Golden Visa in Greece for as little as 250,000 Euros

Golden Visa in Greece for as little as 250,000 Euros By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 4 January 2026 It must be made clear that the minimum threshold for entering the Golden Visa program in Greece is today 800,000 Euros for Attica (Athens region), Thessaloniki (the second largest city in Greece) and for the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, plus those islands with a population of more than 3,100 people. (Greece has thousands of islands and islets, of which at least 120 are inhabited). At the rest of Greece, the minimum threshold is 400,000 Euros. However, if the property you are buying is part of a previously industrial, commercial or office building, which has recently been converted into residential, the threshold drops to only 250,000 Euros. The Golden Visa property investment scheme in Greece has been very popular during the last ten years or more. It started with a 250,000 – Euro requirement all over Greece. Recently, however, the government raised the threshold to 400,000 Euros and at the popular areas, to 800,000 Euros. As expected, the number of applicants dropped, but the program still attracts interest from all over the world, since it grants a five-year long residence permit in Greece for the applicant and family members, which is renewable provided the resident retains the ownership of the property. The new development is that at the end of 2025 the Greek government issued the much awaited ministerial decision laying out the technical and other requirements for the exemption of the 250,000 – Euro to take effect. This means that there is still a way for a non – EU (European Union) citizen to get a Golden Visa permit in Greece by purchasing a property worth only 250,000 Euros minimum. Such an exemption refers to the possibility of buying a unit, apartment or even a house, at a building which originally was a commercial, industrial or office structure and has recently been suitably converted into residential property. At the moment there are tens of projects in Athens and elsewhere in Greece, where abandoned commercial, industrial, warehouse and office buildings are being transformed into residential units to be offered at a price tag of 250,000 Euros or more to Golden Visa applicants. It is expected that this opportunity will revive the interest of foreign investors on property in Greece in exchange of a residence permit for them and their immediate family. It must be noted that properties purchased under the said exemption (250,000 Euros minimum), cannot be rented out for short – term rentals such as Airbnb or Booking. They cannot serve as the official registered address of a company, either. This so called Golden Visa residence permit, apart from unlimited five – year long residence in Greece, offers to the investor and to his/her immediate family (spouse, children under 21, parents and in-laws), also the opportunity to freely travel (without the need of a visa) to the Schengen area countries in Europe, which refers to 29 countries, meaning 25 EU member states and 4 non – EU countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein). The free travel to other Schengen countries is usually allowed for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days, provided you have a residence permit in Greece. Finally, the Greek Golden Visa does not require a minimum stay in Greece. The beneficiaries can obtain the permit once they purchase the suitable property and in the five years of the duration of the permit they can stay in Greece for as long or as little they wish, while their right to renew after the expiration of the five years is safeguarded, provided they are still legal owners of the property. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr