Greece Golden Visa

Greece’s Golden Visa is a residence-by-investment permit for non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals. It’s not a tourist visa. It gives you a renewable 5-year Greek residence right and that also means Schengen travel for short stays.

The program sits in Greek immigration law under Article 20B of Law 4251/2014, as amended. In plain English, if you make a qualifying investment and keep it in place, you can renew the permit in 5-year blocks. There’s no mandatory minimum stay to keep the permit alive, which is why it’s become a popular plan B for people who don’t want to uproot their lives.

The biggest change is the price. The old €250,000 property route still exists, but only for narrow cases like commercial-to-residential conversions and listed buildings. For standard real estate, the bar is now much higher.

• €800,000: High-demand areas, including Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 residents.
• €400,000: The rest of Greece for standard property purchases.
• €250,000: Special real estate cases, mainly conversions and listed or protected buildings.

For ordinary residential property, the rules are tighter than they used to be. The purchase usually has to be a single property worth at least the threshold amount and, for standard housing, it generally has to be at least 120 m². Short-term rental use of Golden Visa property is banned, so this isn’t a loophole for running an Airbnb portfolio.

The scheme is aimed at investors and their families, not EU citizens, who already have free movement rights. Eligible family members can include a spouse or registered partner, minor children and, in some cases, dependent adult children and parents. The permit doesn’t make you a Greek citizen, but it does give you legal residence and Schengen access without tying you to a job in Greece.

There are also financial routes, including certain deposits, bonds and funds, though the official English-language paperwork isn’t neatly bundled in one place. If you’re looking at those options, check the latest Greek Government Gazette texts or get local legal advice before you commit. The details change and Greece doesn’t make that part especially easy.

Who qualifies

Greece’s Golden Visa is for non-EU, non-EEA and non-Swiss nationals, often called third-country nationals in the law. There’s no income test like the Digital Nomad Visa, but you do need to make a qualifying investment in Greece and clear the usual entry checks.

In practice, that means you must have legal capacity to sign the deal, so this is really an adult applicant program. The official material doesn’t set an upper age limit, but minors can’t apply on their own.

Family inclusion is part of the draw, though the official portal is sparse on the full list. The investor, spouse or partner and minor children are the safest category to assume and many advisers also include dependent adult children and dependent parents. Check the exact family set for your case before you wire money anywhere.

You also need to be admissible under Schengen and Greek immigration rules. A prior entry ban, serious criminal conviction, security risk, missing travel documents or lack of health insurance can sink the application.

The investment side is where the real decision sits. The Ministry’s English page still shows a €250,000 baseline for real estate-based permits, but newer legal changes introduced higher thresholds in some locations, with special exceptions that can still use the lower figure for certain conversions or restorations. The government hasn’t pulled all of that into one clean English summary, so don’t assume one price fits every property.

• Real estate: One or more properties meeting the statutory minimum, fully paid and free of encumbrances.
• Lease or timeshare: A long-term hotel or tourist-residence contract, with total value at least the minimum and a term of 5 years or more.
• Land plus construction: Purchase of land and a build or restoration plan, backed by planning permission and invoices.

There’s no fixed monthly income requirement for this route. The real proof is the investment itself, along with health insurance and documentation showing the money was paid from your own funds.

For the permit file, the ministry lists an application form, 4 recent passport photos, a certified passport copy, private health insurance, a residence-permit fee and the €16 card fee. The official portal doesn’t give a single clean, consolidated fee total for every case, so the amount can vary depending on how you enter the process and which investment type you use.

Greece’s Golden Visa is an investment-based residence permit, so the file is heavier on property and transaction paperwork than on personal income checks. The official ministry guidance ties the document list to Article 20B of Law 4251/2014 and the recent legal changes mainly affect investment thresholds, not the basic file structure.

For the main applicant, the core submission is straightforward but fussy. You’ll need the application form, four recent printed digital passport photos plus the same images on a CD in JPEG 2000 format and a certified copy of a valid passport or other travel document that includes the national visa used for entry.

