Greece Golden Visa

Yes. It is open and actively taking applications. Greece kept the program alive by raising and restructuring the thresholds in its 2024 reform rather than shutting real estate down the way Portugal and Spain did.

It depends on location. You need €800,000 in high-demand zones (Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands over 3,100 people), €400,000 in the rest of the country, or €250,000 if you do a commercial-to-residential conversion or restore a listed historic building anywhere in Greece.

Not entirely. The €250,000 entry no longer buys a standard apartment in a prime area. It now applies only to two narrow routes: converting a commercial or industrial property to residential use, or restoring a protected heritage building. Both involve construction and permitting work, so they are not turnkey.

No. Short-term and sharing-economy rentals on golden visa property are banned. Breaking the rule can mean a €50,000 administrative fine and loss of your residency status. You can lease long-term, generally 60 days or more, so plan around long lets, not nightly rates.

Approval typically runs about 2 to 6 months once your file and investment are in place, though application backlogs can extend real timelines. Adding the time to find and buy a compliant property, the realistic end-to-end timeline is several months to over a year.

No. There is no minimum-stay requirement to hold or renew the residence permit. You can keep it without ever relocating, as long as you maintain the qualifying investment.

You can apply for citizenship by naturalization after 7 years of lawful residence, but only if you have genuinely lived in Greece (183+ days a year), can pass a B1-level Greek language and civics exam, and can show real ties to the country. The permit is easy to keep; the passport requires actually moving there.

Your spouse or registered partner, your dependent children (commonly up to 21, with conditions), and the parents of both the main applicant and the spouse. That two-sided parent coverage is one of the more generous family rules in the EU.

Yes. The permit gives you and your included family members the right to travel freely across the Schengen Area, subject to the standard short-stay limits in other member states.

It is optional. If you become a Greek tax resident, you can elect a non-dom regime that taxes all of your foreign-source income at a flat €100,000 per year for up to 15 years, with family add-ons at €20,000 each. Whether it benefits you depends on your income size and source, so confirm it with tax counsel before electing.

Not on its own. Tax residency generally depends on spending more than 183 days a year in Greece or having your center of life there. Holding the permit and the property without relocating does not automatically trigger Greek worldwide taxation, but the analysis is fact-specific and should be checked with counsel.

It is worth it for a family that wants a stable EU base with zero stay obligation, Schengen travel, broad family coverage, and an optional capped-tax regime, and that treats the property as the cost of entry rather than an income asset. It is a weaker fit if you expected rental yield or a fast, cheap apartment, both of which the 2024 reforms removed.

Budget for property transfer tax, legal and due-diligence fees, application and permit fees, and ongoing costs like private health insurance and permit renewals every few years. For conversion or restoration routes, add construction and permitting costs and timeline risk on top of the €250,000 base.