A British passport no longer includes the right to live in the EU. That is why UK families are back in the Golden Visa market - and why a holiday pattern is not a plan.
If you are British and you still talk about "our place in Spain" as if the old rules applied, the pain has a date. Brexit ended the right to live in the EU on a UK passport. The 90/180 Schengen visitor limit is the holiday rule. A Golden Visa is how some families bought the right to stay longer - or to have a door that does not depend on a visitor stamp.
Spain then closed the investor door on 3 April 2025. A lot of British planning died on that date. This page is what is still open, and what a UK file has to get right on tax and family.
They want more than 90 days in a Greek or Portuguese life. They want a school option that is not a visitor visa. They want a Plan B if UK politics or banking feels fragile. They rarely need a second passport in a hurry - the British one still travels - though some buy Caribbean citizenship for a second document anyway.
If you already filed Spain before the close, go to the pending-file page. If you already hold a Spanish card, go to renewals. Do not start a new Spanish Golden Visa. That product is gone.
That is the Spain fork. Here is the live shortlist.
Hidden gem: UK tax residence is its own statute. A Greek card does not automatically break UK tax residence. Statutory residence tests, split years, and treaty tie-breakers are a UK adviser job. Do not let a Greek notary run your HMRC life.
What people on the internet are saying: British threads after April 2025 are angry about Spain and then split between Greece (lifestyle, property) and Portugal (habit, funds). The anger is real. The replacement is not a like-for-like. Spain's zero-stay investor card is not sitting in a drawer in Athens under another name - Greece is close on stay, not on the country.
| Idea | 2026 status | Open this instead |
|---|---|---|
| New Spain Golden Visa | Closed 3 April 2025 | /countries/spain/pending-file if you already filed |
| Greece property | Live, zones + 120 m² | /countries/greece/zone-map |
| Portugal fund | Live, 14 days / 2-year cycle | /countries/portugal/worth-it |
| Italy investor | Live if nulla osta issues | /countries/italy/worth-it |
| Malta MPRP | Permanent residence in Malta, not an EU passport | /countries/malta/worth-it |
Brexit ended the right to live in the EU on a British passport. Spain then closed the investor door.
Answer every question for an honest read - not a brochure score.
Not as a new applicant. The investor route closed on 3 April 2025. Pending files filed in time, and existing cards, are different stories.
In Greece, yes - that is the point of a residence permit. In France or Germany you are still a Schengen visitor: 90 days in 180. The card is not an EU work passport.
No, not by itself. UK residence is a statutory test. The fund is an immigration investment.
English is official, and MPRP is fast. It is permanent residence in Malta plus Schengen travel, not a UK-style common-travel area and not a passport for sale.