• Application form: The investor residence-permit form for the initial file or renewal.
• Photos: Four recent printed digital passport photos, plus the same photos in digital form on a CD in JPEG 2000.
• Passport copy: A certified copy of a valid passport or recognized travel document. If you can’t get a passport, the renewal file can be supported by a formal declaration with official documents explaining why.

The real work sits in the investment proof. For a property purchase, the ministry asks for a notary certificate showing the parties, the property details, how the price was paid and whether the property has already been used for another Golden Visa application. You also need a certificate from the Land Registry or National Cadastre showing there’s no encumbrance on the property.

• Notary certificate: Confirms the parties, property, payment method and any relevant conditions.
• Land Registry or Cadastre certificate: Shows the property is free of encumbrances.
• Price and value proof: If the contract price was below €250,000 but the objective value meets the threshold, the notarial certificate must say the full amount was paid and that the deal is final.
• Special cases: Long-term leases, timeshares, land plus construction contracts and restoration deals each need their own supporting deeds, licenses and payment receipts.

The ministry’s Golden Visa page doesn’t list a fixed monthly income requirement for this permit. It also doesn’t spell out a separate bank-statement checklist for the residence file, though the purchase itself still has to satisfy banking and anti-money-laundering rules. That part can be annoying, because the permit file and the transaction file aren’t the same thing.

One last practical point, the official guidance doesn’t give a universal passport-validity window for the Golden Visa file. It only says the passport has to be valid, so if your travel document is close to expiring, check with the Greek consulate handling your national visa before you file.

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The Greek Golden Visa isn't a cheap filing. The core government fee is €2,000 ($2,320) per adult applicant for the residence permit, plus a €16 ($19) card-printing fee for the electronic permit.

Those are the fixed state charges tied to the permit itself. They’re paid through Greece’s e-Paravolo system and the official portal is clear on the main amount, though it doesn't give you a neat all-in price for the whole process.

• Residence-permit fee: €2,000 ($2,320) per adult investor, one-off for the 5-year permit.
• Card-printing fee: €16 ($19) for the electronic residence permit.
• Family members: adult dependants are commonly reported at €150 each, while children under 18 are usually exempt, but that breakdown wasn’t confirmed on a dedicated official family-member page.

Then come the private costs, which can add up fast. Health insurance is mandatory for the main applicant and each dependant, but the state doesn’t publish a fixed premium. Certified translations, legal help and notary support are also part of the real bill and those prices depend on the provider you choose.

• Health insurance: required, privately priced, with no official tariff.
• Translations: required for foreign documents, with no state-set fee.
• Legal and notary fees: market-priced, not fixed by the Golden Visa rules.

The property purchase itself brings its own costs, separate from the residence permit. Transfer tax, land registry charges and notary fees still apply and some properties may face VAT instead of transfer tax depending on the asset. The Golden Visa rules don’t change those tax rules, so you’ll want a Greek lawyer or notary to price the transaction properly before you commit.

If you’re budgeting realistically, don’t stop at the headline permit fee. The permit may be straightforward on paper, but the supporting paperwork and the property transaction are where most applicants get surprised.

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Greece’s Golden Visa is the country’s 5-year residence permit for investors and the filing process starts with the investment itself, not with a generic visa form. The official framework sits under Article 20B of Law 4251/2014 and the Ministry of Migration and Asylum handles the permit. The paperwork is picky and the investment thresholds vary by property type and location, so don’t rely on a single headline number without checking the exact category.

How the application works

Most applicants begin by making the qualifying investment, usually in real estate, then filing the residence permit request with the Greek authorities. The official portal doesn't publish one fixed English-language processing timeline for every case, so the timing depends on where you apply and whether your file is complete.

You’ll need legalized Greek translations of foreign documents, plus proof that the investment meets the legal conditions. For real estate, the notary’s certificate matters a lot because it has to show the parties, property details, payment method and whether the property has already been used for another Golden Visa.

What you submit

• Application form: The standard permit request.
• Passport copy: A certified copy of a valid passport or travel document, plus the relevant national visa if one was used for entry.
• Photos: Four recent printed digital photos and the digital file format required by the ministry.
• Fees: A €16 card production fee, plus the electronic application fee. The ministry clearly states €2,000 for renewals, while the initial fee should be confirmed with the consulate or migration office.
• Health insurance: Private insurance covering health and safety risks as required by Greek law.
• Investment proof: Notary certificates, land registry or cadastre certificates and any supporting contracts tied to the qualifying investment.

