Greece vs Spain Golden Visa 2026: Why Only One Is Still Open

This comparison has an unusual answer: for new investors there is no real contest, because one of the two programs no longer exists. Spain abolished its real estate golden visa on 3 April 2025. Greece is the live Mediterranean property route in 2026. The honest framing is that the Spanish option is gone, Greece is what remains, and Greece comes with a specific catch that a property buyer should understand before wiring funds.

The head-to-head, stated plainly

Spain’s golden visa is closed. On 3 January 2025 the suspension was published in Spain’s Official State Gazette, and after the statutory three-month delay it took effect on 3 April 2025. Since that date no new applications can be filed through property purchase or the other investment routes. Existing holders may renew while they meet the original criteria, and applications filed before the cutoff are processed normally. For a person reading this in 2026 hoping to buy a home and gain residence, Spain is not an option. It is a closed door.

Greece remains open and is now the most prominent property-linked golden visa in the European Union after Portugal removed real estate from its own program. Greece restructured rather than closed. It moved from a single flat threshold to a tiered system, raised the entry price sharply in its hottest markets, and kept a genuine real estate route. That last point is what makes Greece the live comparison: you can still buy property and receive residence.

So the practical question is not “Greece or Spain.” It is “Greece, or one of Spain’s non-investment residence permits, or another country entirely.” We address that below.

Cost: what Greece actually requires in 2026

Greece now runs three property thresholds, and the price depends entirely on where you buy.

The 800,000 euro tier applies to the highest-demand zones: the entire Attica region (greater Athens), the Thessaloniki metropolitan area, Mykonos, Santorini (Thira), and all islands with more than 3,100 residents. The 400,000 euro tier covers everywhere else, which includes much of the Peloponnese, most of Crete, smaller islands, inland mainland regions, and northern Greece outside the Thessaloniki metro. Both of these tiers require a single property of at least 120 square meters. You cannot stack several small units to reach the number, and you cannot use a mortgage to fund the qualifying amount.

The 250,000 euro tier survives but is narrow. It applies only to two cases: commercial property converted to residential use, and the restoration of protected or listed heritage buildings. The conversion or restoration must genuinely be carried out. This is the route that still resembles the old Greece, and it can sit anywhere in the country, but it is a project, not a turnkey apartment purchase.

On top of the property price, budget roughly 2,000 euros in government fee for the main applicant, 150 euros per adult family member, and small card-issuance fees of about 16 euros each. Property transfer tax is around 3.09 percent (a 3 percent transfer tax plus a municipal surcharge) on new-build-exempt resales, and you should add legal fees, notary costs, and ongoing annual property tax. Coordinate the full closing-cost stack with a Greek lawyer before you commit.

Spain’s comparison figure is academic now, but for reference the old threshold was 500,000 euros in property, and that route is gone.

One important Greek restriction: golden visa property cannot be placed on short-term holiday rental platforms. Long-term letting is allowed, short-term Airbnb-style letting is not. If your investment thesis was rental yield from tourists, Greece’s rules cut against it.

Timeline and process

Greek golden visa processing typically runs about 6 to 9 months from a complete application to approval, with well-prepared files sometimes faster. The permit is valid for five years and renews indefinitely so long as you keep the qualifying investment. There is no minimum stay requirement to hold or renew the residence permit, which is the feature most buyers want: you get Schengen access and EU residence without having to relocate.

Spain offered no equivalent live timeline for new investors, because the route is closed.

Tax: coordinate with counsel, do not assume

Greece pairs its residence program with a non-dom flat tax option. Qualifying new tax residents can elect to pay a fixed 100,000 euros per year on all foreign-source income, regardless of how large that income is, for up to 15 years, with an additional 20,000 euros per included family member. The catch many people miss: this flat tax covers foreign income only. Income arising inside Greece, including Greek rental income, is taxed under the normal progressive schedule, where the top rate reaches the mid-40s percent. So the non-dom regime is powerful for someone with large offshore income and is largely irrelevant to someone whose only Greek-linked income is rent from the qualifying flat.

