus. Our team can help identify which currently active programme best fits a specific goal — full citizenship, long-term residency, or simply a well-located property purchase in a market with a genuine investment migration pathway attached — and can manage the property selection, legal, and application process end to end.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many people acquired EU citizenship in the most recent year on record?
1,177,232 people acquired EU citizenship in 2024, according to Eurostat, up 11.6% year-on-year and 54.5% higher than a decade earlier in 2014.
Which nationalities receive the most EU citizenships?
Syrians, Moroccans, and Albanians remain the top three nationalities, a pattern that has held consistent in recent years. In 2024, Syrians received 110,100 new citizenships, Moroccans 97,100, and Albanians 48,000.
Can I still get EU residency or citizenship by buying real estate in Portugal?
No. Portugal removed real estate as a qualifying investment for its Golden Visa in October 2023 under Law 56/2023. The programme now runs on investment fund, cultural heritage donation, and scientific research contribution routes only.
How long does it take to get Portuguese citizenship through the Golden Visa now?
A 2026 nationality law reform extended the residency period required before applying for citizenship from 5 years to 10 years for most applicants, though permanent residency itself is still available after 5 years.
Is Turkey’s citizenship by investment programme still active?
Yes. Turkey continues to grant full citizenship for a real estate investment of at least $400,000, with no residency requirement, no language test, and a typical 6–12 month timeline from signed deed to passport.
What is the difference between residency and citizenship by investment?
Residency programmes, like Dubai’s Golden Visa or Oman’s residency routes, grant the right to live in the country long-term but not a passport. Citizenship programmes, like Turkey’s, grant full nationality and a passport, typically with more requirements or a higher investment threshold.
Which real estate-linked citizenship or residency programme is most stable?
No programme is guaranteed to remain unchanged indefinitely, as Portugal’s closure demonstrated, but Turkey’s $400,000 citizenship threshold has remained stable since it was last adjusted in June 2022, giving it a longer recent track record than Portugal’s real estate route had before it closed.
Do I need to live in Turkey to keep my citizenship after buying property there?
No. Turkey’s citizenship-by-investment route has no residency or minimum-stay requirement either before or after citizenship is granted. The only ongoing condition is holding the qualifying property for a minimum of three years, after which the title-deed sale restriction is automatically lifted.
Can my family be included in a citizenship-by-investment application?
In Turkey’s programme, yes — the investor’s spouse and children under 18 are typically included in the same application at no additional investment. Family inclusion terms vary by programme, so this should be confirmed directly for any specific country being considered.
What happened to applicants who were mid-process when Portugal closed its real estate route?
Applicants with a valid application already submitted before the October 2023 cutoff were generally permitted to continue under the previous rules, while anyone applying after that date could no longer use property as a qualifying investment. Exact grandfathering terms vary by country and by the specific legal change, so this should always be confirmed with a local lawyer rather than assumed.
Is Spain or Italy easier to get citizenship in than Turkey?
Not for investors specifically. Spain and Italy’s high citizenship-grant volumes are driven mainly by long-term residency naturalisation and, for Italy, descent-based claims — both multi-year processes unrelated to real estate investment. Turkey’s investment-based route is faster (6–12 months) precisely because it does not rely on years of prior residency.
Is Spain’s Golden Visa still available through real estate?
No. Spain closed its real estate-linked Golden Visa to new applicants from April 2025, citing housing affordability pressure, after issuing more than 15,000 such visas over twelve years. Investors who already held the visa before closure were unaffected, but property purchases no longer qualify new applicants for residency.
Is Greece’s Golden Visa still open to real estate investors?
Yes, but at higher thresholds than before. Since September 2024, Greece requires €800,000 in prime areas like Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, and Santorini, or €400,000 elsewhere, with only limited exceptions retaining older, lower thresholds.
