Buying Property Abroad and Residency or Citizenship: What a Purchase Gives You in Each Country, and What It Does Not

Two questions almost always reach us together: "If I buy an apartment, will I get citizenship?" and "If I have a grandmother from Bucharest, do I need to buy property to get a passport?". The answer to both is no, but for different reasons. Buying property and citizenship are two separate legal worlds, and a purchase affects at most certain residence permits.

This guide separates three things that tend to be confused: citizenship, a residence permit and residency for tax purposes. It then goes through each of the eight countries and explains what property gives you there and what it does not. The information is correct as of November 2026.

1What is the difference between citizenship, a residence permit and tax residency?

• Citizenship gives a passport and the right to live and work in the country, and in European Union member states throughout the Union as well. It is acquired by birth, descent, marriage or naturalisation after years of residence, and not by virtue of property.
• A residence permit is an authorisation to live in the country subject to conditions, for a limited or unlimited period. Some permits are granted in return for investment, and are marketed as a Golden Visa.
• Residency for tax purposes is determined by each country's tax tests. In Israel the test is the centre of life, and neither a residence permit abroad nor a foreign passport severs it on its own. See the guide to tax residency and property abroad.

2Does buying property abroad give citizenship?

No, in none of the countries in this guide. "Passport for investment" programmes in the European Union have almost disappeared: Cyprus abolished its programme on 1 November 2020, and Bulgaria abolished its citizenship-by-investment route in March 2022. Even in countries where a residence permit is granted in return for property, the path to citizenship goes through years of actual residence, language and further conditions. Anyone offering "a passport with the apartment" is offering something that does not exist in law.

3What does buying property give you in each country?

4Buying an apartment in Romania and citizenship: what is the connection?

There is no direct connection. Many Israelis are entitled to apply for reacquisition of Romanian citizenship under Article 11 of Law 21/1991, if they or their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents lost citizenship involuntarily. Since Law 14/2025 most applicants must prove knowledge of Romanian, with exemptions, and the National Citizenship Authority has up to two years to decide. There is no need to live in Romania and no need to give up Israeli citizenship. See the guide to Romanian citizenship for Israelis.

Nor is there a connection in the opposite direction: under the Romanian aliens law, owning property is not a purpose of stay, and Romania has no Golden Visa. A bill for such a programme was withdrawn in December 2025. To live in Romania beyond 90 days in any 180, you need a D visa on a ground provided by law, such as employment or family reunification, followed by a residence permit. See the map of routes to residence in Romania.

5A Portuguese passport: is it still possible, and does property help?

Property does not help. Since Lei 56/2023, buying real estate does not qualify for a Golden Visa, not even indirectly. The citizenship route for descendants of Sephardic Jews of Portuguese origin, which many Israelis used, was closed by Lei Orgânica 1/2026 to new applications from 19 May 2026. Applications pending on that date continue under the previous wording. Anyone who did not apply can seek citizenship only through the general routes, and an Israeli who is not an EU citizen needs ten years of legal residence. An apartment you own can serve as proof of accommodation for a D7 visa, but it is not the ground. See the guide to residency and citizenship in Portugal.

6A Bulgarian passport and residence in Bulgaria: what is possible?

Bulgaria's citizenship-by-investment route was abolished in March 2022. Anyone entitled to a Bulgarian passport by virtue of Bulgarian origin does so through a separate route under the citizenship law, which is unrelated to property. On the residence permit side, according to reviews by law firms in Bulgaria, the aliens law includes a route for anyone who invests at least BGN 600,000 (about EUR 306,775) in buying property, with new funds transferred through a Bulgarian bank and with no more than a quarter of the price financed by a loan. The permit is granted for one year and renewed every year as long as the investment is maintained, and after five consecutive years one can apply for permanent residency. An ordinary apartment purchase does not give status. An Israeli registers an apartment in their own name, but land only through a Bulgarian company, as we explained in the guide to land ownership in Bulgaria.