Spain’s residence alternatives carry their own tax angle. The digital nomad visa can be paired with the Beckham Law regime, a roughly 24 percent flat rate on Spanish-source income up to 600,000 euros for a set period, which is attractive for high earners working remotely. None of this is personal tax advice. Residency triggers tax-residency questions that depend on days spent, family location, and source of income. Get a cross-border tax adviser before you move money or yourself.

Passport and access: the Greek catch

This is the decisive section. Greece’s golden visa is a residence program, not a fast citizenship program. Greek residence delivers Schengen travel across the 26-country zone, EU residence, and a low-presence lifestyle. It does not deliver a quick passport.

To naturalize as a Greek citizen you generally need seven years of residence with genuine physical presence of at least 183 days per year, plus passing exams in Greek language, history, and culture, and demonstrating real integration. A passive golden visa holder who never moves to Greece accrues none of the physical presence that citizenship requires. In plain terms: you can hold Greek residence for a decade by paying for property and never come close to a Greek passport. If your goal is an EU passport rather than EU access, Greece’s golden visa is a slow and demanding path, and the language and presence bar is real.

Spain’s non-investment routes lead to citizenship after ten years for most nationalities (two years for citizens of Ibero-American countries, the Philippines, and a few others), but they require you to actually live in Spain, and Spain generally does not allow dual citizenship for most new citizens. So Spain is a “move there and integrate” path, not a passive one.

Who each option suits

Greece fits the investor who wants EU residence and Schengen mobility, is comfortable buying and holding real property, does not need to physically relocate, and is not chasing a passport on a tight clock. It also fits a heritage-renovation buyer who can use the 250,000 euro conversion route deliberately.

Spain, for new investors, fits no one through the golden visa, because it is closed. If you specifically want Spain, your live routes in 2026 are the digital nomad visa (for remote workers earning roughly 2,760 euros per month or more), the non-lucrative visa (for the passive-income retiree, but now with a reinstated 183-day presence requirement), and entrepreneur or other work-based permits. Each requires you to actually live in Spain, and each leads to citizenship only after years of genuine residence.

The comparison table

Factor	Greece Golden Visa (2026)	Spain Golden Visa (2026)
Status	Open, restructured	Closed since 3 April 2025
Real estate route	Yes, tiered	Abolished
Minimum property investment	250k (conversions/heritage), 400k (regional), 800k (Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, large islands)	None available
Property size rule	Single property, min 120 sqm (400k/800k tiers)	n/a
Mortgage allowed for qualifying sum	No	n/a
Government fees	~2,000 main applicant, 150 per adult dependent, ~16 card	n/a
Processing time	~6 to 9 months	n/a (closed)
Permit validity	5 years, renews indefinitely	Existing holders renew only
Minimum stay to keep residence	None	n/a
Short-term tourist rental of asset	Prohibited	n/a
Schengen access	Yes	n/a
Family included	Spouse, children under 21 (to 24 if students), both sets of parents	n/a
Path to citizenship	7 years, 183 days/year physical presence, language and culture exams	Closed; alternatives need ~10 years of real residence
Tax sweetener	Non-dom 100k flat on foreign income, up to 15 years	Beckham Law (via other visas), ~24% flat
Live alternative if you want this country	n/a, Greece is the route	Digital nomad, non-lucrative, entrepreneur visas

The verdict in one line

If you want a Mediterranean property-for-residence deal in 2026, Greece is the only one of these two still selling it, and it is a strong EU residence product, but treat it as residence and Schengen access, not as a shortcut to a passport, because the citizenship bar is seven years of real presence and a Greek-language exam. If you specifically wanted Spain, accept that the golden visa is gone and look at the live residence visas instead, all of which require you to actually move.