Does any EU country still sell citizenship? What happened to Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria
For years, European citizenship was available for a price in a handful of EU countries. By 2026 that era appears to be over, according to the summaries we reviewed. Here is what happened and what options remain.
Malta
- Former scheme: Malta's citizenship-by-investment programme required a government contribution (reported as EUR 600,000 on a 36-month track or EUR 750,000 on a 12-month track), property of at least EUR 700,000 to buy or a rental of at least EUR 16,000 a year held for five years, and a donation to a Maltese NGO.
- The ruling: on 29 April 2025, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled the scheme unlawful.
- The result: Malta discontinued the programme through legislation published in July 2025. A discretionary "citizenship by merit" route replaced it, without a published price or investment threshold, rewarding exceptional contributions such as science, sport or culture.
- What the ruling left open: it did not clearly address people who already hold citizenship under the scheme or applicants whose cases were pending. Anyone affected should take advice from a Maltese immigration lawyer.
Cyprus and Bulgaria
Cyprus closed its citizenship-by-investment programme in 2020 after a corruption inquiry. Bulgaria also scrapped its scheme. Summaries say that no EU country sells citizenship in 2026.
What is still available in Europe
Several European countries offer residence by investment, not citizenship. These can lead to citizenship only after meeting normal residence, language and integration rules.
- Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP): a residence card for qualifying property and fee payments. Summaries report property from EUR 375,000 to buy or EUR 14,000 a year to rent, plus fees. See our guide to why the numbers differ between sources.
- Greece Golden Visa: residence from property or other investments, with zone-based thresholds. See our Greece guide.
- Other golden-visa style routes exist in some countries, but several have been closed or restricted, including Spain's investment route, which was abolished for new applicants in 2025 according to our country data.
Why programmes closed
- Courts and EU institutions argued that citizenship of a member state is also EU citizenship, so it cannot simply be sold.
- Concerns about money laundering, tax evasion and security.
- Public pressure and political change.
What this means if you want an EU passport
- Treat any claim of "EU citizenship in a few months" as a red flag.
- Consider residence routes and the normal naturalisation timeline, which varies from about five to ten years or longer.
- Look at descent-based citizenship if you have an ancestor from a European country.
- Check the latest news before paying anyone, because this area changes quickly.
Our country pages list the current residence and citizenship pathways for each European destination.
Citizenship-by-investment programmes change often and are frequently suspended, repriced or restricted without much notice. Amounts and timelines below were gathered in October 2026 from law-firm and industry summaries, which sometimes disagree with each other; they are not official price lists. Always confirm figures with the government's own CBI unit or a licensed agent before paying anything, and take independent legal and tax advice. Visa Ray is not an immigration adviser. You can run a free assessment on Visa Ray to compare residence and citizenship pathways.