The Greece golden visa gives a non-EU buyer and their family a five-year, renewable residence permit in exchange for buying Greek property, and in 2026 the price depends on where the property is: €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and any island with more than 3,100 residents; €400,000 in the rest of the country; €250,000 only for a commercial building converted to housing or a listed building you restore. These tiers come from Law 5100/2024 and apply to purchases from 1 September 2024. We checked them in September 2026 against the Ministry of Migration and Asylum's golden visa page and the Ministry's Circular 1/2026 of April 2026, which keeps the same grid. If a guide still quotes €250,000 for an ordinary flat in Athens, it describes a law that no longer exists.
Greece golden visa requirements in 2026
To qualify through property you need to be a non-EU national, buy real estate worth at least the threshold for its zone, pay the full price through traceable bank transfers before you apply, hold health insurance for every family member and have a clean record. There is no language test, no minimum stay and no income check. UK citizens have been non-EU since Brexit, so they apply on the same terms as Americans, Indians or anyone else from outside the EU.
Law 5100/2024 added three conditions that catch people who read older material:
- One property, full amount. At the €800,000 and €400,000 levels the value must sit in a single property. Combining two or three cheaper flats to reach the number no longer works for new applications.
- At least 120 m² of main living space. Storage rooms and parking spaces can be part of the deal, but Circular 1/2026 says they don't count toward the 120 m². A 90 m² flat in Kolonaki can cost a million euros and still fail.
- No short-term letting. The property can't be offered on Airbnb-style platforms. Law 5100/2024 sets a €50,000 fine for a breach and allows the permit to be revoked (as summarised by Global Citizen Solutions and Watson Farley & Williams, checked September 2026).
Buyers who had paid a deposit under the old rules before the 2024 deadlines kept the old thresholds. That transitional window closed in 2024, so anyone buying in 2026 falls entirely under the three-tier grid.
The three price tiers and where they apply
| Tier | Where | Main conditions |
|---|---|---|
| €800,000 | Region of Attica (greater Athens, Piraeus, the Athens Riviera, the Saronic islands), Regional Unit of Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, islands with more than 3,100 residents | One property, at least 120 m² |
| €400,000 | Everywhere else: the mainland outside Attica and Thessaloniki, islands with 3,100 residents or fewer | One property, at least 120 m² |
| €250,000 | Anywhere in Greece | Commercial-to-residential conversion completed before you apply, or a listed building you restore; no 120 m² minimum |
Sources: Law 5100/2024 as summarised by Watson Farley & Williams, and the Ministry's Circular 1/2026 as summarised by Amoiridis Law Firm, both checked September 2026.
€800,000: Athens, Thessaloniki and the big islands
The island clause is the one that surprises people. Under Law 5100/2024, any island with a permanent population above 3,100 sits in the top tier, which takes in Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Paros, Naxos, Zakynthos and Kos. Buyers shortlist a villa near Chania assuming "island" means the cheaper tier, then hear from the lawyer that Crete had more than 600,000 residents in the 2021 census (ELSTAT) and the budget has doubled. Hydra, Aegina, Spetses and Poros are small but belong administratively to Attica, so they are €800,000 too. The zone follows the administrative map, not the tourist one. Ask your lawyer to confirm the classification of the exact address before you sign a reservation.
At this level on the Athens Riviera you are buying a good three-bedroom apartment, not a mansion. Sellers know the magic number, and visa-eligible stock is often priced to the threshold rather than to the market. An independent valuation tells you whether that €820,000 flat is really a €680,000 flat with a visa premium, and it costs little next to the price.
€400,000: the rest of Greece
Law 5100/2024 puts everything outside the top tier at €400,000: the Peloponnese, Halkidiki, Kalamata, Volos, Ioannina and the small islands. Here the money buys a large house, often with land, in markets where local demand alone would rarely reach that price. For a family that wants the permit plus a holiday home, this is usually the sensible tier.
Two things to watch. Village stone houses often measure 90 to 100 m², and the 120 m² rule in Law 5100/2024 has no exceptions at this tier; check the floor area in the title deed, not the advert, because only the deed counts. And think about the exit. In many of these areas your future buyer is likely to be another visa applicant, so buy something that makes sense at its price without the permit attached. Our guide to where to buy property in Greece compares regions.
€250,000: conversions and listed buildings
Law 5100/2024 keeps the old headline price for two property types anywhere in the country, central Athens included. The first is a building with commercial use (offices, a small hotel, a warehouse) converted into homes. The change of use must be completed and recognised under planning law before you file the application; Circular 1/2026 is explicit that the technical file must show a finished conversion. A developer promising the paperwork "after closing" is asking you to bet the visa on his schedule, so ask to see the issued change-of-use permit, not the application for one. Converted units also can't serve as a company's registered office or branch.
