Greece:the property golden visa with no stay rule

Who this suits

Greece's residence permit for investors suits a reader who wants to own a home in Greece, will not commit to spending time there, and is content with a renewable residence permit rather than a passport. It is the purest property programme in Europe: no fund, company or donation route exists, and the permit asks for no minimum stay at all.[1] It does not suit anyone who refuses to hold property, wants to let the property on short-term platforms, or expects the permit to lead to Greek citizenship without moving there.

What you invest

Three property tiers apply under Law 5038/2023 as amended in 2024, in force since 1 September 2024.[1] The €800,000 tier covers Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants. The €400,000 tier covers the rest of Greece. In both, the investment is a single property of at least 120 m2 and short-term letting is not permitted. The €250,000 tier applies anywhere in the country to the conversion of a commercial building to residential use, or to the restoration of a listed building.

The tiers are not interchangeable: €400,000 spent in Athens does not qualify, and two flats worth €200,000 each do not add up to one qualifying purchase.[1]

What you get

The permit runs for 5 years and renews while the property is held, with no days-of-presence requirement.[1] The family admitted is wider than most programmes: a spouse, children under 21, and the parents of both spouses.[1] The dataset behind this site records no permanent-residence step attached to the investor permit, so plan on renewing every 5 years for as long as you keep the property.

Citizenship is not a function of the permit. Greek naturalisation asks for 7 years of residence with physical presence and language requirements, so a holder who visits rarely never starts that clock.[1] Someone who moves to Greece may reach it; someone who buys and stays away will not.

What it costs beyond the investment

The dataset behind this site carries no verified figure for Greek application fees, property transfer tax or the annual property tax, because the Ministry publishes no consolidated English fee schedule for this permit. Ask the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, or a Greek notary, for the current amounts before you budget, and treat any single number in a brochure as a claim to check rather than a fact.[1]

What people get wrong

The €250,000 figure is still quoted as the general threshold; since 1 September 2024 it applies only to conversions of commercial buildings and restorations of listed ones.[1] The 120 m2 minimum catches buyers who planned a small city flat, and the ban on short-term letting catches buyers who planned to fund the purchase from holiday rentals. The parents clause is generous, but "children under 21" means an adult child ages out of the family permit. And "no minimum stay" keeps the permit alive; it does nothing for the 7 years of residence that Greek naturalisation requires.[1]