London | Does the $US5 million ($7.9 million) price tag on one of US President Donald Trump’s gold card visas sound a bit high? Well, good news: across the Atlantic, you can buy your way into European residency for as little as €250,000 ($413,000).

You don’t even have to put up with Northern Europe’s grim and endless winters: the “golden visa” schemes, often requiring no more than the purchase of a cheap flat, are largely proffered in the balmy Mediterranean. The welcome mat is still out in Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Portugal.