7Permanent residency in Cyprus: what you get and what you do not

Cyprus grants an immigration permit under Regulation 6(2) to anyone who invests at least EUR 300,000 plus VAT, for example in a new residential property from a first sale, and proves a secured annual income of at least EUR 50,000. This is permanent residency, not citizenship. It does not permit work in Cyprus, and does not make the holder a Cypriot tax resident. As of November 2026 Cyprus is not a full member of the Schengen area, so it should not be assumed that the permit confers movement rights within it. Selling the property without an alternative investment may cancel the permit. See the guide to permanent residency in Cyprus.

8The Greek Golden Visa: does it lead to a passport?

Only indirectly and in the long term. The permit is granted for five years and renewed in return for an investment of EUR 800,000 or 400,000, depending on the area, and does not require a minimum stay. But anyone who wants Greek citizenship must actually live in Greece for at least 183 days a year, for seven years, and pass a language and civics examination. The permit holder is not allowed to work in Greece. See the guide to the Golden Visa in Greece and the comparison of Golden Visa programmes in Europe.

9Buying property in Italy and a residence visa: what is the position?

Buying property in Italy does not give a residence visa. The Italian investor visa is based on bonds, companies, start-ups and donations, and real estate is not one of the routes. Anyone living on passive income can apply for an Elective Residence visa: according to the Italian Consulate in Houston, stable and documented financial resources that do not derive from work are required, together with a place of residence in Italy, owned or rented, and working in Italy is not permitted. In other words, the property is one of the conditions, not the ground. Italian citizenship by descent was also significantly restricted by Law 74/2025, so anyone looking into it should check the current rules with the consulate.

10The US and Ukraine: does property give status?

In the US, owning property, even expensive property, does not give a visa or a green card. Investment immigration routes are built around businesses: the EB-5 programme requires investment in a US business that will create or preserve ten full-time jobs, and the E-2 visa is intended for an investor who runs an active business. Passive holding of a rental apartment does not meet these requirements. In Ukraine, buying property is not a ground for status, and the practical questions under martial law are registration and transfer of funds, not residency.

11What does a European passport change for a property buyer?

If the family already holds a passport of an EU member state, or a citizenship application is under way, it is worth checking it before choosing a transaction structure. An EU citizen:

• Registers land directly in their own name in Romania and Bulgaria, without a company or Superficie.
• Does not need a Council of Ministers permit in Cyprus, and does not need a border-areas permit in Greece.
• Can live and work in EU member states without a Golden Visa and without an investment-based residence permit.
• Shortens the path to naturalisation in Portugal to seven years instead of ten.

What the passport does not change: the price, VAT, notary and registration costs, and tax in Israel. An Israeli tax resident must report and pay tax on the property even if they bought it with a foreign passport. See the guide to the Israeli side of property abroad.

12Working checklist: before linking property and status

1. Check eligibility for citizenship by descent in the family, before any investment. It may make the investment route unnecessary altogether.
2. Define what you need: a passport, the right to live in the country, or just property. Each goal has a different route.
3. Do not buy property "for the status" without checking the current conditions of the route, including the threshold, financing and restrictions on use.
4. Coordinate the timetable: if citizenship is on the way, decide on the property's registration route according to the position on the day of signing.
5. Plan Israeli tax separately from status: neither a permit nor a passport severs Israeli residency.
6. Keep records of days of stay, fund transfers and documents, for renewing permits and for counting years towards naturalisation.

13How we assist a buyer who is also looking into status

When a client is considering property and status in parallel, we start with status: we check whether there is eligibility for citizenship, and which route suits their goal. On the property side, we adapt the purchase and registration structure to the citizenship position on the day of signing, and check that the contract meets what the immigration file requires. The citizenship and immigration files themselves are filed with the authorities by local lawyers specialising in the field, and we coordinate between them and the tax adviser in Israel. We do not guarantee the outcome of a citizenship or immigration application.

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