The second type is a listed building that you commit to restore. According to the Circular, restoration must be finished by the first renewal, and a transfer of the property before restoration is complete is invalid. Both routes skip the 120 m² minimum, which is why studios appear in €250,000 listings. Supply is thin and quality varies, so pay for an independent engineer's report and compare the price per square metre with ordinary flats on the same street.
Is the Greece golden visa worth it?
That depends on what you want from it. The strong points are real: no minimum stay, both sets of parents included, a permit that renews for as long as you own the property, and Schengen access for visits. Inside the EU the choice has also narrowed. Portugal removed real estate from its golden visa in October 2023 under its Mais Habitação law (Law 56/2023), and Spain stopped accepting applications on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025. Our comparison of golden visa countries in 2026 sets Greece against the options outside the EU.
The weak points are just as concrete. Entry prices rose twice in two years (a 2023 amendment to the Migration Code set €500,000 in the most popular municipalities, then Law 5100/2024 brought the current grid), and nothing says today's numbers are final. The short-let ban cuts the yield that used to justify cheap Athens flats. The €800,000 tier carries a visa premium, the €400,000 tier carries resale risk and the €250,000 route carries paperwork risk. If you would buy the property anyway, the permit is a strong extra. If the visa is the only reason for the purchase, run the numbers as if you might have to sell to a local buyer.
If you simply want to live in Greece and have a steady passive income, compare the Financially Independent Person visa. Under the Migration Code it asks for at least €3,500 a month for a single applicant, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% per child, instead of a property purchase (Global Citizen Solutions, checked September 2026).
How much the Greece golden visa costs
The purchase price is only part of the bill. The Ministry of Migration's golden visa page lists a €2,000 fee for the main applicant's permit (the same amount again at each renewal) and €16 for printing each residence card. Adult family members pay €150 each and children under 18 pay no application fee, according to law-firm summaries of the Migration Code (Law 5038/2023), checked September 2026.
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Permit fee, main applicant | €2,000 | Ministry of Migration and Asylum |
| Permit fee, each adult family member | €150 | Migration Code, Law 5038/2023 |
| Residence card | €16 per person | Ministry of Migration and Asylum |
| Transfer tax on a resale property | 3.09% of the taxable value | 3% transfer tax plus a 3% municipal surcharge on that tax (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries) |
| VAT on new builds | 24%, suspended until 31 December 2026 | Law 5246/2025 (KPMG, November 2025) |
| Notary, lawyer, agent | Agreed case by case | Not fixed by law |
The VAT line matters most. New homes nominally carry 24% VAT, but the suspension has been renewed for years and Law 5246/2025 extended it to 31 December 2026. A new-build purchase completing in 2027 may face different terms, so check the status before you sign anything that closes next year. Add health insurance from a provider accepted in Greece, sworn translations and apostilles for each family member.
What the permit gives you
Under the Migration Code (Law 5038/2023, amended by Law 5100/2024), you get a five-year residence permit, renewable for further five-year periods as long as you keep the qualifying property. Renewal applications go in during the two months before expiry. Under Circular 1/2026, a late renewal is still accepted up to three months after expiry, with a €100 fine for each month of delay.
One purchase covers the whole family: a spouse or registered partner, children under 21 (Hellenic Law Firm reports an extension to 24 for full-time students) and the parents of both spouses. Few programmes include both sets of parents, which makes Greece attractive to three-generation families. Each person gets their own card, tied to the main applicant's investment.
Holders can live in Greece and, under the Schengen Borders Code, travel in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180. There is no minimum stay. You can come once for fingerprints, renew from abroad and never spend a winter in Athens.
The permit lives and dies with the property. Hellenic Law Firm notes that if you sell it, the permits for the whole family end, unless you replace it with another qualifying property in the right order, which is a job for your lawyer.
What it doesn't give you
It isn't a work permit. According to Hellenic Law Firm's reading of the Migration Code, you can own a company, hold shares, collect rent and sit on a board as a non-executive director, but you can't take a salaried job with a Greek employer. A family planning a real move needs income that doesn't depend on local jobs.
It isn't a passport either. Greek citizenship runs through ordinary naturalisation under the Greek Citizenship Code (Law 3284/2004): seven years of lawful residence, a Greek language and civics exam, and proof of integration. The law counts lawful residence, and the naturalisation review looks at real life in Greece, so years spent holding the permit while living elsewhere don't build a case. If citizenship is the goal, plan to actually live in Greece and ask a citizenship lawyer how your years will be counted.
