Greece golden visa

What Greece's golden visa is

Greece's golden visa grants EU residency through a real-estate investment, with the region's most relaxed lifestyle rule: no minimum-stay requirement. It is a residency-by-investment route — a permit to live in Greece and travel in Schengen, not a passport. For anyone who wants an EU base without having to move, and who prefers to hold a tangible asset, it is one of the most attractive options in Europe.

The tiered thresholds — read the honest caveat

Greece sets its minimums on a tiered scale by location and property type, reported at 289,000 USD, 462,000 USD and 923,000 USD. Here is the honesty this market usually skips: those exact figures come from concordant professional sources, not from a single official page we could reconfirm on the day of writing. The tiers exist and the direction is well established, but before you commit to a specific number, confirm the current threshold for your specific location and property type directly with the Greek authorities. See how we handle figures like this on our methodology page.

No minimum stay: the flexibility draw

The standout feature is that the permit carries no minimum-stay requirement — you can hold EU residence without relocating, which is exactly what many investors want. That flexibility is Greece's edge over programmes that demand real presence, but note the flip side: time spent not living in Greece does not build toward the residence a future citizenship application would need.

Real estate — where Greece differs from Portugal

Greece's golden visa is built on property, which sets it apart from Portugal, where real estate was excluded in 2023. You buy a tangible asset you can use or let, rather than parking money in a fund. Treat the property as an investment on its own terms — location, liquidity and running costs matter — and weigh the buy-and-hold logic the way our guide to donation vs real estate frames it for citizenship routes.

Residency is not citizenship

Be clear about the ceiling. The golden visa is residency, not a passport. Greek naturalisation is a separate, later route — around seven years of residence with its own conditions, including language and integration requirements. If an EU passport is the eventual goal, plan for that horizon rather than assuming the visa converts automatically. Read second citizenship and taxes for how residence, not the permit, changes your tax and status.

Tax: incentives exist, but check they fit you

Greece offers targeted tax incentives — including a non-dom lump-sum regime for qualifying high-net-worth individuals and a reduced flat rate for foreign pensioners — alongside ordinary progressive income tax for everyone else. These can be attractive, but they have conditions, and holding the visa is not the same as qualifying for them or becoming tax-resident. See the detail on our Greece tax overview before you build a plan around them.

How it compares

Greece is often the flexible, property-based counterpart to Portugal's fund-based route. Weigh it against the Portuguese golden visa, against a lower-tax non-EU base like the UAE golden visa, and — if Spain was your plan before its 2025 closure — the Spanish golden visa alternatives. Compare them side by side on our golden visa comparison.

Before you commit

Greece's golden visa suits someone who wants a flexible EU residence with no minimum stay, is comfortable buying property, and treats citizenship as a separate long-term step. Confirm the current tiered thresholds for your location and property type with the Greek authorities, budget the transfer taxes and running costs of the property, and use only reputable, licensed advisers — our guide to risks, scams and vetting an agent applies here too.