Greece golden visa through real estate in 2026

At least €400,000 for an ordinary home, plus roughly 5.5% on top in taxes and fees. Greece is one of the last EU countries still granting residence for buying an apartment, but entry has become pricier, it is closed to Russian and Belarusian citizens, and the government plans to lift the purchase tax for non-EU buyers to 15%. Thresholds, steps, full cost, tax regimes and the road to citizenship.

$460,000 is what the cheapest standard route into the Greek golden visa costs in 2026 if you buy a home. A few years ago, $290,000 bought you residence with an apartment anywhere in the country, central Athens included. That figure survives, but only for buildings converted from commercial to residential use and for listed monuments that have been restored.

On top of the price, budget roughly 5.5-6% for transfer tax, notary, cadastre and government fees (our worked example is below). And in September 2026 the government announced that from 1 July 2027 the purchase tax on homes bought by non-EU citizens will rise from 3.09% to 15.45%. There is no law yet, but on a $460,000 property that would mean an extra $56,000.

For Russian and Belarusian readers the news is harsher: Greece has not accepted new golden visa applications from their citizens since 2022, and in April 2026 the migration ministry extended the suspension. If you hold a second passport of another country, you can apply on it, and we check the conditions before filing. Below we explain how the programme works, what entry really costs once every expense is counted, which tax breaks it unlocks and who it actually suits.

What is the Greece golden visa in plain terms

The Greek golden visa is a residence permit for non-EU nationals granted in exchange for an investment, most often a property purchase. It was created by Law 4146/2013 and now sits in Article 100 of the Migration Code (Law 5038/2023). Its official name is the permanent investor residence permit (μόνιμη άδεια διαμονής επενδυτή, type Β.5). The word permanent is misleading: the card is issued for 5 years and renewed for as long as you own the property.

The key difference from an ordinary residence permit is that you do not have to live in Greece. There is no minimum number of days, no income test and no language exam. You buy the property, pay for it in full, file the application and get cards for the whole family. The price of that freedom is one serious limitation: the card does not let you work in Greece as an employee or self-employed person.

Who it suits: people who want a back-up EU residence with free travel in the Schengen area, investors who want to hold Greek property as an asset, retirees heading for the sea and families planning a real move with tax incentives. Who it does not suit: anyone who needs a passport fast, a job with a Greek employer or income from nightly holiday rentals.

Demand is falling, but the programme remains one of the most popular in the EU. According to the migration ministry, a record 9,372 applications were filed in 2024, up from 8,457 a year earlier, and 7,021 in 2025. Most permit holders come from China, Turkey, Lebanon, the UK and Iran.

The higher thresholds have cut the flow. Migration ministry data show 2,551 new applications in the first half of 2026 against 4,489 a year earlier, a 43% drop. The queue is shrinking, though: 4,919 new permits were issued in the same six months (up 21%), and the backlog, counting family members, fell from more than 52,000 files at the start of 2025 to 29,273 at the end of July 2026. All routes, including deposits and funds, are covered on our Greece residency by investment page.

How much you need to invest: regional thresholds and eligible property

Since 2024 the address of a property matters more than its price per square metre, because Greece is split into two price zones. The thresholds were set by Article 64 of Law 5100/2024, in force since 5 April 2024. They are mandatory for transactions from 1 September 2024, and the transition period for buyers who had already paid a deposit ended on 28 February 2025 (Law 5167/2024).

Sources: Article 64 of Law 5100/2024 on the government portal stegasi.gov.gr, migration ministry guidance (Circular 1/2026 of 21 April 2026).

The small print that trips buyers up:

• One property. Two flats at $230,000 each do not qualify in any zone. The whole threshold has to sit in a single property.
• Joint purchases. If several investors buy one property, each share must be worth at least the threshold ($460,000 or $910,000), while the 120 sq m rule applies to the property as a whole.
• Full payment before filing. The price must be paid in full before the residence application, and only through the banking system: a transfer or banker's cheque from the buyer's account. Cash and crypto do not qualify.
• No nightly rentals. Letting the property through digital platforms such as Airbnb is banned. The penalty is a $57,000 fine and revocation of the permit. Long-term letting is allowed.
• Swapping properties. You can sell and buy another, but in the right order: first buy a new qualifying property, notify the authority, then sell the old one.

The $910,000 zone swallows the core market: Attica, home to more than a third of the country's population, is entirely in the expensive zone, and so is Thessaloniki. For price context, Bank of Greece data show apartment prices rose on average by 6.2% in Athens, 9.6% in Thessaloniki and 8.8% in other areas in 2025. Our Athens city guide helps you figure out where you would actually want to live, not just buy.