For property routes, the file can get more specific. If you’re buying land with construction, you’ll also need the purchase contract, building permit, tax-office filed construction agreement and contractor invoices. If you’re using a lease, timeshare or a hotel-style residence, the ministry asks for matching notarized contracts and registration proof.

One practical warning: the official pages don’t fully consolidate the post-2024 investment thresholds in English, so double-check the exact zone, property size and price with the notary and the migration office before you sign anything.

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The Greece Golden Visa isn’t a short-term residency fix. It’s issued for 5 years at a time and if you still meet the rules, you can renew it in new 5-year blocks. That part is simple enough. The catch is that the investment or property condition has to stay in place, so this isn’t a “get it and forget it” permit.

Renewal runs through the official migration process and the paperwork is still very Greek, meaning it asks for proof that the qualifying investment hasn’t fallen apart. For the listed-property route, the authorities want updated documents showing the property is still in your ownership or possession, plus valid insurance and the required fees. If the property has been sold, that can create problems for renewal and may trigger revocation where the law applies.

• Validity: 5 years
• Renewal period: 5 years per renewal
• Residence permit fee: €2,000 ($2,174)
• Printing fee for the electronic permit: €16 ($17)
• Total listed-property fee package: €2,016 ($2,191)

The official MITOS procedure for the listed-property route gives an estimated processing time of 50 to 60 days. That’s for the digital process it lists, not a promise from every local office, so don’t plan your move around it too tightly.

The Golden Visa does not automatically turn into permanent residence or citizenship. Holding it for 5 years doesn’t by itself get you there and the official guidance doesn’t say that time on a Golden Visa counts as an automatic shortcut. If you want a more permanent status in Greece, you’ll need a separate legal basis and a separate application.

For renewal, expect to update the file with the usual identity and investment documents. The official portal’s renewal guidance points to items like your passport, insurance, the relevant notarial and property documents, proof of transfer registration where applicable and the permit fees. Missing or outdated paperwork is the kind of thing that slows these cases down fast.

The Greek Golden Visa is a residence permit, not a tax plan. Holding it doesn’t, by itself, make you a Greek tax resident or give you access to a special tax regime. Once you meet Greece’s tax-residency tests, though, the rules change fast. You’re generally taxed on worldwide income, unless you qualify for one of the alternative regimes available to new tax residents.

Greece looks at tax residency separately from immigration status. The main trigger is physical presence. If you’re in Greece for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, the tax authority can treat you as a Greek tax resident from the first day of that period. Short trips abroad don’t break the count. You can also become tax resident sooner if Greece is your center of vital interests, which usually means your permanent home, family and main economic ties are here.

• Non-resident Golden Visa holder: taxed only on Greek-source income, such as Greek rents or local business income.
• Greek tax resident: taxed on worldwide income, with treaty relief or foreign tax credits where they apply.
• AADE filing: once you’re tax resident, you’ll need to register with the tax authority and file annual returns.

There isn’t a special Golden Visa tax regime built into the permit itself. The upside is that some investors may qualify for Greece’s separate tax incentives after they become tax resident. The best-known option is the non-dom regime for high-net-worth individuals, which can apply to people who haven’t been Greek tax resident for 7 of the previous 8 years and make a qualifying investment of at least €500,000. Another route is the 7% pensioner regime for eligible foreign pensioners who transfer tax residence to Greece.

• Non-dom regime: fixed annual tax on foreign-source income, with Greek-source income still taxed under normal rules.
• 7% pensioner regime: flat tax on foreign pension income for eligible retirees.
• Other incentives: Greece also has a 50% exemption for some new tax residents who earn employment or business income in Greece.

Greek tax rules can be unforgiving if you guess wrong and the treaty tie-breakers matter. If you’re planning to spend real time in Greece, talk to a cross-border tax adviser before you cross the 183-day line.