And the right to live is Greek, not European. You can visit Paris or Berlin; you can't settle there on a Greek permit.
Renting out a golden visa property
Long-term letting is allowed. A standard lease to a local tenant is fine, and the rent is taxed on the Greek scale for property income. From 1 January 2026, under Law 5246/2025, that scale is 15% up to €12,000 a year, 25% from €12,001 to €24,000, 35% from €24,001 to €35,000 and 45% above that. The 25% band is new; before 2026 the rate jumped straight from 15% to 35%.
Short-term letting is banned for properties bought under the post-2024 rules, however occasional. Circular 1/2026 adds that the ban can't be sidestepped through a property manager, a related company or a relative. The old pitch of "buy near the Acropolis and let tourists pay for your visa" is gone for new buyers. If holiday-let income matters to you, it has to come from a second property outside the application. Our article on short-term rental rules in Greece covers the general licensing regime.
The application process, step by step
- Appoint an independent lawyer and sign a power of attorney, so most steps can happen without you in Greece.
- Get a Greek tax number (AFM) and open a Greek bank account. The full price must move through traceable banking channels. The Circular warns that side agreements, refunds to the buyer or inflated contract prices lead to refusal or revocation and can be passed to anti-money-laundering authorities.
- Have the lawyer check the title, debts and planning status, and confirm the zone and the 120 m² in the deed.
- Sign the purchase before a notary and register the title at the land registry or cadastre.
- File the application with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, pay the fees and submit the documents on the Ministry's list: passports, photos, the purchase contract with proof of payment, a land-registry certificate, health insurance and, for family members, apostilled and translated marriage and birth certificates.
- Receive the filing certificate, often called the blue certificate. It makes your stay in Greece lawful while the file is processed; Hellenic Law Firm notes that it does not allow travel to other Schengen countries.
- Give fingerprints at the biometrics appointment, then collect the five-year cards.
How long does it take? The purchase side depends on the title checks and the notary. The permit stage varies by office and season, and biometrics appointments are the usual bottleneck. Nobody controls that queue, so treat promises of a fixed number of weeks with suspicion. The purchase itself is covered in our guide on how to buy property in Greece.
Taxes after you buy
You pay ENFIA, the annual property tax under Law 4223/2013, calculated on the property's official tax value, and you file Greek returns if you earn rent. Holding the permit doesn't make you a Greek tax resident by itself; that depends on where you live and where your ties are. On a later sale, the 15% capital gains tax on property sold by individuals is suspended until 31 December 2026 (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, checked September 2026). The suspension has been extended many times, but check the position when you actually plan to sell.
FAQ
How do you qualify for a Golden Visa in Greece?
Under Law 5100/2024: be a non-EU national, buy one property worth at least €800,000 or €400,000 depending on the zone (at least 120 m²) or a qualifying €250,000 conversion or listed building, pay in full by bank transfer, get health insurance and apply to the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
How much does a Greece golden visa cost in total?
The minimum property price (€250,000, €400,000 or €800,000), plus the Ministry's €2,000 permit fee, €150 per adult family member, €16 per card, 3.09% transfer tax on a resale property, and notary, lawyer and agent fees agreed case by case. Ask your lawyer for a full estimate before you reserve.
Can UK citizens get residency in Greece?
Yes. Since Brexit UK citizens are non-EU nationals and can apply for the golden visa on the same terms as anyone else, or for another permit such as the Financially Independent Person visa.
Can Indian citizens apply?
Yes. The Migration Code opens the programme to all non-EU nationals. Indian applicants follow the same rules and need apostilled, translated civil documents for family members.
Does Crete qualify at €400,000?
No. Crete has far more than the 3,100 residents set by Law 5100/2024, so it is in the €800,000 tier, like Rhodes, Corfu and most islands with an airport.
Can I combine two cheaper properties to reach the threshold?
Not for a new application. Since September 2024, Law 5100/2024 requires the full amount in one property.
Do I have to live in Greece to keep the permit?
No. The Migration Code sets no minimum stay for this permit. Citizenship is a separate matter: it needs seven years of lawful residence under Law 3284/2004, real life in Greece and an exam.
What to do next
Pick the tier first, because it sets the budget. Choose two or three areas, ask a Greek lawyer to confirm their zone, then filter listings by the floor area in the deed. Before paying any deposit, check the rules again on the Ministry of Migration and Asylum's golden visa page, since they have changed twice since 2023. Regional information is on our Greece page.
