EU residency by investment
Greece Golden Visa in 2026
Greece never removed its real estate route the way Portugal did. Property remains the core, simplest path to a Greek Golden Visa, but the price to get in has doubled or more in the highest-demand areas since 2023. The visa itself is a renewable 5-year residence permit, not citizenship.
Under the current three-zone system, effective 31 August 2024, the threshold ranges from €250,000 for a heritage restoration or commercial conversion project up to €800,000 for a single property in Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini or the larger islands. Below is the full zone breakdown, the real costs beyond the purchase price, and the honest gap between keeping the permit and eventually becoming a citizen.
What the Greece Golden Visa grants in 2026
The Golden Visa itself is a renewable 5-year residence permit, not Greek citizenship and not the Greek passport. Property bought to qualify must be used for long-term rental only; short-term platforms such as Airbnb are not permitted on Golden-Visa-qualifying property.
Greece raised its thresholds twice in quick succession: from a flat €250,000 to €500,000 in high-demand areas in 2023, then to the current three-zone system effective 31 August 2024. Unlike Portugal, which removed real estate from its golden visa entirely in October 2023, Greece kept property as the core route throughout.
Investment options by zone
Zone assignment, not applicant profile, is what actually decides the minimum here. Confirm which zone a specific property actually sits in before assuming its price bracket: zone boundaries follow administrative area rather than a simple city name, so two similarly priced neighbourhoods can fall on either side of the Zone A line.
| Option | Amount | Who it fits | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zone A: Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, islands over 3,100 people | €800,000 | Single property, minimum 120 sqm | Effective 31 August 2024, up from an earlier post-2023 level of €500,000 in these areas. |
| Zone B: rest of Greece | €400,000 | Single property, minimum 120 sqm | Applies outside the Zone A high-demand areas and outside the smaller, less populated islands. |
| Zone C: commercial-to-residential conversion or heritage restoration, nationwide | €250,000 | Must convert or restore before applying | The one route where the pre-2023 €250,000 minimum still applies nationwide, but only for converting a former commercial or industrial building, or restoring a listed heritage building, not for buying an existing home. |
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Check my eligibilityFamily and the real cost beyond the purchase price
The purchase threshold is only the entry ticket. The recurring and one-off costs below are what a Zone A budget actually looks like; the lawyer on the file confirms each figure for the specific property before you commit.
Spouse, dependent children, and dependent parents of either spouse can generally be included on the same permit without each needing their own qualifying property. Confirm current per-dependent fees with a licensed Greek immigration lawyer before finalising a family budget, since these figures are not fixed in the same public schedule the purchase thresholds are.
| Item | Typical amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Property transfer tax | About 3.09% of the price: roughly €24,700 on an €800,000 Zone A property | Paid on transfer; new-build property can fall under VAT rules instead, which the lawyer checks first. |
| Notary, registration and land-registry fees | Commonly 1.5-2.5% combined | Set by scale and region; itemised in the lawyer's quote for the specific property. |
| State application fee for the permit | €2,000 for the main applicant; lower amounts per dependant | Plus a small electronic-card fee per person. Confirmed against the Ministry of Migration schedule at filing. |
| Legal fees | Commonly 1-1.5% of the purchase | Title checks, AFM registration, power of attorney, and the permit filing. |
| Our advisory fee | Quoted in writing before you pay anything | Covers the zone and threshold check, program comparison, and the introduction to a licensed Greek property lawyer. |
Greece vs Portugal vs Indonesia: one table
Clients weighing Greece are almost always weighing it against Portugal, and increasingly against Indonesia's deposit route when the goal turns out to be a base rather than Europe specifically. Greece's own numbers are above; this is how the other three desks compare on the same questions (the Indonesia page, UAE page and Portugal page carry the detail).
