Who qualifies, and on what terms

Everything on this page is the current position after Law 5100/2024 and Law 5275/2026. Where a rule commonly gets misreported, we have said so.

The Greek residence-by-investment programme was substantially rewritten in 2024 and amended again in 2026. A great deal of what is still published about it online — including figures repeated confidently by agents — describes the programme as it was before that rewrite.

There are three qualifying amounts, and which one applies to you is decided by where the property is and, on the reduced tier, by what kind of property it is. Nothing about your nationality, your family size or your intention to live in Greece changes the number.

Read the reduced-tier section carefully if you are working to a budget near the entry point. The two routes cost the same and have different deadlines, and confusing them is the most expensive mistake available on this programme.

The three qualifying amounts

One property, one threshold. The property must reach the threshold on its own.

The three qualifying amounts
Qualifying investment	Where it applies	What it requires
€250,000	Anywhere in Greece, Athens included — by two routes only	Route A — a commercial or industrial building converted to residential use. Route B — a listed or heritage building being restored. No minimum floor area applies on either route. Each route may be used once per property. The two routes have different completion deadlines. See below.
€400,000	Everywhere else in Greece	Minimum floor area: 120 m² One single property must meet the threshold on its own. The property must be at least 120 square metres. Properties may not be combined to reach the threshold.
€800,000	Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and larger islands	Minimum floor area: 120 m² One single property must meet the threshold on its own. The property must be at least 120 square metres. The price must be paid in full before the application is submitted. Properties may not be combined to reach the threshold. The areas in this band are: Attica, which includes all of Athens; the regional unit of Thessaloniki; Mykonos; Santorini; and islands with a population over 3,100.

Properties may not be combined to reach a threshold. Two apartments at half the amount do not add up to a qualifying investment, in any band, under any structure.

The two routes at EUR 250,000

Both are available anywhere in Greece, Athens included. Both cost EUR 250,000. They differ on one point, and that point decides whether your application is accepted.

Route A must be finished before you apply. Route B must be finished by your first renewal, at year 5. A conversion that is unfinished on the day of application does not qualify, however close it is to completion — and a restoration that is not complete by the first renewal puts that renewal at risk.

€250,000

Route A — change of use, from commercial or industrial to residential

A building that was in commercial or industrial use and has been converted to residential use. This is the route behind most genuine Athens offers at the reduced tier, and it is the one most often described loosely. Ask which building, ask when the change of use was registered, and ask to see that the conversion is finished.

Deadline Deadline: the conversion must be complete before the application is submitted.

The building must have been commercial or industrial and converted to residential use.
The conversion must be complete before the application is submitted.
The change of use must have occurred on or after 5 April 2024.
There is no minimum floor area on this route.

The property may not later be used as a company headquarters or as a branch office.

€250,000

Route B — restoration of a listed or heritage building

A listed or heritage building that you commit to restore. The permit can be applied for before the work is finished, which is the one structural advantage this route has over Route A. In exchange you carry construction risk into the permit itself, and the restoration has to actually complete.

Deadline Deadline: the restoration must be complete by the first renewal, at year 5 — not before you apply.

The building must be listed or classified as heritage.
The restoration must be complete by the first renewal, at year five.

Transferring ownership before the restoration is complete is void.

Each reduced route may be used once per property. Once a unit has qualified one investor under Route A or Route B, the next buyer of that same unit must meet the full EUR 400,000 or EUR 800,000 threshold for its location. If a resale is being marketed to you at the reduced price on the basis that it qualified somebody before, it will not qualify you.

Who you can bring

One qualifying investment covers every eligible member. The threshold does not rise with family size. The list below is closed — there is no discretionary category.

Included on your application

Spouse or registered partner: A married spouse, or a partner in a registered partnership.
Unmarried children under 21: Cover can be extended to the age of 24 while the child remains unmarried and in tertiary education.
Parents of both spouses: The investor’s parents and the spouse’s parents, with no age limit on either side.

Not included, under any circumstances

Brothers and sisters: A sibling who wants residence needs their own qualifying investment.
Married children: A child who is married is outside the category, whatever their age.
Grandparents: Only the parents of the two spouses are covered, not the generation above them.
Cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews: No extended relative is covered.
Any other relative or dependant: The eligible list is closed. There is no route to add someone outside it.

Adding eligible family members does not raise the investment threshold. It does add per-person administrative costs, which your lawyer quotes separately.

What the permit gives, and what it withholds

These two lists belong together. Any presentation of the programme that shows you one without the other is selling, not explaining.

What you get

5-year renewable residence in Greece: Under Law 5275/2026 the 5 years run from the date the residence card is issued — not from the purchase and not from the application.
No minimum stay: 0 days a year. The permit can be held and renewed without living in Greece, and renewal asks about ownership, not presence.
Schengen travel: 90 days in any rolling 180-day period in other Schengen states. Days spent in Greece do not count against the allowance.
Family coverage on one investment: Spouse or registered partner, unmarried children under 21, and the parents of both spouses, all on the same qualifying purchase.
Long-term letting: Leases of 60 days or more are permitted. The income is taxable in Greece and the lease must be registered with AADE.

What you do not get

No right to work: No employment in Greece, and none in any other EU state.
No right to live elsewhere in the EU: Short Schengen travel only. This is not European residence.
Not all of Europe: Ireland and the United Kingdom are outside the Schengen area and are not covered.
No short-term letting: Letting under 60 days is prohibited, platform or not, and subletting is prohibited. The penalty is EUR 50,000 plus revocation for the investor and all family members.
No sale while the permit is held: Selling the qualifying property at any time during the permit’s validity revokes it for the investor and every family member.
Not a route to citizenship on its own: Citizenship needs 7 years of legal residence with 183+ days of genuine physical presence each year, Greek at B1 level, a civics test and a clean record.

Selling the property

This is the part of the programme most often misdescribed, so it is set out here without hedging.

Selling the qualifying property at any time during the permit’s validity causes the permit to be revoked, simultaneously, for the investor and for every family member on the application. There is no release at year six. There is no point in the life of the permit at which the ownership requirement quietly falls away.

Renewal at each five-year point requires proof that you still own the qualifying property. A permit is therefore only ever as durable as your intention to hold the asset. If you expect to need this capital back within a defined period, the Golden Visa is the wrong instrument, and we would rather tell you that now.

Changing to a different property

Complete the purchase of the new qualifying property.
Notify the one-stop service and allow it to verify the new purchase.
Only then sell the original property.

The order is not optional and not negotiable. Selling the original property before the new purchase has been verified revokes the permit, even if the replacement purchase completes days later.

Not sure which band you are in?

Tell us the region, the budget and who is coming. We will tell you which route is open to you, or that none is.

Check if you qualify