What changed in 2024-2026

How to get Greek residency by buying property: steps and timing

You need to travel to Greece only once, to give biometrics. Everything else, from the tax number to the notarial deed, Murblz specialists handle under a power of attorney together with locally licensed partners. In practice a well-prepared file goes from choosing a property to holding the card in 4-6 months, and a typical one in 6-9 months.

The real wait depends on the ministry's queue, which shrank noticeably in 2025-2026.

Documents for the application: a certified copy of every page of your passport, photos, the purchase deed and a cadastre extract showing no encumbrances, proof of payment and health insurance that covers Greece. For family members, marriage and birth certificates with an apostille and Greek translation. If insurance is missing from the file, the authority asks for it with a short 30-day deadline.

How much the Greece golden visa costs with taxes and fees

The threshold is only the price of the property. Transfer tax, notary, cadastre and government fees come on top. Greek government fees are modest: about $2,300 for the main applicant, compared with tens of thousands of dollars in Malta.

Sources: Ministry of Migration (fees), the statutory notary and cadastre scales, Law 5246/2025 (VAT suspension). We quote the cost of our support after reviewing your documents.

Worked example: $290,000 and $460,000

This is an illustration, not a quote. A family of four: two adults and two children under 18. A resale home or a converted building, taxed at today's 3.09% rate.

The example leaves out insurance, translations and apostilles, powers of attorney, furniture and our support, which we quote after reviewing your documents. In the $910,000 zone the same logic gives about $47,000 on top, and at 15.45% the transfer tax alone would jump from $28,000 to $140,000.

The $290,000 route is a separate question. Ministers say commercial property will stay outside the new rate, but a converted building becomes residential. Ask an expert how the rule will apply to your property. Scenarios are in our analysis of the planned 15% tax for foreign buyers.

Who can be included and how renewal works

One purchase covers three generations at once, which is rare in Europe. The application can include a spouse or registered partner, unmarried children under 21 and the parents of both spouses. Each person gets their own card, and every family member's rights derive from the investor's.

When a child turns 21 they drop out of the family card, but can obtain an autonomous permit valid up to age 24, which serves as a bridge to another residence status. Murblz specialists will check the conditions well in advance, a year before the birthday.

Renewal comes every 5 years, and the main condition is simple: you still own the property. As proof you file a recent E9 property statement (the form on which the tax authority sees all your Greek property) or a cadastre extract. Under Law 5275/2026 the renewal application is filed within the two months before the card expires. You can be up to three months late, with a fine of about $120 for each month. After that the application is refused unless you prove force majeure.

Selling the property ends the permit. The exception is a swap: buy a new qualifying property first, notify the authority, then sell the old one. Renewal is never automatic: each time the authority checks that the investment is still in place and that no rules were broken.

What the Greece golden visa gives you: the main benefits

With one purchase you get what most EU countries only offer in exchange for relocating, a job or years of residence. Here is what is in the package.

Schengen. With a Greek card you can travel visa-free in the Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180. In Greece itself there is no day limit: the card lets you live in the country all year round.

The whole family in one application. Spouse, children under 21 and the parents of both spouses, with no upper age limit. The fee per adult family member is about $170.

No obligation to live there. To keep and renew the permit you do not have to spend a single day a year in Greece beyond the biometrics visit. For many this is the main argument: the card works like an insurance policy rather than a commitment.

Freehold ownership and inheritance. The property stays yours after the permit ends, with no limit on how long you hold it. You can sell it or leave it to your heirs. Greek inheritance tax for close relatives (spouse, children, parents) is 0% up to $170,000, then 1%, 5% and 10% on a sliding scale (Law 2961/2001). The 15% capital gains tax on property sales by individuals will not apply if the sale closes by 31 December 2026: it is suspended.

Rental income. Long-term letting is allowed, as is leasing the property to a tourism business for professional use. Only nightly lets through digital platforms are banned. Rental tax is covered in the tax section below.

Business without employment. A cardholder can set up a company, be a shareholder or a non-executive board member. You cannot be an employee, work as self-employed or act as the company's legal representative. Running a business in Greece day to day requires a different type of permit.

Tax regimes for newcomers. If the family decides to move for real, it can use a flat $120,000 annual tax on foreign income, a 7% rate on all foreign income for pensioners or a 50% break for people who work. The conditions are below.

Path to permanent residence and citizenship: the real conditions

This is where the golden visa falls short of the marketing. On its own it does not lead to a passport. Time on the card counts as lawful residence, but citizenship and long-term resident status require actually living in Greece, not just owning an apartment there.

