Starting September 15, 2026, Latvia will cease issuing new temporary residence permits based on real estate purchases. These changes are provided for in the new Immigration Law, which the Saeima re-adopted on August 20 and which takes effect on September 15.
Until now, a foreign investor could apply for a temporary residence permit valid for up to five years upon purchasing real estate worth at least EUR 250,000.
The new law no longer provides for this basis for initially obtaining a residence permit. At the same time, the option to obtain a residence permit by depositing funds in a Latvian bank—which previously required an investment of at least EUR280,000—is being discontinued, according to the Prian.ru portal.
That said, investors effectively have a short transition period. Applications for temporary residence permits submitted before the new law takes effect will be processed under the old legislation.
These changes do not mean that residence permits already issued will be automatically revoked. Permits issued before September 15 remain valid until the end of their specified term. Furthermore, a special transitional mechanism is in place for holders of residence permits previously obtained through real estate purchases or bank investments: provided they maintain their investments and meet the established requirements, they will be able to apply for a renewed temporary residence permit valid for up to five years.
After the real estate option is phased out in Latvia, other investment grounds will remain available. A foreign national may obtain a temporary residence permit valid for up to two years by investing at least EUR50,000 in the capital of a small Latvian enterprise or EUR100,000 in a larger company. Additionally, a payment of EUR10,000 must be made to the state budget, and the company must meet the established requirements regarding employment, turnover, and tax payments.
Furthermore, the new law provides for an investment mechanism through a state-established alternative investment fund manager. To obtain a residence permit, applicants must invest a minimum of EUR 150,000 for a period of at least five years and additionally pay EUR 10,000 to the state budget. Such a residence permit may be granted for a term of up to five years.
Citizens of Russia and Belarus will not be able to use these investment-based options. The relevant restrictions are explicitly stipulated in the new legislation.
Latvia’s investment-based residence permit program has been in place since 2010 and, for many years, was one of the best-known European options for obtaining a residence permit through real estate.
IMMIGRATION, INVESTMENT, LATVIA, REAL ESTATE, RESIDENCE PERMIT
The Greek government is preparing changes to the Golden Visa program that could allow foreign investors to obtain a residence permit by purchasing not just a single property, but a portfolio of several properties, provided they are placed in long-term rental agreements.
The proposed change is included in Greece’s National Housing Policy Strategy for 2026–2035. The document outlines 50 measures with a total budget of over EUR 6.5 billion and is primarily aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing and reducing pressure on the rental market.
Under the proposed model, a foreign investor will be able to purchase multiple properties instead of just one; however, these properties may be used exclusively for long-term rentals. Listing such housing on short-term rental platforms will be prohibited. The authorities also plan to establish a mechanism to monitor the future use of the acquired properties.
The goal of this initiative is to channel foreign investment capital directly toward increasing the supply of rental housing and bringing vacant properties back onto the market. The authorities intend to pay special attention to the conversion of former offices, retail, and industrial spaces into housing.
For now, the changes are still in the planning stages and do not mean that the new Golden Visa category has already taken effect. Its practical implementation will require the appropriate regulatory framework.
Currently, the minimum investment amount under the Greek Golden Visa program depends on the type of property and the region. For Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with a population of more than 3,100 people, the main threshold is EUR800,000; in most other regions, it is EUR400,000. A separate preferential threshold of EUR 250,000 applies, in particular, to the purchase of a commercial property that is subsequently converted into residential housing, as well as to certain protected historic buildings in need of restoration. Official regulations provide for the issuance of a five-year residence permit to the investor.
According to data from the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, 2,551 new applications for an initial residence permit under the Golden Visa program were submitted in the first half of 2026, which is 44% fewer than the 4,553 applications filed from January through June 2025. At the same time, authorities issued 4,919 new permits over the six-month period—21% more than a year earlier—as they continued to process a significant number of applications submitted in previous years.
Most new applicants continue to focus on investments in the range of EUR250,000–400,000, while properties falling below the EUR800,000 threshold are in significantly lower demand.
At the same time, obtaining a residence permit is far from the only reason foreigners purchase real estate. According to data cited in the Greek housing strategy, only about 7% of foreign buyers cite the Golden Visa as their primary motivation. About 30.8% view real estate in Greece as a place for permanent residence, 44.4% as a vacation home, and another 17.8% primarily as an investment. In 2026, the highest interest among foreign buyers is coming from citizens of the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Crete remains the most sought-after region among foreign buyers, accounting for 42.9% of demand, followed by the Peloponnese with 22.9% and the Ionian Islands with 12.7%.
golden visa, GREECE, INVESTMENT, REAL ESTATE, RESIDENCE PERMIT
The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has granted JSC “ZNVKIF ‘Kingston’” permission to acquire control over Dmitry Buryak’s LLC “Business Center on Illinskaya.” According to a statement on the agency’s website, the relevant approval was granted on Thursday.
