Findings
Live European investment-residence products do not share one filing door. Portugal and Greece publish open digital channels where the investor or a chosen representative can start the file. Malta’s MPRP is the hard outlier: applications must go through a Licensed Agent. Italy splits the path (portal Nulla Osta, then consulate). Hungary’s guest-investor permit is filed only after entry, in Hungary. Spain closed new investor filings from 3 April 2025. Cyprus still takes investor immigration permits at the Migration Department desk in Nicosia.
Table
| Item | Filing channel | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal Golden Visa (ARI)Portugal | Self-service portal | AIMA’s Portal ARI is the published channel to register the investment residence application and family reunification, upload analysis documents, and generate fee payment documents. A duly mandated legal representative may also register and file. Biometrics later require an AIMA shop visit. | Official |
| Greece golden visa (investor residence)Greece | Self-service portal | Initial residence-permit filings for third-country nationals run through the Ministry of Migration and Asylum electronic services. The applicant may file personally, or a lawyer may file through the ministry’s link to the Olomeleia lawyers’ portal. Investor document lists still centre on completed property or qualifying investment proof. | Official |
| Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP)Malta | Licensed agent only | Residency Malta Agency states MPRP applications must be submitted through a Licensed Agent. Programme regulations require the main applicant to authorise one agent for filings and correspondence. There is no self-service MPRP application channel for the investor alone. | Official |
| Italy Investor Visa (IV4I)Italy | Portal then consulate | The Investor Visa for Italy Committee issues a Nulla Osta through the dedicated MIMIT investor-visa portal. After clearance, the visa itself is lodged at the competent Italian diplomatic or consular office abroad with that Nulla Osta and the usual consular pack. | Official |
| Hungary residence permit for guest investorsHungary | In-country only | NDGAP states the residence-permit application may be submitted only in Hungary, after entry on a guest-investor visa or visa-free stay, within 30 days of first legal entry. Filing is via Enter Hungary or in person at the competent regional directorate. Legal representatives must use Enter Hungary. | Official |
| Cyprus immigration permit for investorsCyprus | In-country desk | Migration Department guidance: investor immigration-permit applications and required originals are submitted at the Department’s Nicosia offices, personally or through an authorised representative, after appointment rules as published. Incomplete packs are not accepted for consideration. | Official |
| Spain investor residence (legacy)Spain | Closed to new filings | Organic Law 1/2025 emptied the investor articles of Law 14/2013. From 3 April 2025, new investor residence visas and authorisations are abolished. Only applications already filed before that date, and certain renewals of valid titles, remain under the transitional rules. | Official |
Method
Method
We compared **European investment or property-linked residence products** where an official government page states **who may lodge the first filing and where**. Rows stay inside that family. We did not mix digital-nomad income floors or pension / rentista products into this table.
`metric` is the short cite label for the filing door. `value` paraphrases the published channel in plain English. Consular checklists and agent marketing pages were discovery only, not the cite core.
Spain is included as a closed peer because older comparison pages still treat it as open.
This is Country To Live Research, not immigration advice. Confirm the live official page before you instruct counsel or move capital.
Sources
Embed / cite
Paste the iframe for a live table with a Country To Live source link, or use the markdown cite. Click the eye icon to preview how each option looks on a page.
HTML iframe
<iframe src="https://www.countrytolive.com/embed/eu-investment-residence-filing-channels" title="European investment residence filing channels - Country To Live" width="100%" height="776" style="border:0;border-radius:12px;max-width:100%;" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade"></iframe> <p style="font-size:12px;margin-top:8px;">Source: <a href="https://www.countrytolive.com/insights/eu-investment-residence-filing-channels">Country To Live - European investment residence filing channels</a></p>
Markdown link
[European investment residence filing channels (2026)](https://www.countrytolive.com/insights/eu-investment-residence-filing-channels) - Country To Live Research