Greece · Residency by investment
Golden Visa (Residence Permit for Investment Activity)
Repriced by Article 64 of Law 5100/2024, which amended the Migration Code (Law 5038/2023). Transactions from 1 September 2024 fall fully under the new tiers, and every transitional deadline that let buyers lock in the old EUR 250,000 threshold has now expired. Law 5275/2026 (Gazette FEK A' 17, 6 February 2026) restructured Greece's whole immigration framework and tightened Golden Visa procedure, but did NOT change the investment thresholds.
The single most misunderstood point is that the EUR 250,000 tier still exists but is now a construction project, not a purchase — you must complete the change of use or the restoration before you can even file, which converts a passive property trade into an active development risk with an immigration deadline attached. Meanwhile the EUR 350,000 fund route is the cheapest genuine entry to the programme and almost nobody sells it, because it pays no property commission.
Qualifying routes
Attica, Regional Unit of Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini/Thira, and islands with population over 3,100. Single property, minimum 120 sqm main living area
all other areas. Single property, minimum 120 sqm main living area
change of use must be COMPLETED before the application is filed; no 120 sqm rule; property may not be a business HQ or branch
restoration obligation attaches to the investor
Article 44 of Law 5162/2024
minimum three-year residual maturity
Greek credit institution, minimum one-year term with standing renewal order
the cheapest non-real-estate route
The facts
- Minimum investment
- €250k
- Total landed cost
- Zone A: EUR 800k property plus roughly 3.09% property transfer tax (or 24% VAT on qualifying new builds), plus legal fees at ~1–2%, government fee of EUR 2,000 per main applicant and EUR 150 per dependant card — call it EUR 850–880k all-in. Zone B: EUR 400k plus the same proportional costs. The EUR 350k fund route avoids property transfer tax entirely and is materially cheaper to enter and exit.
- Timeline
- 3–12 months — Law 5275/2026 imposes a 90-day statutory processing obligation; well-prepared files run 3–6 months, but a reported backlog of roughly 50,000 pending cases means outliers to 12 months persist
- Physical presence
- None. No minimum stay to obtain or renew the permit — but see watchOuts, because zero presence forecloses citizenship.
- Family
- spouse or partnerchildren under 21children 21–24 (as separate applicants under conditions)parents of the investor and of the spouse
- Permanent residency
- The permit is renewable every five years indefinitely while the investment is held; long-term resident status requires actual residence
- Citizenship
- 7 years of genuine physical residence, plus Greek language and integration examination. Golden Visa years spent outside Greece do not count.
- Language test
- Greek — B1 level, via the Panhellenic integration examination (language, history, geography, culture, institutions)
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- third-country national over 18qualifying investment fully paid before applicationsingle property for the real estate routes; minimum 120 sqm for the EUR 800k and EUR 400k tiersinvestment maintained for the life of the permitno short-term/sharing-economy letting or subletting of the qualifying propertyclean criminal record and health insurancefamily documentation, certified proof of dependency and per-member health insurance submitted upfront under Law 5275/2026
- Short-term rental is prohibited. Golden Visa property may not be let on Airbnb, Booking.com or any sharing-economy platform, nor sublet. Anything under 60 days is treated as short-term. Breach triggers permit revocation plus an administrative fine reported at EUR 50,000 — so the yield model most agents present (buy, Airbnb it, get residence) is illegal.
- The 120 sqm minimum main living area applies to the EUR 800k and EUR 400k residential tiers and is a hard filter — it rules out most of the small Athens apartments historically sold to golden visa buyers.
- One property only. The old strategy of assembling several cheap units to reach the threshold is dead.
- The EUR 250k conversion route requires the change of use to be completed BEFORE application, and the converted property cannot serve as a business headquarters or branch office.
- The whole purchase price must be paid before the application is submitted; there is no staged-payment path.
- Zero presence means zero citizenship. The seven-year naturalisation clock needs real residence, and clients who buy on a 'path to an EU passport' pitch are being mis-sold.
- The Zone A definition captures every island with more than 3,100 inhabitants — which is most of the islands anyone actually wants — so 'EUR 400k for a Greek island' is usually wrong.
- A reported ~50,000-case backlog coexists with the new 90-day statutory deadline; treat the deadline as aspirational.
- Becoming Greek tax resident (183 days) without electing Article 5A exposes worldwide income to a 44% top rate.