NEW - The Price of a Canadian House Down Payment Buys You Access to 27 Countries

Second passport options for Canadians start at 250,000 euros in Portugal, which is roughly what you'd put down on a Toronto house. You're sitting on home equity that could buy your kids access to 27 European Union countries for education, work, and healthcare, but you're treating it like it only unlocks Canadian real estate. The gap between what your money can do here versus what it unlocks there is wider than you think.

Portugal's golden visa lets you invest 500,000 euros in a fund or donate 250,000 to arts and culture, visit one week per year, and after five to seven years with basic Portuguese, you get EU citizenship that passes to your kids and grandkids forever. Greece offers residence for 250,000 euro real estate investment. Italy has a pension visa requiring 31,000 euros annual passive income with no investment at all. Basil Mohr-Elzeki confirms Canada allows unlimited multiple citizenships, so you never give up being Canadian. The calculation changes when you realize European residence means your kids access subsidized universities in 27 countries instead of paying Canadian tuition, or when you've waited 12 hours in a Canadian ER and two years for surgery but have another healthcare system you can legally use.

Your house equity isn't just retirement money. It's potential access to countries your grandkids will thank you for when they're 25 and want to work in Berlin or study in Rome without visa restrictions.

Topics: second passport for Canadians, European citizenship by investment, Portugal golden visa, multiple citizenships, retire in Europe

GUEST: Basil Mohr-Elzeki | https://www.henleyglobal.com/passport-index/ranking

Originally aired on 2026-02-17