SERVICES / IMMIGRATION
Greece Golden Visa Services Secure Five-Year EU Residency Through Qualifying Property
Greece golden visa services from our team cover tier selection, due diligence and filing, so a family reaches a five-year permit without discovering mid-purchase that the unit they chose falls short by eight square metres. The programme changed substantially in 2024 and again through 2025, and a great deal of published material still describes the old rules.
Wondering which threshold applies to the area you like? A short call establishes the tier, the size rule and the realistic total cost before you view anything.
Check your tierWhich Tier Applies to You
The €800,000 Zone
Attica in its entirety, including Athens and the Riviera, greater Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and every island with more than 3,100 residents.
The €400,000 Zone
Everywhere else: most of the Peloponnese, most of Crete, smaller islands, inland regions and northern Greece outside the Thessaloniki metropolitan area.
The €250,000 Exceptions
Two narrow categories remain, available nationwide:
- Buildings converted from commercial to residential use, with conversion completed before filing
- Listed or protected historic buildings undergoing full restoration
The cheap entry point everyone remembers is gone for ordinary residential purchases. These two exceptions are what replaced it.
Conditions Attached to the Main Tiers
Single Unit
The threshold must be met by one dwelling. Combining two smaller apartments to reach €400,000 no longer works, though you may own further units beyond the qualifying one.
The 120 m² Measurement
Qualifying dwellings must offer at least 120 m² of main habitable space.
What Cannot Be Counted
- Storage rooms
- Parking spaces
- Balconies and terraces
- Other auxiliary areas
Measurement disputes end more purchases than pricing does. Verify from the building permit, never from the listing.
Non-Property Routes
Government Bonds
From €500,000, with a minimum three-year maturity, acquired through a Greek credit institution.
Listed Securities
From €800,000 in shares, corporate bonds or government bonds traded on Greek markets.
Investment Funds
From €350,000 into funds holding Greek equities or bonds.
Startup Shares
From €250,000 into qualifying young companies, with a technology emphasis, through the national startup register.
Long-Term Hotel Leases
Ten-year leases of hotel accommodation or furnished tourist residences, at €400,000 or €800,000 depending on region.
What the Permit Gives You
Five Years, Renewable
Issued for five years and renewed indefinitely while the qualifying asset is held.
No Stay Requirement
Nothing obliges holders to spend time in the country, which suits families keeping a base elsewhere.
Schengen Travel
Holders travel across the Schengen area under the usual short-stay rules. This is mobility, not the right to settle in another member state.
Family Included
Spouse or Partner
A spouse or officially registered partner joins the same file.
Children
Unmarried children under 21 are included.
Parents
Parents of both spouses qualify, which is unusual and often decisive for multigenerational families.
The Letting Restriction
What Is Banned
Short-term letting of the qualifying dwelling is prohibited outright. Breach carries revocation of the permit and a €50,000 penalty.
What Is Permitted
Long-term leases on statutory minimum terms remain available, and many buyers hold the asset as a yield instrument from abroad.
Income Taxation
Letting income is taxable in Greece on a progressive scale reaching 45% at the top band, following the 2025 reform. Model the net yield rather than the gross.
Keeping the Permit
Maintaining the Asset
Renewal depends on continued ownership at or above the threshold.
Selling and Replacing
Substitution is permitted. Selling and buying another qualifying asset preserves status, provided the replacement clears the same tier.
Renewal
Straightforward where ownership and documentation remain in order.
Does It Lead to Citizenship?
Not directly, and not quickly. Naturalisation requires roughly seven years of genuine residence plus language competence, and a permit held passively from abroad builds very little toward it. Families wanting a passport eventually should plan around actually living there, which is a different decision entirely.
Due Diligence Before You Buy
Title
Clear ownership, no encumbrances, no outstanding charges.
Change-of-Use Status
For the conversion route, the permits and classification must already support residential use. A listing describing itself as eligible proves nothing.
Measurement Verification
Habitable area confirmed against the permit and, where necessary, by survey.
Documents Required
- Passports for every family member
- Criminal record certificates
- Health insurance covering all parties
- Proof of funds and their lawful origin
- Registered purchase deed
- Greek tax number for each applicant
- Birth and marriage certificates, apostilled and translated
What It Costs
Government Charges
- €2,000 processing fee for the principal
- €150 per family member aged over 21
Transaction Costs
Transfer taxes, notary charges, land registry fees and agency commission typically add 8% to 12% on top of the purchase price.