According to data from the YouControl analytical system, the ultimate beneficiary of JSC “ZNVKIF ‘Kingston’” (Kyiv) is listed as Oleg Vysotsky, who served as head of the State Consumer Standards Service in 2006.
The owner of “BC on Illinska” LLC (Kyiv) is listed as “Concern Europe” LLC (100%), and the ultimate beneficiary is businessman Dmytro Buryak.
The “Ilyinsky” Business Center is part of the portfolio of the DeVision group of companies, whose board of directors was chaired by Buryak. According to information on the business center’s website, its total area is 44,200 square meters, with 37,100 square meters of office space. The underground parking garage has 154 parking spaces.
DeVision is also developing the Seven residential complex in the Darnytskyi district of the capital in partnership with Stolitsa Group. In addition, Buryak owns the company that commissioned the construction of the “Ilyinsky” residential complex at 21 Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street in Kyiv’s Podilskyi district.
As previously reported, Oleg Vysotsky’s Comfort Mol LLC received approval from the AMCU in August 2026 to acquire a single property complex from Osta Plus LLC, owned by Alexander and Sergey Buryak.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has added the following industrial parks to the Register of Industrial Parks “Horvatskyi Hostynets” (Mykolaiv, Stryi District, Lviv Region), with an area of 32.34 hectares, and “Bessarabsky AgroTech Park” (Artsyz, Odesa Region), with an area of 23 hectares, to the Register of Industrial Parks, the Ministry of Economy and Environment reported.
According to a statement on the ministry’s website, the Mykolaiv City Council is the initiator of the park’s creation in Lviv Oblast. Preliminary estimates indicate that 913 million hryvnias will be invested in the development of “Khorvatsky Gostinets” by the initiator, private investors, and the management company.
The park is expected to create approximately 1,500 new jobs.
Key areas of focus include the production of electric motors, generators, and transformers; non-metallic mineral products; machinery and equipment for the mining and construction industries; construction materials; as well as the development of mechanical engineering and alternative energy.
The city council initiated the creation of the “Bessarabian AgroTech Park” industrial park in Artsyz, where approximately 1,000 jobs are planned to be created. A total of 884 million hryvnias is expected to be raised from the initiator, private investors, and the management company to develop the facility.
The main areas of focus will be food production—specifically, the processing and canning of potatoes, fruits, and vegetables; the production of vegetable oils and animal fats; other sectors of the food industry; and alternative energy.
“Two parks—two sectors that we really need: machine building and agricultural processing. Not raw materials, but finished products,” Deputy Minister of Economy Vitaliy Kondratov is quoted as saying in the announcement.
The Ministry of Economy notes that the management company of the “Bessarabian AgroTech Park” is eligible for government incentives in the form of non-repayable financial assistance of up to 150 million hryvnia for infrastructure development.
Currently, there are 125 industrial parks registered in Ukraine, spread across nearly all regions.
As previously reported, as of the end of 2025, 37 industrial enterprises had been built or were under construction in industrial parks. The total amount of investment attracted to industrial parks exceeds 45 billion hryvnias.
The Ukrainian flour milling company “DykankaMlyn” has completed the latest phase of its production modernization in partnership with the Swiss technology company Bühler, installing an automated system for micro-dosing ingredients into flour.
The new equipment allows for the automatic addition of dry gluten, vitamins, and other micro-components based on the actual flow of flour. This enables the company to produce products with specified characteristics and expands its capacity to fulfill export orders.
The system consists of flow scales, two micro-dosing units, and an integrated control system. The flow scales continuously measure the volume of flour, after which the automated system calculates the required amount of ingredients. The operator sets the desired addition percentage, and the subsequent dosing is adjusted automatically.
The equipment was installed without shutting down the mill. The mechanical work took about two to three days, while the electrical connection and commissioning took about a week.
“Our collaboration with Bühler began many years ago with roller sharpening and technical consulting. Then came the optical sorter, followed by two inline whiteness meters and an automatic moistening system. When the question of the next stage of modernization arose, we already had our own experience working with Bühler equipment and understood what results we expected,” noted Volodymyr Lenets, head of “DykankaMlyn.”
