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Greece residency by investment

The Greek golden visa requires a property investment of EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants, EUR 400,000 elsewhere, or EUR 250,000 for a commercial-to-residential conversion or a listed-building restoration anywhere in Greece (thresholds in force since 1 September 2024).

Routes and amounts

Qualifying routes, Greece. Amounts in euros, before government fees and professional costs.
RouteTypeMinimumLow-density territoryWhat qualifies
Property, high-demand zonespropertyEUR 800,000SameAttica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants. One property of at least 120 m2. No short-term letting
Property, other regionspropertyEUR 400,000SameRest of Greece. One property of at least 120 m2. No short-term letting
Property, conversion or listed restorationpropertyEUR 250,000SameConversion of a commercial building to residential use, or restoration of a listed building, anywhere in Greece

Thresholds under Law 5038/2023 as amended in 20241.

Key facts

Programme
Residence permit for investors (Golden Visa)
Status
open
Authority
Ministry of Migration and Asylum
Legal basis
Law 5038/2023 as amended in 2024
Permit
5 years, renewable while the property is held
Minimum stay
None
Permanent residence
Not a route to permanent residence
Citizenship
7 years of residence with physical presence and language requirements; the Golden Visa alone does not lead there
Family included
Spouse, children under 21, parents of both spouses
Property route
Yes
Last verified

What the amounts mean

Each threshold buys one property of at least 120 m2, and that property may not be offered for short-term letting1. The zone sets the figure: EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and any island with more than 3,100 inhabitants; EUR 400,000 in the rest of the country1. The EUR 250,000 figure applies to a different kind of purchase, the conversion of a commercial building to residential use or the restoration of a listed building, and it is available anywhere in Greece, Athens included1.

The amounts are purchase prices. Transfer tax, notary and legal fees and any renovation cost on a conversion or restoration are additional, and a EUR 250,000 restoration will usually cost more than a EUR 250,000 purchase by the time it is habitable. The thresholds have applied since 1 September 20241. A reader who saw lower figures quoted for Greece is looking at the rules that applied before that date.

Stay rules and renewal

Greece sets no minimum stay. The permit runs for five years and is renewed for as long as the property is held1. Absence does not end the permit, which separates it from a residence route that expects the holder to live in the country. Citizenship is a separate question, covered below.

Family

The spouse, children under 21 and the parents of both spouses may be included1. Three generations on one property investment is a wider family scope than Portugal or Italy allow and narrower than Malta, which adds grandparents.

Citizenship position

The Golden Visa alone does not lead to Greek citizenship. Naturalisation requires seven years of residence with physical presence and a language requirement1, and a holder who does not live in Greece does not accumulate that residence. The dataset records no separate permanent residence step for the programme: the five-year permit is renewed, not converted1.

Where the figures come from

The Ministry of Migration and Asylum publishes the investor permit rules on its general site rather than on one consolidated English page1. The thresholds, the 120 m2 minimum and the short-term letting bar are therefore cross-checked against at least two published secondary statements that agree with each other, as the methodology describes.

Sources

  1. Residence permits for investors. Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Accessed 3 September 2026.