Greece to raise property transfer tax for non-EU buyers to 15%: what it means for the golden visa

The Thessaloniki fair brought a fivefold increase in the transfer tax for buyers from outside the EU. When it starts, who it hits, what it adds to a golden visa purchase and whether it is worth rushing.

Over the weekend of 5-6 September 2026, at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that the transfer tax on residential property bought by non-EU nationals will rise from 3% to 15%. With the municipal surcharge, the effective rate goes from 3.09% to 15.45%. Early reports put the start date at 1 January 2027, but when the package was presented in detail the finance minister gave a different date: 1 July 2027. Here is what is known as of 8 September and what it means if you were planning a Greek golden visa.

What was announced in Thessaloniki

Every September the Greek government uses the Thessaloniki fair to set out its economic programme for the year ahead. This year the headline theme was housing affordability, and the tax on foreign buyers is one item in a 2027 package worth around €2.2 billion, alongside a €2 billion subsidised mortgage scheme and the abolition of the annual ENFIA property tax in small settlements.

The government's reasoning is blunt: in its view, foreign demand has priced Greeks out of housing in key areas. The prime minister named China, Turkey and Israel as the main sources of that demand. Third-country nationals invested around €1.2 billion in Greek real estate in 2025, roughly €800 million of it in residential property.

The rate is designed as a deterrent. Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis described it as a strong brake on large-scale home purchases by investors from outside the EU.

1 January or 1 July 2027: which date is current

Straight after the prime minister's speech, a 1 January 2027 start date was in circulation. Presenting the package in detail, Pierrakakis clarified that the measure will apply from 1 July 2027, explaining that the government does not want to catch the market by surprise and wants deals already underway to complete.

Crucially, as of publication this is a government announcement, not law. No bill has been published. It still needs public consultation, a parliamentary vote and publication in the Government Gazette, and the final text will fix the exemptions and transitional rules.

Who will pay the new rate and who will not

According to ministers, the higher rate applies only when all of these are true:

• the buyer is a natural person, not a company;
• the buyer is a citizen of a country outside the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA);
• the buyer does not hold long-term resident status;
• the property is residential.

Outside its scope: Greek citizens, EU and EEA citizens, ethnic Greeks (omogeneis) and foreigners with long-term resident status. Commercial premises, industrial buildings, land and purchases by legal entities are not covered. In practice, Russian, Ukrainian, Kazakh and other non-EU passport holders without a European passport fall under the new rate unless they already have long-term resident status.

What the text of the bill will settle:

• Who counts as an ethnic Greek. The legal definition of omogeneis has not been disclosed, which matters most to people of Greek descent from the former Soviet Union.
• Long-term residence. The exemption refers to long-term resident status, which under general EU rules is granted after five years of legal and continuous residence. An investor permit is a separate category, and nothing said so far shows whether golden visa holders will get any relief.
• Dual nationals and mixed couples. No official answer yet on buyers with both an EU and a non-EU passport, or joint purchases where only one spouse is an EU citizen.
• Transitional rules. Nothing has been announced about deposits paid or preliminary contracts signed before 1 July 2027.
• Companies. Buying through a legal entity is formally outside the tax, but the final text may include anti-avoidance provisions. It is too early to treat this as a loophole, and company ownership has its own costs.

What it costs: the golden visa thresholds

A simplified calculation on the contract price. In practice the tax is charged on the higher of the contract price and the objective (cadastral) value, so the real bill can be higher.

On an €800,000 property the difference is close to €100,000: no longer a closing cost but a meaningful share of the budget. Notary and agent fees and legal support for the deal come on top as before.

What it means for the Greek golden visa

The programme itself is not being scrapped and the thresholds are unchanged. Since 2024 (Law 5100/2024), residence through a home purchase has worked on three tiers:

• €800,000 - Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants; a single property of at least 120 sq m.
• €400,000 - the rest of Greece; a single property of at least 120 sq m.
• €250,000 - conversion of commercial property to residential use, or restoration of listed heritage buildings.

The new tax sits on top of these thresholds. And since 2024, golden visa properties may not be let on a short-term basis through platforms such as Airbnb, so holiday lettings cannot be used to offset the extra cost.

The most contested point is the €250,000 route. It exists to turn non-residential buildings into new homes, and market participants want it exempted from the 15% rate or given a reduced one (a rate of 8% has been floated). Will the new rate apply to your property? Ask an expert.

Demand was already cooling. Figures published in late August 2026 showed 2,551 new applications in the first half of the year against 4,553 a year earlier, a 44% drop. The tax pushes in the same direction. Investment routes that do not involve buying a home appear unaffected, since the tax targets residential purchases only. We compare the remaining options on our Greece residence by investment page.

Should you buy before 1 July 2027?

Honestly: there is a window, but buying purely to save tax is a poor strategy. Weigh up the following:

• The final deed is what counts. In Greece the transfer tax is paid before the final notarial deed is signed, so that date, not your deposit, is the likely cut-off. With no transitional rules published, assume the purchase must be fully completed before 1 July 2027.
• The golden visa needs full payment. You apply only after the price has been paid in full, so plan backwards from completion, not from the application.
• Deadlines create queues. Ahead of any effective date, notaries get busier and buyers lose negotiating leverage. Leaving completion to the last weeks is risky.
• Due diligence beats speed. Haste favours problem properties: unpermitted construction, cadastral mismatches, failure to meet the programme's size, zone or use rules. A tax saving will not rescue a property that does not qualify, which is why property selection and legal checks remain non-negotiable.
• The law does not exist yet. The date, rate and exemptions exist only in statements for now. A decision that only makes sense under one version of the law is a bet on politics.

If a Greek purchase was already planned for the next year, bringing it forward and doing the checks calmly makes sense. If not, the tax alone is no reason to start.

Alternatives: other routes to Greece and Europe

Not everyone needs to buy a home:

• The digital nomad visa lets you live in Greece and work remotely on proven income rather than property; terms for families and the self-employed are on our Greece residence for remote workers page.
• Greek roots are worth checking against citizenship through repatriation or by birth. A Greek citizen is outside the new tax altogether. But it is not fast.
• If your goal is EU residence through investment, compare Greece with Cyprus, Malta and Hungary. The wider picture is in our review of Europe's golden visas in 2026 and in the residence permits section.

Tax after the purchase (ownership, rental income, tax residence) is a separate subject, covered on our Greek taxes page.

Our services for Greece

We take clients from choosing a route to holding a residence card or a passport. If your situation is not listed below, describe it: we have most likely handled something similar.

Plus the usual sticking points: a Greek AFM tax number, a bank account to fund the purchase, powers of attorney and document translations. All programmes are collected on our Greece: citizenship, residence and tax page, and if you are choosing a city there are guides to Athens and Thessaloniki.

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