• EU long-term resident status (επί μακρόν διαμένων) after 5 years of lawful and continuous residence in Greece with real physical presence. Under general EU rules, absences may not exceed 6 consecutive months or 10 months in total over the five years. This status gives the right to work.
• Citizenship under the Greek Citizenship Code (Law 3284/2004) after 7 consecutive years of lawful residence before applying. You need the certificate of adequate knowledge for naturalisation (ΠΕΓΠ, a written exam in Greek at B1 level plus history and civics), proof of integration and a clean criminal record. To get a passport, a golden visa holder must actually live in the country.

Greece allows dual citizenship, but naturalisation is decided by the Ministry of Interior and is discretionary. If you have Greek roots, citizenship by repatriation may be faster. Children born in Greece fall under separate rules, see Greek citizenship by birth.

What taxes does a property owner pay in Greece

A golden visa holder who does not live in Greece pays Greek tax only on Greek things: the property and the income it produces. The rest of the world is none of Greece's business until you become its tax resident. The full system is on our Greece taxes page; here we cover only what matters to a buyer.

On purchase

Transfer tax of 3.09%, or 24% VAT on a new build if the developer has not used the suspension (details in the cost table above). The tax is paid before the final deed is signed at the notary. The main risk is the government's plan to raise the rate for non-EU individuals to 15%, or 15.45% with the surcharge, from 1 July 2027. According to Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the increase covers only residential property bought by individuals, with ethnic Greeks and long-term residents to be exempt. No bill has been published, and Greece is due to hold a general election in 2027.

While you own it: ENFIA

ENFIA (ΕΝΦΙΑ, Ενιαίος Φόρος Ιδιοκτησίας Ακινήτων) is the unified annual property ownership tax. It is calculated by formula from the zone, size, age, floor and use of the property rather than from its market price. Each property assessed above $460,000 pays an extra 0.2-1% a year on the excess, and if the total value of your Greek property exceeds $570,000 the tax is raised by 5-20%. Insured homes worth up to $570,000 get a 20% discount from 2025 (Law 5162/2024). From 2027 the law already exempts the main home of Greek tax residents worth up to $460,000 in settlements of up to 1,500 residents, and in September 2026 the government announced extending the relief to settlements of up to 2,000 residents. It does not help an investor who does not live in the country.

Can you rent out a golden visa property

Yes, but only long term. Nightly lets through platforms are banned for every golden visa property, including the $290,000 route. A long-term lease, or a lease to a tourism business for professional use, is allowed. Rental income is taxed on its own scale, which became gentler in the middle bands from 2026.

Source: scale under Law 5246/2025. Worked example: a flat let for $1,700 a month brings in $21,000 a year. Tax comes to about $3,800 a year, or about 18% of the income, before deductions and ENFIA.

Non-residents pay this tax just like Greeks and file a Greek tax return. If your country of residence also taxes the Greek rent, a double tax treaty is what protects you. Greece's treaty with Russia formally remains, but in August 2023 Russia's Decree No. 585 suspended its key articles, including income from immovable property, for 38 countries, Greece among them. The information exchange provisions still apply.

Tax regimes for people who move: 5A, 5B and 5C

Greece is one of the few EU countries where a wealthy newcomer can pay a fixed amount instead of a percentage of all foreign income. The three regimes sit in Articles 5A, 5B and 5C of the Income Tax Code (Law 4172/2013). They work only for people who genuinely move their tax residence to Greece.

You become a Greek tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in the country in any 12-month period or if your centre of vital interests is there: family, home, business. A resident reports worldwide income. A golden visa holder who visits for a couple of weeks a year does not become resident and does not get these breaks.

Source: Articles 5A-5C of the Greek Income Tax Code. A golden visa investment of $570,000 or more could potentially satisfy the 5A investment condition. The timing still has to fit the three-year window, so plan the order of purchase and application in advance. A bonus of the 5A regime: assets located abroad are exempt from Greek inheritance and gift tax.

An important point for 5C: the golden visa itself does not give the right to work. The 50% break applies to income from work in Greece: employment with a Greek company or the Greek branch of a foreign one, or your own business in the country, and for that you need a permit that allows work. Remote work for a foreign employer with no Greek presence under the digital nomad visa does not qualify for 5C.

Example tax burden

This is an illustration, not advice. A retiree receives a $68,000 foreign pension a year. Under 5B they pay 7%, or $4,800. Under the standard 2026 scale (9-44%) the same income would cost about $19,000 before credits. The saving is around $15,000 a year, more than $210,000 over 15 years.

With 5A everything depends on the type of income. On $1.2 million of dividends, the ordinary Greek dividend tax is 5%, or $57,000, so the fixed $120,000 is a bad deal. On $1.2 million of interest or capital gains taxed at 15%, the ordinary bill is $170,000, and 5A saves $57,000 a year. Run the numbers on your own income mix, not on brochure figures.

A reminder that no regime overrides: tax residence and the duty to declare foreign accounts and income are set by the law of the country where you live. Greece takes part in CRS (Common Reporting Standard, the framework under which banks report foreigners' accounts to tax authorities). How to document the source of your money for a bank is covered in our article on source of funds.

Greece golden visa for Russians and Belarusians in 2026

The short answer: you cannot obtain a new Greek golden visa on a Russian or Belarusian passport in 2026. In early 2022 the migration ministry suspended the filing and approval of new investor residence applications from Russian and Belarusian citizens. A ministerial decision of 1 April 2022 suspended new applications until further notice; cards already issued are renewed in practice.

Circular 1/2026 of 21 April 2026 extended the suspension. It covers the filing and approval of new investor permit applications by Russian and Belarusian citizens, including family members, and a change of purpose to an investor permit, which the circular treats as a first issue rather than a renewal. Existing holders file for renewal two months before expiry: Murblz specialists will check your situation well before expiry, not in the final month.

There are no exceptions for family members: the circular extends the suspension to them explicitly.

A second citizenship changes the picture, with caveats. Under the same circular, a person with two nationalities at the start of the process picks one and uses it for every step: the investment, powers of attorney, entry into Greece and the application. If the second passport is neither Russian nor Belarusian, there is no formal ban. More on this in our article on dual citizenship.

The second wall is money. Under EU sanctions (Article 5b of Regulation 833/2014 for Russia and Article 1u of Regulation 765/2006 for Belarus), EU banks may not accept deposits above $120,000 from citizens or residents of those countries unless the person holds EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship or residence. In practice that means enhanced source-of-funds checks, refused accounts and slow approval of transfers.

What realistically remains: other residence grounds, such as the remote worker visa, fall outside the investor suspension on paper, but the consulate decides on the visa and the odds have to be assessed case by case; repatriation for people with Greek roots; and countries that do accept Russian citizens, such as Hungary in the EU and the UAE outside it. The comparison is below.

Greece vs Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Latvia and the UAE

With Spain and Latvia out, Greece is one of the last EU countries that still grants residence for buying an ordinary home. But it is no longer cheap, and it is closed to Russian and Belarusian citizens. Here is how the neighbours look in 2026.

The full picture of closed and surviving programmes is in our overview of European golden visas in 2026.

Pitfalls and who the Greece golden visa does not suit

Most golden visa failures in Greece happen not at the ministry but at the notary: the buyer picks a property that does not formally qualify. What to check before paying a deposit:

• Size on paper. 120 sq m means main space under the building permit, not the figure in the listing. Storage rooms and parking do not count.
• Border areas. Under Law 1892/1990, non-EU buyers need a permit from a committee of the regional Decentralised Administration to buy in border areas, among them the Dodecanese with Rhodes, Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Evros, Santorini and Skyros. Get the permit first, then sign the deed, then apply for residence.
• Illegal building work. Unauthorised extensions and mismatches with the cadastre are common in Greece. Do not close without a clean Electronic Building Identity.
• $290,000 conversions. The conversion must be finished before you apply. If the developer promises to finish after the deal, you will not get the permit any sooner, and the risk of delay is yours.
• Liquidity. A $290,000 property can be used for the exception only once: the next non-EU buyer will not get residence through it. That narrows your future buyer pool.
• Price. Tax is charged on the higher of the contract price and the objective value. Compare the price with similar homes, not with the programme threshold.
• Nightly lets. A $57,000 fine and loss of the permit wipe out any Airbnb income.
• The 15.45% tax. If the law passes as announced, buying after 1 July 2027 will cost tens of thousands of dollars more. The decisive date will most likely be the final deed, not the deposit.

Who the Greek golden visa does not suit: Russian and Belarusian citizens without a second nationality; people who want to work for a Greek employer; anyone expecting an EU passport after 7 years without moving; investors counting on short-term rental income; and buyers whose budget stops exactly at the threshold with no 10-15% margin for costs.

How we can help with Greek residency through property

We run the purchase and the residence application as one project: first we check whether the property qualifies and whether a tax regime works for you, then we buy and file.

We also handle the supporting steps: tax number, a Greek bank account, source-of-funds documentation, insurance and document translations for the whole family.

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