The Golden Visa Programs Which Accept Unmarried Partners In 2026

Portugal, Malta, and Greece will admit an unmarried partner on a single investment in 2026, while the Caribbean, Turkey, the UAE and the US require a marriage certificate.

Every residency and citizenship by investment program admits a spouse. The rules for partners without a marriage certificate vary widely, and the difference decides whether a couple files one application or two. Long-term couples who never married, couples engaged but not yet wed, and same-sex couples whose marriage is recognised at home but not in the destination country all fall into this gap.

Programs sort into three groups:

• The first accepts proof of a shared life, such as joint leases and bank statements.
• The second accepts a registered civil union or a notarised cohabitation agreement.
• The third accepts a legal marriage only, and several in that group define which marriages count.

Programs That Accept Proof Of Cohabitation

The Portugal Golden Visa admits a partner under the união de facto, which Portuguese law defines as two people of any sex who have lived together for more than two years in conditions comparable to marriage. Couples prove it with lease agreements, joint accounts, shared bills and a sworn declaration from both partners. The partner then qualifies on the same footing as a spouse.

Portugal’s family reunification rules changed in October 2025 under Law 61/2025, which introduced a two-year residence wait before most permit holders can bring family members from abroad. Golden Visa holders are exempt from the wait, and D7 holders are not. Unmarried couples on other Portuguese permits can reduce the wait to 15 months by documenting 18 months of cohabitation before the sponsor arrives.

Portugal remains the top destination among UK investors La Vida surveyed in October 2025, at 50.6%. The €500,000 fund route, the seven-days-a-year stay requirement and permanent residence at five years are unchanged. It is possible to apply for citizenship after 10 years under Lei Orgânica 1/2026, in force since 19 May 2026, or seven years for EU and CPLP nationals.

The Malta Permanent Residence Program admits a partner in a relationship the Residency Malta Agency recognises as equivalent to marriage. The wording explicitly includes de facto partnerships supported by adequate evidence. That wording survived the program’s 2025 overhaul intact.

New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus Visa admits a married or de facto partner of the same or opposite sex, provided the couple shows a genuine, stable relationship and at least 12 months of living together. No registration or ceremony is required.

Spain closed its Golden Visa in April 2025, but the rules still apply to existing holders renewing their permits. Spanish law recognises the registered pareja de hecho, and a 2024 regulation accepts 12 months of documented cohabitation as an alternative to formal registration.

Programs That Require A Civil Union Or Notarised Agreement

The Greece Golden Visa recognises a partner with whom the applicant has concluded a cohabitation agreement signed before a Greek notary and registered locally. Whether Greek authorities accept a foreign civil union is unsettled, so Athens law firms advise executing a Greek agreement.

The sequence is established and the investor completes the property purchase and files alone, receives the temporary residence certificate, then the couple signs the notarial agreement and the partner’s application is added to the open case. Both residence cards are usually issued together.

The agreement creates a legal family relationship under Greek law with consequences for property relations, financial claims between partners and inheritance, so couples should take advice before signing. Greek cohabitation agreements have been open to same-sex couples since 2015, and same-sex spouses married abroad qualify directly following Greece’s 2024 marriage equality law.

The Greece Golden Visa investment thresholds are:

• €250,000 for qualifying commercial-to-residential conversions and restoration projects
• €400,000 in most regions
• €800,000 in Athens, Thessaloniki and the larger islands

Cyprus recognises civil unions concluded under its Civil Union Law, including same-sex unions, and the recognition extends to the fast-track investor permit. A civil union partner can be included on the same qualifying investment as a spouse.

Unions registered abroad qualify, though Cyprus distinguishes civil unions from civil partnerships, which do not carry the same legal status in every country. Cyprus does not recognise same-sex marriage, so a same-sex couple married abroad files through the civil union route rather than on the marriage certificate.

Italy’s investor visa admits a spouse or civil union partner, and civil unions have been equated to marriage for immigration purposes since 2016. Italian civil unions exist only for same-sex couples, and registered cohabitation confers no reunification rights, so an unmarried opposite-sex couple has no route short of marrying.

Programs That Require A Legal Marriage

The Hungary Guest Investor Program builds the family application on a marriage certificate. Hungary does not recognise same-sex marriage, so the residence permit cannot include a same-sex spouse regardless of where the marriage took place, and family reunification is not available as a fallback.

The US EB-5 program recognises no civil partners and no common-law partners, however long the relationship. A same-sex spouse qualifies as a derivative provided the marriage was valid where it was celebrated.

The Panama Qualified Investor Visa admits a legal husband or wife, evidenced by an apostilled marriage certificate. Panama does not recognise same-sex marriage domestically, so couples holding a foreign same-sex certificate should confirm eligibility with a Panamanian lawyer before filing.

Turkey Citizenship by Investment admits a spouse whose marriage is valid under Turkish private international law, with the certificate apostilled and translated. Turkey recognises neither same-sex marriage nor any registered partnership, so no unmarried partner concept exists.

The UAE Golden Visa requires a marriage certificate legalised in the country of issue, at the UAE embassy there and by the UAE foreign ministry before a spouse can be sponsored. Cohabitation has been lawful since the 2021 personal status reforms, and an unmarried couple can each qualify independently through the property, employment or talent routes.

Citizenship By Investment: A Legally Married Spouse

The five Caribbean Citizenship by Investment programs share one rule. The partner who qualifies as a dependant is a legally married spouse of the opposite sex.

St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment defines the family unit as a husband and wife, and either can be the principal applicant. Families of any other composition can apply, but each adult files as an individual with their own qualifying contribution. The same applies across Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St Lucia, and St Lucia specifies that in a lawful polygamous marriage the spouse is the first husband or wife.

Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment allows a future spouse of the principal applicant to be added after citizenship for a US$50,000 fee. Across the region, a citizen who marries after naturalisation can typically pass status to the new spouse through standard citizenship-by-marriage provisions, since economic citizens hold the same rights as any other citizen.

Unmarried couples in no hurry have two options. They can marry before filing, which turns a partner into a standard dependant at standard fees, or file one application now and add the spouse after a later wedding.

What’s next

Couples planning around these rules should decide on sequence early. Marrying before filing is the simplest route in Hungary, Turkey, the UAE, Panama, the US and the Caribbean. In Greece, the notary appointment replaces the wedding, and the investor should file first so the cohabitation agreement can be added to an open case.

Unmarried couples targeting Portugal or Malta should start the paper trail now, because 12 to 24 months of joint leases, shared accounts and bills in both names is the difference between a routine approval and a request for further evidence.

Definitions in this area change more often than investment thresholds, and several of the finer points depend on how an individual officer reads a specific file.

La Vida’s advisers have structured partner applications across the Portugal, Greece, Malta, Hungary, Turkey, UAE and Panama residency programs and all five Caribbean Citizenship by Investment programs. Get in touch to discuss which route fits your family.

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