How Long It Takes
How This Compares With Cyprus
Both grant settled status through purchase, but they suit different people:
Families sometimes pursue both. We advise on which fits first.
What We Handle, and What Stays With You
Handled by C. Savva & Associates
- Tier assessment and eligibility confirmation before any commitment
- Structuring the purchase and the funding trail
- Source of wealth file preparation
- Coordination of Greek counsel, notary and surveyor
- Tax number and banking arrangements
- Document collection, translation and apostille
- Filing and follow-up through to permit issue
- Cross-border tax advice covering your residence position
Retained by You
- Choosing the property
- Funding the purchase and transaction costs
- Attending for biometrics
- Full disclosure of your financial position at the outset
How We Work in Greece
Straight answer, since it matters. We are a Cyprus firm. Qualified Greek professionals execute Greek conveyancing, notarial work and any court matter we instruct and supervise, while structuring, the source of wealth file, cross-border tax planning and overall project management sit with us. You deal with our team throughout and receive a single point of accountability rather than a chain of introductions.
Working With Our Partner Law Firm
C. Savva & Associates is not a law firm. For matters requiring legal expertise, the firm works alongside its partner law firm Nicholas Ktenas & Co., LLC, which provides legal counsel on corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, data protection, intellectual property, employment law, and trusts.
Why Clients Bring This to Us
- Operating since 2009, with cross-border structuring rather than property brokerage as the core discipline
- No commission taken from developers, so our tier advice is not shaped by inventory.
- Licensed and regulated, with authorisations on our licensing page
- Tax advice alongside the application, which matters because letting income and eventual disposal both carry consequences
- Memberships listed on our memberships page
What Happens When You Get in Touch
- You tell us your budget, preferred region and who travels with you
- We respond within a working day
- The first conversation costs nothing
- A written tier assessment follows, with total cost modelled including transaction charges.
- Property search begins on your instruction
Nothing is billed until you accept a written engagement letter.
Request a tier assessmentBegin Your Greece Golden Visa Application
Tell us your budget, the regions you are drawn to, and who travels with you. We will confirm which tier applies and model the full cost before you view a single property.
Call +357 22 516 671, message the team on WhatsApp, or write and expect a prompt reply.
Speak to Charles SavvaFrequently Asked Questions
Make a qualifying investment as a non-EU national, hold a clean criminal record, and carry health insurance. The most common path is buying residential property that meets the threshold for its location: currently €800,000 in Attica, greater Thessaloniki, and the larger islands, or €400,000 elsewhere. Both require a single unit of at least 120 m² of habitable space. Alternatives include government bonds from €500,000, investment funds from €350,000, and qualifying startup shares from €250,000.
It survives only for two narrow categories: buildings converted from commercial to residential use, and protected historic buildings undergoing full restoration. Both are available anywhere in the country. Ordinary residential purchases at that level no longer qualify anywhere, following the 2024 overhaul. Eligibility turns on the specific title, permits and change-of-use classification of the individual building, so a listing advertising itself as qualifying at that level warrants full verification before any deposit is paid.
That depends on what you want from it. As Schengen travel access with no obligation to spend time in the country, and with parents of both spouses included, it remains among the more generous European options. As an investment proposition it has weakened, since thresholds tripled in prime areas and short-term letting is now prohibited, which removed the yield strategy many earlier buyers relied on. As a route to a passport it is poor, because passive holding builds almost no residence.
Yes, provided the purchase satisfies the threshold for its location, and the unit meets the size and single-property conditions. The purchase must be completed, and the deed registered before filing. Approval typically follows within about four months of a complete submission. Buying below the applicable threshold, or spreading the sum across several smaller units, does not qualify, however much is spent in total.
Long-term letting on statutory minimum terms is permitted and widely done. Short-term holiday letting is banned outright for qualifying dwellings, and breaching that carries both revocation and a €50,000 penalty. Anyone whose plan depends on holiday letting should buy a separate unit outside the scheme for that purpose. Letting income is taxable in Greece on a progressive scale reaching 45%, so model the position net rather than gross before committing.
Selling without replacement terminates the permit. Selling and acquiring another qualifying asset at or above the same threshold preserves status, though the substitution needs planning in advance rather than explaining afterwards. Renewal at the five-year point requires evidence that qualifying ownership has been maintained throughout. Families who may want liquidity within that window should consider one of the securities routes, which behave differently on disposal.