A unique feature of the project was that the Bühler equipment was integrated into an existing mill from another manufacturer. This approach allows the company to modernize individual process units in stages, without having to completely overhaul production, and to spread capital expenditures across several phases.
According to Andriy Sharan, CEO of Bühler Ukraine, the “DykankaMlyn” project demonstrates the ability to integrate modern technological solutions into existing production lines and gradually increase the company’s level of automation.
One of the practical applications of the new system will be adjusting the gluten content in flour to meet the requirements of specific customers. For the baking and confectionery industries, stable protein and gluten levels are key characteristics of raw materials, as they directly affect the dough’s processing properties.
Another area of application is the production of fortified flour with added vitamin and mineral complexes. Such products may be in demand in foreign markets, as in a number of countries, the fortification of flour with certain vitamins and minerals is mandated by national legislation or food program standards.
Automated dosing allows manufacturers to control the accuracy of ingredient addition and their uniform distribution in the finished product, which is important for confirming compliance with export requirements.
“Microdosing can solve a production challenge while also serving as a commercial tool. If a company can demonstrate the accuracy and uniformity of its product, this strengthens its position in negotiations with buyers and opens up more opportunities to operate in export markets,” Sharan noted.
“DykankaMlyn” specializes in the production of wheat flour and semolina. The company’s products are sold in Ukraine and exported. The production facility operates its own laboratory to monitor the quality of grain and finished products.
Bühler is a Swiss technology group and one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment and integrated solutions for the grain processing and food industries. In Ukraine, the company collaborates with flour mills, grain processing plants, and food manufacturers.
The investment company S1 REIT has registered a new portfolio fund, S1 “Kyiv Income-Generating Real Estate” (S1 DNA), which will invest in income-generating residential real estate in the capital—including both existing properties and those currently under development.
The new fund’s offering size is 100 million UAH, the company announced on September 2, 2026.
The projected yield for S1 DNA is stated at 9% per annum in dollar terms, taking into account two components: current rental income and potential appreciation in property value.
The minimum initial investment will be 122,000 UAH, and subsequent investments can be made starting at 1,000 UAH. S1 REIT plans to begin the pre-sale of fund certificates in mid-September 2026.
The new fund’s strategy involves building a portfolio consisting of several properties. Initially, the portfolio will include apartments in the income-generating buildings S1 VDNG and S1 Obolon.
S1 VDNG is an existing rental property near the “Vystavkovyi Tsentr” metro station in Kyiv. Its apartments are leased out and generate a steady cash flow.
S1 Obolon is under construction at 18 Obolonskyi Avenue, near the “Minska” metro station. Upon completion, the apartments are also planned to be used as income-generating real estate. For investors, the asset during the construction phase is expected to offer, first and foremost, capitalization potential driven by appreciation in property value.
Thus, S1 DNA combines two sources of potential income: rental payments from apartments already in operation and an increase in the value of properties currently under development.
“By holding a stake in the fund, an investor becomes a co-owner of each individual apartment in two buildings at different addresses. The fund combines the present and the future: today it consists of apartments in two income-generating buildings, and in the future, the fund will be expanded with new properties,” said Igor Gifes, CEO of S1 REIT.
According to him, the transition from investing in a single building to a portfolio model should allow for the diversification of risks across several real estate properties.
The company attributes the decision to launch the new fund, in particular, to the completion of the placement of S1 VDNG fund certificates in early June 2026. Following the full placement of this fund, S1 REIT decided to offer investors a product whose assets will not be concentrated in a single building.
The S1 REIT portfolio also includes the S1 Obolon fund, with a projected annual yield of 10% in dollar terms, and the S1 Plaza Poznyaki commercial real estate fund, with a stated yield of 10.4%. The S1 VDNG fund, whose offering has already been completed, has a projected annual yield of 8.2%.
In June 2026, S1 REIT reported that the total assets under management of its funds had reached 100 million UAH.
S1 REIT works with income-generating residential and commercial real estate in Kyiv. The company’s business model is based on the acquisition of real estate by collective investment funds, its subsequent professional management, and the distribution of the resulting income among investment certificate holders. Projects are implemented in collaboration with the developer Standard One and the management company S1 Ukraine.
The stated fund returns are projected and calculated by the company based on a financial model that takes into account rental income, fund expenses, and the potential appreciation of its assets.
