Greek Golden Visa Requirements: Thresholds, Fees, and Process

Greece’s Golden Visa is open to non-EU adults who make a qualifying investment in Greek real estate or financial assets, carry health insurance, and pass a criminal background check. Property thresholds start at €250,000 for heritage restorations and commercial-to-residential conversions, sit at €400,000 for most of the country, and reach €800,000 in Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and larger islands. The permit runs for five years, renews on the same cycle as long as the investment stays in place, and requires no minimum time in Greece. The current rules sit under Law 5038/2023 as amended by Law 5100/2024.

Who Can Apply

You must be at least 18 and hold citizenship of a country outside the European Union and the European Economic Area. A clean criminal record from your country of origin or current residence is required, and the certificate generally has to have been issued within the previous three months. U.S. applicants specifically need the FBI Identity History Summary; a state or local police report will not satisfy Greek authorities. The certificate has to be apostilled by the U.S. Department of State and translated into Greek by a certified translator. Applicants from other countries follow the equivalent national process.

Health insurance covering Greece for the full duration of the permit is mandatory for the investor and every dependent on the application.

Family members you can include:

A spouse, or a registered partner under a cohabitation agreement officially registered in Greece.
Children under 18, included automatically.
Children aged 18 to 21, if they are enrolled as students.
Parents of the investor and of the spouse.

A child who turns 21 before the permit is issued can still be included if enrolled as a student at the time of application.

Real Estate Investment Thresholds

Law 5100/2024 divides Greece into three investment zones. Picking the wrong zone is the most expensive mistake an applicant can make, because the €400,000 zone is narrower than most buyers assume.

€800,000 Zone

The €800,000 threshold applies across the entire Attica region (Athens, Piraeus, and all suburbs including the Athens Riviera), the municipality of Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and every Greek island with a registered population above 3,100. That last rule pulls in Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Kos, Lesbos, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Paros, Naxos, Samos, Chios, and roughly 30 more. Island property outside Mykonos and Santorini is not automatically in the cheaper tier.

The investment has to be a single property. For built structures or properties with an issued building permit, a minimum floor area of 120 square meters applies.

€400,000 Zone

Everywhere else in Greece falls under the €400,000 threshold: mainland regions outside Attica, the Peloponnese, Thessaloniki suburbs outside the main municipality, and smaller islands below the 3,100-population line. The single-property rule and 120-square-meter minimum apply here too.

€250,000 Path

Two property types qualify at €250,000 anywhere in the country regardless of zone: commercial buildings being converted to residential use, and listed heritage buildings undergoing restoration. There is no minimum size requirement on this path.

Whichever tier you use, the full purchase price must be paid before the residence permit application is filed. Payment has to move by cross-border bank transfer or Greek bank check at the time the notarial deed is signed. Cash and informal arrangements do not count.

Financial Investment Alternatives

If you’d rather not buy property, the program accepts several financial routes:

€800,000 in shares, corporate bonds, or Greek government bonds traded on regulated markets or multilateral trading facilities in Greece.
€500,000 in shares or bonds of a Greek-registered company, shares in a Public Limited Real Estate Investment Company, Greek government bonds held to maturity, or a fixed-term deposit at a Greek credit institution.
€350,000 in units of a mutual fund investing exclusively in Greek shares or bonds, or shares in an EU-established Alternative Investment Fund that invests exclusively in Greece.
€250,000 in startups listed on Elevate Greece, the national startup registry.

The assets have to be held for the entire life of the residence permit. Selling or withdrawing before renewal costs you eligibility. Documentation of the transfer and continued ownership has to come from the Greek financial institution or from the Hellenic Exchanges.

The Short-Term Rental Ban

Property acquired or used to obtain a Golden Visa cannot be rented out short-term through platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com, and subleasing is also prohibited. This applies both to the initial application and to every renewal. Violating the rule triggers revocation of the permit and a €50,000 administrative fine. Long-term leases on standard tenancy agreements remain allowed, so rental income is still possible, but any plan built on holiday-let revenue needs to be reworked before you commit to a purchase.

Documents You’ll Need

The paperwork takes longer to gather than most applicants expect, so start early.

