Golden Visa translation requirements: Spain, Portugal, Greece, UAE compared

Spain announced it was closing its Golden Visa program in late 2023 - and most applicants assumed it was political theater that would quietly disappear. Then April 3, 2025 arrived, and Spain actually did it: real estate investment applications closed, Prime Minister Sánchez citing housing affordability and the “right to a home” over investor profits.

If you’d been planning to buy a Barcelona apartment for residency, you were suddenly rerouting. Portugal, Greece, and UAE all still have active programs - but each works differently, costs differently, and demands completely different types of document translation. Get the translation type wrong, or get the legalization sequence wrong, and your application sits in a queue for months before someone tells you it’s invalid.

Here’s what you need to know about each program and exactly what translation requirements apply.

Status check: what’s open in 2026¶

Country	Status	Min. investment	Translation language	Translator type
Spain	Closed April 2025	N/A (renewals only)	Spanish	Traductor jurado (MAEC-accredited)
Portugal	Active (fund route only)	€500,000	Portuguese	Certified + apostille sequence
Greece	Active	€250K-€800K	Greek	MFA certified or Greek lawyer
UAE	Active	AED 2M (~€540K)	Arabic	MOJ-licensed only

The headline difference: Spain is out, and the remaining three programs have nothing in common in terms of documentation requirements.

Spain: closed but still relevant for 50,000+ holders¶

Spain’s Golden Visa ran from 2013 to April 2025. Over that period, around 14,000 main permits were granted - meaning tens of thousands of family members are now on active Spanish Golden Visas that need to be renewed.

Renewals follow the original rules: maintain the qualifying investment, renew every 5 years, and submit the same document package. And that package still requires translations by a traductor jurado - a translator personally accredited by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC).

Spain has only a handful of sworn Ukrainian translators nationwide. For most document pairs, expect a wait of 2-3 weeks and €40-70 per page. The full renewal translation package typically runs €400-600.

Spain also remains relevant for anyone who applied before April 3, 2025 and is still waiting for initial approval - those applications continue processing under the old rules.

As Echeverria Abogados notes:

Applications submitted before the cut-off date continue to be processed. Existing Golden Visa holders may renew their permits, provided they maintain the qualifying investment.

For details on sworn translation for Spain, see our guide to traducción jurada.

Portugal: the most popular EU program, the trickiest paperwork¶

Portugal’s Golden Visa (ARI program) is still the most applied-to investor residence program in Europe. But the real estate investment route closed in October 2023 under Law 56/2023. What’s left is the fund route: minimum €500,000 invested in CMVM-regulated investment funds.

The program still makes sense for many investors - Portugal offers a path to EU citizenship after 5 years of legal residence, visa-free Schengen access, and a relatively predictable legal system.

The translation requirements, though, are where people get stuck.

The sequence rule nobody reads until it’s too late¶

Portugal has a strict ordering requirement for foreign documents:

Step 1: Get your documents legalized in the original language - either via apostille (for Hague Convention countries) or consular legalization (for non-convention countries).

Step 2: Only after legalization is complete, get certified translations into Portuguese.

As Pela Terra’s documentation guide explains:

Documents must be legalized prior to translation - this is mandatory, not optional. Translating first and legalizing after means the apostille covers the original document, not the translation, and Portuguese authorities will reject the package.

This catches people constantly. You translate everything first (makes sense, right - you want to understand what’s in the document), then you realize the apostille needs to go on the original-language version. Start over.

The AIMA backlog problem¶

Portugal’s immigration authority transitioned from SEF to AIMA in 2024. The transition created a backlog that at peak reached 39.6 months processing time, according to Visa Verge’s 2025 analysis.

As of mid-2026, new applications submitted with complete documentation are reportedly processing in 2-6 months. Incomplete or improperly formatted document packages are the primary cause of delays - which means translation quality and format directly affect how long you wait.

All submissions are now digital-only through Portugal’s ARI portal. The portal does not accept paper submissions.

Translation requirements¶

• All documents must be certified translations into Portuguese
• The translator needs proper certification credentials (sworn translator or notarized translation depending on jurisdiction)
• Documents must maintain “complete fidelity to the original,” including all seals, stamps, and formatting
• Typical cost: €25-60 per page

Full details on Portugal’s Golden Visa document requirements.

Greece: cheapest EU entry, but 100% Greek documentation¶

Greece is now the most affordable Golden Visa in Europe. And as Forbes reported in February 2025, investor interest has surged as Spain closed and Portugal restricted its real estate route.

