From first enquiry to residence card

1. Enquiry and first assessment

   We check your family list against the eligible and excluded categories, confirm which threshold applies where you want to buy, and identify which routes are genuinely open at your budget. If nothing qualifies at the number you have in mind, you hear it at this stage rather than three months in.

   You provide

   • The passport data page for each person who would be on the application.
   • The list of family members you want included, with relationships and ages.
   • The budget you are working to, for the qualifying investment itself.
   • The region you are interested in, or a note that you are undecided.

   Indicative duration 1 to 3 working days

2. Route selection and written costing

   We agree which route you are pursuing and put the full cost in writing: the qualifying investment, transfer taxes, notary, land registry, legal fees and application costs. The deadline attached to your chosen route is written into the same document, because the deadline is the part people forget.

   You provide

   • Confirmation of the route and the region you want to pursue.
   • Preliminary information about the source of the funds.

   Indicative duration 3 to 7 days

3. Greek tax number, bank account and power of attorney

   Your Greek lawyer obtains a Greek tax number for each adult applicant and opens a Greek bank account. A power of attorney allows the lawyer to act for you between visits. It is optional — many clients prefer to attend the notary in person — but without one you should expect to travel more than once.

   You provide

   • Certified copies of passports for every applicant.
   • Birth certificates, and the marriage certificate where a spouse is included.
   • Proof of your current address.
   • A signed power of attorney, if you choose to use one.

   Indicative duration 2 to 4 weeks

   Documents issued outside Greece usually need legalisation and certified translation. Your lawyer confirms exactly what your country of issue requires, since this varies and it is the most common cause of delay at this stage.

4. Property search, viewings and reservation

   We shortlist only properties that qualify under your chosen route: the right threshold for the location, the floor area where one applies, and the documentary trail behind a change of use or a listed status. Viewings are arranged in person or by video. Nothing goes on your shortlist because it is available — it goes on because it qualifies.

   You provide

   • Your decisions on the shortlist, and your availability for viewings.
   • A reservation deposit, where the seller requires one to take the property off the market.

   Indicative duration 2 to 8 weeks, depending on how specific your requirements are

5. Legal due diligence and the notarial deed

   Your lawyer checks title at the land registry and cadastre, reviews the planning and building file, and confirms that the property meets the specific conditions of your route — including, on Route A, that the change of use is registered and the conversion is complete. A Greek notary then draws and completes the deed. On the EUR 800,000 tier the price must be paid in full before the application is submitted.

   You provide

   • The purchase funds, transferred through the banking system from an account in your own name.
   • Your attendance at the notary, or your power of attorney.

   Indicative duration 3 to 6 weeks

6. Application to the one-stop service, and biometrics

   The application is lodged with the one-stop service once the purchase is complete. Each applicant attends in Greece to give fingerprints and photographs. Your lawyer assembles the supporting file and confirms what each applicant needs to bring before anyone books a flight.

   You provide

   • Attendance in Greece by each applicant for biometrics.
   • The supporting documents your lawyer specifies for your file.

   Indicative duration Usually submitted within days of the deed

7. Decision and residence card

   The file is examined by the Greek authorities. Approval is at their discretion and is not guaranteed by anyone, including us. When the residence card is issued, the 5-year term begins on that date under Law 5275/2026 — not on the date you bought, and not on the date you applied.

   You provide

   • Nothing further, unless the authorities ask for clarification — in which case your lawyer responds and we tell you what was asked.

   Indicative duration Set by the Greek authorities. We do not publish a figure we cannot stand behind.

These durations are indicative and several of them run in parallel. They depend on document turnaround in your country, on the seller, and on the Greek authorities. We will tell you what we are seeing on current files; we will not put a completion date in writing that we do not control.