Greece Golden Visa 2026: Full Conditions After the Three-Threshold Reform

Greece Golden Visa 2026 has completed the largest reform since the programme began in 2013. After the Greek Parliament passed Law 5100/2024 amending Immigration Code 5038/2023, and Circular 1/2026 issued on 22/04/2026, the entire new legal framework has settled into place with three investment thresholds set by geographical area.

Unlike the uniform €250,000 EURO threshold maintained from 2013 to 2023, Greece now applies a three-tier structure: €800,000 EURO for Zone A, €400,000 EURO for Zone B, and €250,000 EURO for two specific options covering conversion of commercial property to residential use and restoration of cultural heritage. The transitional periods closed on 28/02/2025, and every application filed in 2026 must comply with the new rules.

Legal basis of Greece Golden Visa 2026

The current legal framework of Greece Golden Visa 2026 rests on three main pieces of legislation passed by the Greek Parliament between 2023 and 2024. Immigration Code 5038/2023 lays the overall foundation for residency by investment, while Article 64 of Law 5100/2024 repriced the property investment thresholds and narrowed the scope of eligibility.

Law 5167/2024, issued afterwards, extended the transitional period to 28/02/2025, allowing investors who had already placed a deposit before the reform to complete their transactions. Law 5162/2024 added a new parallel route at €250,000 EURO through investment in a start-up registered with Elevate Greece. As of April 2026, no legislation has fully replaced this framework.

According to the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Circular 1/2026, issued on 22/04/2026, marks the first time the authority has provided detailed, practical guidance on how the new rules apply in specific situations. This document standardises the process and clarifies points that had been contentious since the 2024 reform took effect.

The three investment thresholds of Greece Golden Visa 2026

The €800,000 EURO threshold – Zone A

Zone A is the area of Greece with the highest population density and property demand. Its geographical scope covers the entire Attica Region (including Athens and Piraeus), the Thessalonikimetropolitan area, the island of Mykonos, the island of Santorini, and every Greek island with a population over 3,100. These are the highest-priced markets, averaging €4,500 EURO to €8,000 EURO per square metre in central Athens. The detailed zoning and specific area list are set out in the article Greece Golden Visa Zone A €800,000.

In Zone A, investors must buy a single property priced at a minimum of €800,000 EURO, with a minimum floor area of 120 square metres. The new rules do not allow several smaller properties to be combined to reach the threshold. The single-unit requirement also means investors cannot split the asset across several apartments in the same building.

The €400,000 EURO threshold – Zone B

Zone B comprises all the remaining areas of Greece outside Zone A. This scope is quite broad, spanning suburban Athens, the northern and central provinces, and islands with a population under 3,100. The €400,000 EURO threshold is designed to redirect foreign capital away from saturated markets such as central Athens.

The floor-area requirement in Zone B is also a minimum of 120 square metres, and a single property unit must be purchased. Market prices in Thessaloniki range from €2,300 EURO to €3,000 EURO per square metre, and in Crete from €2,000 EURO to €3,500 EURO per square metre. This is a popular option for investors seeking a higher investment return than Zone A.

The €250,000 EURO threshold – Specific options

The €250,000 EURO threshold has not been abolished but is now restricted to two specific options: converting commercial property to residential use, and restoring a state-recognised heritage building. Neither option carries a geographical restriction, so investors may proceed anywhere in Greek territory, including Athens or the Zone A islands.

The conversion option requires the original property to have had commercial use for at least 5 years before conversion. Once complete, the building must be re-registered for residential use at the local Urban Planning Office. The heritage option requires the building to be on the conservation list of the Greek Ministry of Culture, with the investor committing to restore it to the prescribed standard.

Overview of the three investment thresholds

Criteria	Zone A	Zone B	The €250,000 EURO threshold
Minimum investment	€800.000 EURO	€400.000 EURO	€250.000 EURO
Area of application	Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, islands with >3,100 population	The rest of Greece	The entire territory
Minimum floor area	120 m²	120 m²	No restriction
Property type	A single unit	A single unit	Commercial conversion or heritage restoration
Endorsements	High population density	Less populated areas	Restricted options

Personal conditions for investors

Investors applying for Greece Golden Visa 2026 must meet personal, financial and legal-compliance conditions at the same time. Applicants must be aged 18 or over, be third-country nationals (not from the European Union or the EEA), and have no serious criminal record in their home country or in Greece.

Financially, investors must demonstrate lawfully accumulated funds sufficient to complete the transaction. The financial dossier includes bank statements, an employment contract, tax returns, or documents evidencing business income. Under the new rules, investors are not permitted to mortgage the property to borrow funds in order to meet the Greece Golden Visa 2026 threshold.

Another mandatory requirement is a valid private health insurance contract in Greece, covering the full range of health and safety risks required by the Ministry of Health. Investors must also hold a passport valid for at least 12 months at the time of application, together with a type D national visa if entering the country to complete the application.