The tiered investment structure introduced in August 2024:

Zone	Min. investment	Examples
Premium areas	€800,000	Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, islands with 3,100+ population
Standard areas	€400,000	~85% of Greek territory
Special conversions	€250,000	Commercial-to-residential, restoration of listed buildings

Five-year renewable residence permit, no minimum stay requirement, Schengen access, full family inclusion (spouse, children up to 21, parents of both spouses). After 7 years of residence: Greek citizenship eligibility.

The apostille-before-translation rule¶

Same as Portugal - Greece requires apostille on the original document first, then Greek translation. The order matters.

Greece has its own quirk with translation: only three categories of translators are accepted for official document translations:

• Translators registered with the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs translation service
• Greek lawyers with the relevant language skills
• Graduates of the Ionian University’s translation and interpretation department

A standard “certified translation” from a service that works for Germany or Poland won’t cut it here. Greece has its own closed system.

The non-Latin alphabet problem¶

If your source documents are in Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic, or any other non-Latin script, Greece has an extra layer of complexity. The Greek alphabet is non-Latin, and finding translators who work Ukrainian-to-Greek (rather than Ukrainian-to-English-to-Greek) is genuinely difficult.

In practice, many applicants use English as an intermediate language - but Greek authorities may reject English-language documents. Plan extra lead time: 3-4 weeks for a standard document package, not the 1-2 weeks you’d expect.

Typical translation cost: €15-25 per page + 24% VAT. For a standard applicant package, budget €200-400 for translations.

Full details: Greece Golden Visa documents and translation.

UAE: Arabic-only, attestation-first, MOJ-licensed translators only¶

The UAE Golden Visa is the non-EU alternative in this comparison. It runs outside the Schengen zone and outside EU frameworks entirely, but gives 5-10 year renewable residence in a country with zero personal income tax, English as a working language, and a large expat community.

The current threshold is AED 2,000,000 (~€540,000 at mid-2026 rates) via real estate, public investment, or financial deposits. For real estate with a mortgage, the full DLD-registered value counts - not just the equity paid.

The UAE doesn’t use apostilles. The Hague Convention doesn’t apply here. Instead, there’s a full attestation chain:

1. Notarization in the country of origin
2. Attestation by the UAE embassy in that country
3. Attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
4. Official Arabic translation by an MOJ-licensed translator

That last step is non-negotiable. The UAE Ministry of Justice maintains a register of licensed translators under Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2022. Only translators on this list can certify documents for government submissions. A “certified translation” from any other service is not accepted.

As BTS Legal Translations explains:

The attestation process must be completed before Arabic translation. This is mandatory - translation of unattested documents is not accepted by UAE authorities, because the translation must include and reflect all official stamps and certifications present on the original.

So the flow is: get all stamps and certifications complete on your original document first, then bring it to an MOJ translator who translates the fully attested version into Arabic, including all the stamps in the translation.

Translation costs¶

• MOJ-certified translation: from AED 25 per page (~€6) for simple documents
• MOFA attestation: from AED 250 (~€68) with collection and delivery
• Full Golden Visa document package: AED 1,500-3,000 (~€400-800)
• Processing time: 0-3 business days for translation

Full details: UAE Golden Visa - investment and professional documents.

Document checklist: what needs to be translated¶

Most Golden Visa applications require the same core set of documents, though each country has specific additions. Here’s the standard package:

Document	Spain	Portugal	Greece	UAE
Passport	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified	Greek certified	Arabic (MOJ)
Birth certificate	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified + apostille	Greek certified + apostille	Arabic (MOJ) + attestation
Marriage certificate	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified + apostille	Greek certified + apostille	Arabic (MOJ) + attestation
Criminal record	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified + apostille	Greek certified + apostille	Arabic (MOJ) + attestation
Bank statements	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified	Greek certified	Arabic (MOJ)
Proof of investment	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified	Greek certified	Arabic (MOJ)
Tax certificates	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified + apostille	Greek certified + apostille	Arabic (MOJ) + attestation
Health insurance	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified	Greek certified	Arabic (MOJ)
Power of attorney	Traducción jurada	Portuguese certified + apostille	Greek certified + apostille	Arabic (MOJ) + attestation chain

The passport is the exception almost everywhere - passports are generally accepted without translation since they include Latin-script data pages. But for everything else, plan on full certified translations.