| Indonesia (E28C / Second Home) | UAE Golden Visa | Portugal Golden Visa | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum investment | US$130,000 bank deposit (Second Home) or US$350,000 in bonds/funds (E28C) | AED 2,000,000 property, about US$545,000 | €500,000 regulated fund |
| Is the money spent? | No: deposit or securities stay yours and earn interest or coupons | No: you own the property | No, but locked in a fund for 5+ years with market risk |
| Permit term | 5 years (Second Home) or 5-10 years (E28C), then KITAP after 3 years' residence | 10 years, renewable | Renewable 2-year cards while the investment is held |
| Path to citizenship | Effectively none: Indonesia bans dual citizenship | None in the ordinary sense: naturalisation is invitation-only | Yes: 10 years' lawful residence for most nationalities, after the May 2026 law change |
| Government fees | Rp 13,000,000 to Rp 19,500,000 per applicant (US$800-1,200) | About 4% property transfer fee plus roughly AED 10,000 in permit services | About €843 filing plus about €8,419 issuance per person; 25% less online |
| Typical speed to permit | Weeks | Weeks to a few months | A year or more at current AIMA workloads |
How the process runs
Applications go through the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, processed through Greece's immigration or decentralized administration offices. There is no interview requirement in the CBI sense.
There is no Caribbean-style mandatory licensed-agent requirement here, but using a licensed Greek property lawyer to handle title checks, obtain a Greek tax number (AFM), and manage the permit application is standard practice. Gold Visa World is an advisory desk, not a law firm or estate agency: we check the zone and threshold logic with you and introduce you to a licensed Greek property lawyer, named in writing before any fee. Nothing on this page is Greek legal or tax advice.
Greece processing time in 2026
The property purchase is usually the pacing item, not the immigration paperwork: title checks, AFM registration and the permit application move in parallel once a qualifying property is under contract. There is no single official end-to-end figure, and we do not quote a generic industry one: actual speed depends on the specific property, notary availability and the current workload of the administration office handling the permit, which the Greek lawyer on the file confirms case by case.
The citizenship clock is separate and much longer: around 7 years of genuine, documented physical residency, plus Greek language, history and civics exams, as set out below.
What typically lengthens a Greece file:
- Title or planning issues found during the lawyer's checks
- A property that turns out to sit in a different zone, or below 120 sqm
- Conversion or restoration projects under the €250,000 route, which must be completed before applying
- Documents that need apostille and certified Greek translation
Greece Golden Visa requirements checklist
The Greek lawyer handling the purchase and the permit confirms the current list. A typical file asks for:
- A valid passport for every applicant, and proof of lawful entry to Greece
- A Greek tax number (AFM)
- The notarial purchase deed and proof of registration with the land registry or cadastre
- Proof that the property meets the zone threshold and the 120 sqm minimum where it applies
- Proof of payment through the banking system
- Health insurance cover for every applicant
- Birth and marriage certificates for family members, apostilled and translated into Greek
- Confirmation of how the property will be used: long-term rental only, since short-term letting is not permitted on qualifying property
Who this suits, and the gap between the permit and citizenship
Greece suits investors who specifically want a tangible Mediterranean property alongside EU residency, are comfortable with the higher Zone A threshold for an Athens or island property, or want the lower €250,000 conversion route if willing to take on a renovation project. Because the residence permit itself needs no minimum days per year, it also suits Chinese applicants and Vietnamese applicants who mainly want EU-residency optionality rather than an immediate move, each for their own reasons, covered on their nationality pages, to prefer a residence permit over an immediate second citizenship.
Unlike the four Caribbean programs on this site, Greece's Golden Visa carries none of the EU Schengen-suspension pressure building against citizenship by investment programs: Greece is itself an EU member state running a standard residence-by-investment scheme, not a third country selling a passport that grants Schengen access. The live risk here is domestic threshold and rule changes, which is exactly what happened twice already, in 2023 and again in 2024, not an external suspension threat.
There is a real distinction worth stating plainly here too, since marketing sometimes blurs it. There is no minimum-stay requirement to keep the residence permit active: the investment is what is maintained, not a day count. But naturalisation to Greek citizenship requires around 7 years of genuine, documented physical residency, not just holding the permit on paper, plus Greek language, history and civics exams. Our golden visa versus citizenship guide sets this distinction out in more depth for anyone comparing Greece against an actual passport program.
Official source and how to read this page
Official source: the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Hellenic Republic, with applications processed through the decentralised administration offices. Figures last checked on 23 October 2026, confirm per case; the three-zone thresholds took effect on 31 August 2024.
Not legal advice. This page summarises published rules so you can compare options. Eligibility, fees and timing for your own family are confirmed by the licensed lawyer who files before you commit funds, and rules can change with little notice.
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WhatsAppFrequently asked questions
How much does the Greece Golden Visa cost in 2026?