Family members who can be sponsored

Greece Golden Visa allows investors to sponsor several family members at once under the expanded rules. An investor’s lawful spouse is granted a residence permit of the same duration as the main investor. A cohabiting partner recognised under Greek law has also been entitled to the same benefits since 2024.

Children under 21 may be sponsored with no limit on numbers. This is a major point of difference from many other European Golden Visa programmes, which allow only children under 18. After turning 21, children may continue to hold residency through other routes, such as as a student or worker, but are no longer covered by their parents’ Golden Visa application.

The investor’s parents and the parents of the investor’s spouse may also be sponsored without needing to prove financial dependency. This is one of the reasons the Greek programme is regarded as having the most generous family policy in the Schengen area, particularly suited to the three-generation profile of Asian investors.

Benefits of Greece Golden Visa 2026

Golden Visa holders are granted a 5-year residence permit, renewable indefinitely provided the original investment is maintained. Throughout this period, the investor and family members may enter and leave Greece freely without needing a further visa, while also being able to travel throughout the Schengen area for up to 90 days in every 180 days.

An important attraction is that the programme has no minimum residence requirement to maintain the permit. Investors need only visit Greece once to provide biometric data (fingerprints and a facial photo) across the entire 5-year life of the residence card. This is a major difference from the Spanish programme (now closed) or Portugal (which requires 7 days a year).

After 7 years of lawful residence in Greece, investors become eligible to apply for citizenship under Citizenship Law 3284/2004, together with a B1 Greek language test and a test of knowledge of Greek culture and history. Greek citizenship brings an EU passport with the right to live, work and study freely across all 27 EU member states.

Restrictions on property use under the new rules

This is one of the most important changes under Law 5100/2024 and one investors need to note carefully. Property purchased under the Greece Golden Visa 2026 programme is absolutely prohibited from short-term rental under an Airbnb-style sharing-economy model. Breach results in revocation of the residence permit and an administrative fine of €50,000 EURO.

The ban on sub-letting applies at the same time, meaning investors cannot let the property to someone else for a third party to exploit. Long-term residential leasing of over 12 months remains permitted, and is the only lawful way to generate cash flow from the property. According to industry advisers, most Golden Visa apartments in Athens that previously operated on short-term rental platforms have switched to long-term leasing.

For property bought under the €250,000 EURO commercial conversion option, there is a further restriction: the asset may not be used as the head office or a branch office of any business. Breach likewise results in a €50,000 EURO fine, alongside the risk of revocation of the residence permit for the whole family.

Market data and the impact of the reform

Statistics from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum show that the Greece Golden Visa 2026 programme has gone through a significant adjustment period following the reform. 2024 recorded around 9,386 initial applications, and 2025 saw 8,879 applications approved, with the filing rate slowing towards the end of the year. In the first two months of 2026, the Ministry received 792 applications, reflecting a downward trend after the new threshold took full effect.

On data from the Bank of Greece, foreign capital inflows into the Greek property market fell by around 24% between January and September 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, from €1.925 billion EURO to €1.46 billion EURO. However, the total number of valid residence cards issued as of December 2025 stood at 27,786 for main investors, not including family members.

The top nationalities applying for Greece Golden Visa in 2025-2026 remain led by China, followed by Türkiye, Israel, Iran and the United States. Vietnam has not yet entered the top 10 nationalities, though interest is rising rapidly because the €250,000 EURO threshold remains available under the specific options and because the expanded family policy suits Vietnamese profiles.

Processing time

Under Article 100(10) of the Immigration Code, the statutory processing time is 2 months from the date a complete application is received. In practice, however, in 2025-2026, with a backlog of around 50,000 applications awaiting review, actual processing time has run from 4 to 12 months depending on the region and the complexity of the case.

The Ministry of Migration and Asylum rolled out a digitisation initiative from 2025 to improve efficiency, including an online application system and online biometric appointment booking. Circular 1/2026 also sets out standardised documents for each investment option, reducing cases where applications are returned for missing paperwork. Investors may authorise a lawyer to file the application on their behalf through the online platform.

Once the application is approved, the investor travels to Greece once to complete biometrics at the Decentralised Administration office for the region of investment. The physical residence card is delivered within 4 to 8 weeks of biometrics being taken. While waiting for the official card, the investor is issued a temporary certificate allowing travel within the Schengen area.

Summary

Greece Golden Visa 2026 has moved from a uniform low-cost programme to a three-tier structure with clear zoning. The €800,000 EURO Zone A threshold focuses on assets in Athens, Thessaloniki and the larger islands, while the €400,000 EURO Zone B threshold opens up opportunities in less competitive areas. The €250,000 EURO threshold remains available for the two specific options aimed at investors with a higher risk appetite who want to optimise their initial capital.

A point that needs particular attention is the ban on short-term rental and sub-letting, with a €50,000 EURO fine. Investors intending to generate cash flow from the property should plan in advance for a long-term leasing route or resale after the minimum holding period, rather than expecting an Airbnb-style model as in the period before 2024. The programme still retains a major advantage in family policy and requires no minimum residence, suiting Vietnamese investors who want to keep their main life in Vietnam while having an EU fallback base.