Translation timeline and budget: realistic numbers¶

The biggest mistake applicants make is leaving translations to the last minute. Here’s a realistic timeline:

Phase	Duration	Notes
Gather original documents	2-4 weeks	Birth certificates, criminal records, tax documents
Apostille/legalization	2-6 weeks	Varies by country; Ukraine typically 5-10 business days
Certified translation	1-3 weeks	Longer for Greek (limited translator pool) and Arabic
Document review and resubmission	1-2 weeks buffer	Always add this
Total minimum	6-14 weeks	Before your application can even be submitted

Budget per country (translations only, not legal/investment costs):

Country	Translation cost estimate	Notes
Portugal	€300-600	Varies by document volume and language pair
Greece	€200-400 + 24% VAT	Ukrainian-to-Greek has limited translator supply
UAE	AED 1,500-3,000 (~€400-800)	MOJ rate + attestation fees

5 mistakes that delay Golden Visa applications¶

These come up repeatedly on expat forums and in immigration lawyer reports:

1. Getting the sequence wrong in Portugal or Greece. Translating before legalizing is the #1 cause of rejected document packages. Apostille goes on the original, not the translation.

2. Using a non-certified translator. In Greece, only MFA-registered translators, Greek lawyers, and Ionian University graduates are accepted. In the UAE, only MOJ-licensed translators. A generic “certified translation” from a translation service doesn’t meet the requirement.

3. Assuming English works. In Greece and Portugal, English-language documents are not accepted at official government offices. Everything must be in the national language. Some banks accept English for preliminary verification, but the immigration authority doesn’t.

4. Not budgeting for rare language pairs. Ukrainian-to-Greek and Ukrainian-to-Arabic have very limited certified translator supply. Expect 50-100% price premiums and 2-3× the usual lead time compared to Ukrainian-to-Portuguese or Ukrainian-to-Spanish.

5. Submitting incomplete packages. Portugal’s AIMA portal rejects incomplete digital submissions and the application sits in the queue without processing. Every document in the checklist must be present, properly formatted, and correctly translated before submitting.

One expat who went through the Portugal process described the experience on a relocation forum:

I submitted everything in January and heard nothing for 4 months. When I finally got a response, it was that my criminal record translation was missing a stamp from the apostille - I had translated a pre-apostille copy by mistake. Had to redo the apostille on the correct version, get a new translation, and resubmit. Add another 3 months.

This is avoidable. The sequence rule is clearly documented - but most people don’t read it until they’ve already made the mistake.

How to prepare your document package¶

The practical workflow:

1. Get originals certified and apostilled in the issuing country before doing anything else
2. Check the translator registry for the target country: MFA Greece, MOJ UAE translator list, MAEC Spain
3. Order translations from a registered translator in the target country’s system (not from a third country)
4. Verify format requirements before submitting - page numbering, seal placement, and binding format vary by country
5. Build in 2 weeks buffer for corrections and resubmissions

For preliminary document review - to check what you have and what’s missing before investing in certified translations - ChatsControl can translate documents from Ukrainian, Russian, or English quickly so you understand their content. For the final certified translations with legal force, you’ll need a certified translator registered in the target country’s system.

If you’re comparing property purchase and document translation costs across countries more broadly, see our country-by-country property translation comparison.

FAQ¶

Is Spain’s Golden Visa completely gone or can it still be revived?¶

The program closed by law on April 3, 2025. Reviving it would require new legislation. Given the political context - housing affordability is a major issue in Barcelona, Madrid, and the Balearic Islands - reversal in the near term is unlikely. Existing holders can renew, but no new investment applications are accepted.

Which country has the fastest Golden Visa processing?¶

UAE typically processes in 2-3 months with a complete application. Greece averages 3-4 months. Portugal is the slowest - 2-6 months for new applications with complete documentation, but incomplete packages can sit for much longer.

Do I need an apostille for UAE Golden Visa documents?¶

No. UAE is not a Hague Convention member, so apostilles are not used. Instead, you need a full attestation chain: notarization in the originating country, attestation by the UAE embassy, MOFA attestation, and then MOJ-certified Arabic translation.

Can I use the same translation package if I later decide to move between programs?¶

No. A Portuguese certified translation is not accepted in Greece. A Greek certified translation is not accepted in UAE. Each country’s translation system is separate and closed. You’ll need a new set of translations for each country.

What documents don’t need translation for Golden Visa applications?¶

Passports are generally accepted without translation since they include Latin-script data pages with names, dates, and passport numbers. Some countries also accept international bank statements with English headers. Everything else - birth certificates, marriage certificates, criminal records, tax documents, and investment documentation - requires certified translation into the target country’s official language.

How much does a full Golden Visa translation package cost?¶

Portugal: €300-600 total. Greece: €200-400 plus 24% VAT. UAE: AED 1,500-3,000 (~€400-800) including MOJ translation and attestation fees. These are translation-only costs - legal fees, investment minimums, and government filing fees are separate.