The Greek Golden Visa: thresholds and conditions in 2026

For years the Greek Golden Visa was the most accessible programme of its kind in Europe — €250,000 for a property anywhere in the country. That is no longer the case. Since 2024 the thresholds have been split by zone and tripled for the most sought-after parts of the country.

For buyers targeting Athens and the Athens Riviera, this is the single most important number in the whole discussion.

The thresholds

• €800,000

  Athens and the Athens Riviera, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete and the larger islands

• €400,000

  The rest of Greece

• €250,000

  Conversion of commercial premises to residential use, or restoration of a listed building — anywhere in the country

For the first two thresholds the property must be at least 120 m² and must be a single unit — the investment cannot be assembled from two smaller apartments. For the €250,000 threshold floor area is not a condition, but the type of works is, and the investment must be completed before the application is filed.

What the permit gives you

• A residence permit for five years, renewable for as long as you hold the property
• The right of residence with no obligation to actually live in Greece — there is no minimum-days requirement
• Free movement within Schengen (up to 90 days in any 180)
• Permits for a spouse, children up to 21, and the parents of both spouses

What the permit does not give you: the right to work as an employee, and automatic citizenship. Citizenship has its own procedure, with a seven-year actual-residence requirement and examinations in language and civic knowledge.

The ban on short-term letting

This is the provision that surprises people most. A property acquired through the Golden Visa programme may not be let on a short-term basis — Airbnb, Booking and similar platforms are excluded.

Long-term letting is permitted and remains the realistic way to make the property work while you hold it. The gross yield on long-term letting in Athens runs at around 4–5% a year, before ENFIA, building charges and income tax on rent.

The arithmetic for Athens

The €800,000 threshold for the Riviera should be read together with transaction costs. On €800,000 those come to about 9% — roughly €72,000 — so the real outlay is closer to €872,000. On top of that, annual ENFIA, building charges and maintenance.

For comparison, prices in Glyfada, Voula and Vouliagmeni run at around €4,167/m² on average asking prices for resale apartments (Spitogatos, first quarter of 2026). At the €800,000 threshold with a 120 m² minimum, that means an apartment of roughly 150 to 190 m² at those price levels, or a smaller but distinctly high-end apartment at the top of the market.

Who the Golden Visa makes sense for

It makes sense if residence status is the objective and the property is the means. The threshold then dictates the choice and the arithmetic is straightforward.

It does not make sense if the property is the objective and the Golden Visa a bonus. In that case the €800,000 threshold pushes you into a segment you may not have wanted, with a ban on short-term letting you would not otherwise be subject to. For such buyers, an ordinary purchase — outside the programme — is simpler, cheaper and more flexible. Buyers from outside the EU can purchase property in Greece without special permission.

This is a decision to take before you choose a property, not after. Which is why it is one of the questions we ask in the first conversation.

The procedure, briefly

1. AFM and a Greek bank account
2. Purchase of the property and registration at the land registry
3. Filing the residence permit application, with biometrics
4. A provisional receipt (the „blue receipt“) allowing residence while the application is processed
5. Issue of the card, renewable every five years for as long as you hold the property

Processing times depend on the caseload of the relevant department and have been longer over the past two years than before. Anything not confirmed in writing — a deadline, an outcome, an interpretation — we call an announcement, not a rule.