It depends on the zone. Zone A, covering Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and the larger islands, needs €800,000. Zone B, the rest of Greece, needs €400,000. Zone C, a nationwide commercial-to-residential conversion or heritage restoration route, needs €250,000. Zones A and B require a single property of at least 120 sqm.
Do I need to live in Greece to keep my Golden Visa?
No minimum days per year are required to keep the residence permit itself active. What matters is maintaining the qualifying investment. Naturalisation to full Greek citizenship is a separate matter and requires around 7 years of genuine, documented physical residency.
Can I rent my Greek Golden Visa property on Airbnb?
No. Qualifying properties must be used for long-term rental only. Short-term rental platforms are not permitted on Golden-Visa-qualifying property under the program's rules.
Is Greece's Golden Visa cheaper than Portugal's?
It depends on the zone. Greece's Zone C conversion route, at €250,000, is cheaper than Portugal's €500,000 fund minimum, and Zone B, at €400,000, is also cheaper. Zone A, at €800,000, is more expensive than Portugal's fund route. Greece's government fees are also far lighter than Portugal's per-person issuance fees.
What are the government fees for the Greece Golden Visa?
The state application fee is €2,000 for the main applicant, plus a small electronic residence-card fee per person; dependants pay lower per-person amounts. The bigger costs sit on the property side: transfer tax of about 3.09%, notary and registration fees commonly totalling 1.5-2.5%, and legal fees commonly 1-1.5% of the purchase.
How long does the Greece Golden Visa take?
The property purchase is usually the pacing item, not the permit. Once a qualifying property is under contract, title checks, tax-number registration and the permit application run in parallel; an on-time file is a matter of months, and a blue receipt issued at filing lets you stay in Greece lawfully while the card is produced. The Greek lawyer on the file quotes current office workloads rather than a generic figure.
Does the Greek permit let me travel in the Schengen area?
Yes. The Greek residence permit allows visa-free short stays across the Schengen area, up to 90 days in any 180-day period. For many holders that Schengen mobility, not life in Greece itself, is the real product.
Which family members can be included?
Spouse, children up to 21 (extendable in study cases), and dependent parents of either spouse can generally be included on the same qualifying investment, each with their own permit and per-person fees. The family permits run on the main applicant's investment, so no second property is needed.
Can I sell the property later and keep the permit?
No. The permit exists while the qualifying investment is held: sell the property and the basis of the permit goes with it, unless you replace it with another qualifying investment at the current threshold. Plan an exit around a renewal date, not mid-cycle.
What is the 120-square-metre rule?
At the €800,000 and €400,000 tiers the investment must be a single property of at least 120 square metres. You cannot assemble several small flats to reach the threshold in those zones. The €250,000 conversion and restoration routes are exempt from the size rule.
What exactly qualifies under the €250,000 route?
Two things only: converting a former commercial or industrial building into residential use, or restoring a listed heritage building. The works must be genuine, documented and completed before the permit application: buying an ordinary apartment and repainting it does not qualify, whatever a listing says.
Can I get Greek citizenship through the Golden Visa?
Not through the visa itself. Naturalisation requires around 7 years of genuine, documented physical residency in Greece, plus Greek language, history and civics exams. The Golden Visa can be the legal basis for those years, but holding the permit from abroad does not move you toward a passport at all.
Can I rent the property out long-term?
Yes, long-term rental is permitted and is how most non-resident holders cover running costs. What is banned on qualifying property is short-term platform letting of the Airbnb kind, with fines published at the €50,000 level for breaches, so structure the tenancy properly from day one.
Do I pay Greek tax if I hold the Golden Visa?
Owning the property brings Greek property taxes and tax on any Greek rental income regardless of where you live. Becoming a Greek tax resident is separate and generally follows from spending more than 183 days a year in Greece. Since the permit needs no stay at all, most holders never trigger it; get specific advice before you settle.
How does Greece compare with Indonesia or the UAE?
Greece is the cheapest EU property route (from €250,000 for a conversion project) with full Schengen mobility and no stay requirement, but a slow 7-year, exam-based path to citizenship. The UAE is faster with zero income tax and no citizenship path; Indonesia is the budget base, about US$130,000 on deposit. The comparison table on this page puts them side by side.
Deciding between a zone, or between Greece and another program?
Tell us your budget and whether you want a tangible property or a fund investment. We will lay out the real trade-offs, zone by zone, program by program.
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