A valid passport with sufficient remaining validity, plus four recent passport-sized photographs meeting Greek digital standards.
A criminal record certificate from your home country, apostilled or legalized and translated into Greek. For U.S. applicants this is specifically the FBI Identity History Summary, and it generally must have been issued within the prior three months.
The notarial deed and a notary’s certificate confirming full payment and execution of the property sale. For financial investments, a certificate from the Greek institution confirming the asset’s value and ownership.
A Greek Tax Identification Number (AFM), obtained through a local tax office or electronically with video-conference identification, either personally or through a legal representative.¹
A health insurance policy covering the applicant and all dependents in Greece for the permit’s duration.
Proof of family relationship: marriage certificates, birth certificates, or registered cohabitation agreements, apostilled and translated as needed.

Every document not originally in Greek needs a certified Greek translation. Apostille follows the Hague Convention process; U.S. state apostille fees typically run between $2 and $26.

Fees and Transaction Costs

The residence permit application fee is €2,000 for the primary investor. Each family member added pays roughly €150, and children under 18 are exempt. Printing the electronic residence card costs an additional €16 per person. All of this is paid through the e-paravolo online platform and submitted with the application file.

The property transaction itself carries a 3% transfer tax on the taxable value of the real estate. Add notary fees, legal representation, and translation. Total transaction costs typically run 8% to 10% above the purchase price once every professional fee and tax is included.

After purchase, the annual ENFIA property tax applies. It’s calculated electronically from your property registration data based on location, size, age, floor level, and other characteristics, so there’s no separate return to file. A surcharge kicks in for total real estate holdings above €500,000.

How the Application Works

Once documents are ready and the investment is complete, the application goes to the Alien and Immigration Department of the relevant Decentralized Administration. You can file in person or through a legal representative holding a notarized power of attorney.

Registration produces a Blue Certificate, a temporary document that lets you and your family live in Greece legally while the permanent card is processed.² A separate appointment is scheduled for biometrics. Every applicant over six provides fingerprints, and everyone over 12 provides a signature sample. You have six months from the application date to complete that step. Full review usually takes two to six months, depending on the local office’s backlog.

Approved permits are issued electronically for five years. Renewal runs on the same five-year cycle, provided the qualifying investment is still in place, health insurance is current, and there are no public order concerns. File the renewal before the existing permit expires.

What the Permit Lets You Do

The Golden Visa gives you legal residence in Greece with no minimum stay. You could enter once for biometrics and never come back, and the permit remains valid as long as the investment holds. That’s unusual: many European residence permits require 183 days of physical presence a year.

Holders and their families travel visa-free across the 26-country Schengen Area under the standard rules, meaning up to 90 days in any 180-day period in other Schengen states. Time in Greece itself doesn’t count against that allowance because Greece is your country of residence.

The permit does not let you take salaried employment in Greece. You cannot sign a standard employment contract or draw wages from a Greek employer on the Golden Visa alone; that requires a separate work permit. You can, however, own and run businesses, incorporate a Greek company, hold shares, sit on boards, and invest in startups.

Tax Exposure

Holding the permit does not, by itself, make you a Greek tax resident. Tax residency turns on where you spend the majority of your time and where your center of vital interests sits. Many holders stay tax residents of their home country and owe Greek tax only on Greek-source income.

Income from long-term rental of your Greek property is Greek-source and taxed in Greece regardless of your residency status. ENFIA runs on an ongoing basis for as long as you own. Capital gains and transfer costs apply if you sell. If you own property in more than one country, sitting down with a Greek tax advisor before you buy is usually worth the cost.

Citizenship Is Not Automatic

The Golden Visa is a residence permit, not a shortcut to a Greek passport. After seven years of legal residence you become eligible to apply for naturalization under the Greek Nationality Code, but eligibility isn’t approval. The process tests Greek language ability through a formal exam and weighs your integration into Greek society, tax compliance, and documented presence over the qualifying period. Because the visa itself imposes no physical presence, investors who spend little or no time in Greece often struggle to show the ties naturalization requires. If citizenship is the goal, treat Greece as a real home rather than a paper address.