Greece Golden Visa:
residency through
property investment

No. What matters is the category of the property, not the size of the transaction. A standard residential flat costing €250,000 in Athens will not qualify, because Attica falls under the €800,000 threshold. Checking a property yourself is difficult: you need the change of use documentation, the date it was completed and confirmation that the property has not already been used by another investor to obtain a permit. The properties we offer have all been checked on these points.

No. The programme sets no minimum stay requirement, either to obtain the permit or to renew it. The permit remains valid for as long as the property stays in your ownership. You travel to Greece once, to give biometrics after the application has been filed. The entry visa is issued on the day the filing is confirmed.

The purchase and the application, yes, entirely. The purchase is completed under a power of attorney granted to a Greek lawyer, and the application is filed online through the system of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Personal attendance is required only for biometrics: fingerprints, a photograph and presentation of original documents. That is one visit for the investor and for each family member.

A spouse or registered partner, children under 21 and the parents of both spouses. A civil partnership is recognised regardless of where it was concluded. No additional investment is required for family members, since one property covers the whole family. Each person receives a separate residence card, valid to the same date as the investor permit. On turning 21, a child may extend their status for a further three years while studying at a Greek university and financially dependent on the investor.

The programme does not ask for income statements, bank declarations or evidence of the source of capital. Payment, however, is only accepted through banking channels to an account held in Greece: by bank transfer, by cheque or through a payment terminal. The payment may be made by a spouse or by a relative up to the second degree. Funds may be sent from any country not subject to SAN.

The application is made using a second passport. Family members may use any passport they hold, which the law permits. The programmes most often paired with the Greek route are Sao Tome and Principe and Vanuatu, with processing times of 6 to 10 weeks and 1 to 2 months respectively, after which the Greek stage begins. We handle the passport and the Golden Visa as a single engagement.

On a long-term basis, yes. Short-term letting through holiday rental platforms is prohibited for Golden Visa properties, and a breach leads to revocation of the permit and a fine of €50,000. The property may not be used as a company registered address either. Income from long-term letting is taxed in Greece on a progressive scale.

ENFIA, the annual property tax, calculated on the assessed value of the property. If the property is let, tax on rental income applies as well. If it is not let, no further tax arises. Owning property in Greece does not in itself make you a tax resident: that status arises after more than 183 days in a calendar year.

There is no direct route. Citizenship is granted through naturalisation under the general rules: seven years of continuous lawful residence in the country, an examination in the Greek language, history and culture, and a clean criminal record. Time held on an investor permit counts towards this, but only where you are physically resident, with 183 days a year as the working benchmark. Without moving to Greece, the permit does not convert into citizenship. Greece permits dual citizenship.