Golden Visa Greece: step by step (2026)

The permit (type Β.5) goes to a non-EU national who owns Greek property worth at least the minimum for its area. The minimums below replaced the old €250,000 and €500,000 rules on 5 April 2024, so the €250,000-anywhere figure still quoted online is out of date. Buyers who had paid a deposit or signed a pre-contract by 31 August 2024 kept the old rules if they completed by 31 December 2024, or by 30 April 2025 in a replacement property (Ν. 5100/2024, Art. 64).

The law gives the authority two months from a complete file (Art. 100 par. 10). Most files take far longer than two months, by the Ministry of Migration's own count. Its August 2026 statistics track each month's first-time applications:

At the end of August 2026, 7,686 investor applications were waiting for a decision, 5,571 of them in Attica. Refusals are rare: 271 of 32,620 first-time applications filed from 2022 to 2026. The ministry updates these figures every month.

While you wait, the certificate of application (βεβαίωση κατάθεσης) makes your stay in Greece lawful. No official definition of the portal status "under examination" exists, and the label alone does not show how far a file has moved. Ask the one-stop service handling your file, or your lawyer.

Check four things before you sign:

• The price reaches your area's minimum.
• It is a single property: two flats adding up to €400,000 do not qualify.
• For the €400,000 and €800,000 routes, the main living area is at least 120 m².
• Whether the property already backs someone's golden visa. The notary checks and records prior use, and your lawyer confirms what happens to the seller's permit.

Spouses or registered partners who buy together count as one investment, while other co-owners each need a share worth the full minimum. A company qualifies only if you own 100% of its shares (Art. 100 par. 11); the law does not restrict where the company itself is registered.

Off-plan is where timing goes wrong. You can file only once the property is transferred to you, so a new build still waiting for its permit or title holds up everything. Have an independent Greek lawyer check the title and building permits before you pay anything.

You can do the purchase and the filing from abroad. A power of attorney signed at a Greek consulate, or before a notary in your country with an Apostille, lets a Greek lawyer act for you (Art. 10 par. 11).

The first document is a Greek tax number (ΑΦΜ). A non-resident gets it from the tax authority and appoints a tax representative in Greece (AADE).

The payment must follow the channels in Step 3. The permit rules do not require a Greek account in your name; if you open one, each bank sets its own identity checks and decides whether it accepts a power of attorney.

1. Sign the purchase deed before a Greek notary.
2. Pay the full price before you file, by bank transfer, a crossed bank cheque into the seller's account at a Greek bank, or a card at a Greek payment terminal. Cash does not count. The payer can be you, your spouse or a relative up to the second degree (Art. 100 par. 5).
3. The notary issues a certificate with the price, the payment trail and the main area in m².
4. Ask for registration at the Land Registry or Cadastre. Proof that you asked is enough for the first application; the final proof comes at renewal (Decision 214926/2025).
5. File the property declaration (E9) with the tax authority.

There is no minimum bank balance or income test for this permit; proof of funds applies only if you choose to enter on a national D visa. Once the home is yours, home insurance protects the investment, though the permit does not ask for it.

The file needs a private health insurance contract for you and one for each family member. The minimums are set by ΚΥΑ 133692/2024: €10,000 a year for hospital care, €1,500 for outpatient care and €15,000 for accident disability, with a co-payment of no more than 20%. The full rules are in my guide to the cover a residence-permit office checks.

If a lawyer files for you from abroad, the policy can follow when you come for biometrics, within the 12 months (Art. 10 par. 11). When I check a policy for this file, I look for the insured person's name, the cover period and each of the three limits in writing. Keep the cover continuous, because renewal asks for a policy again. DigiCare arranges health insurance for a Greek residence permit; you can get a quote for golden visa cover.

Your lawyer files on the ministry's application platform, and the file goes to the one-stop service of the Ministry of Migration or of your Decentralised Administration. The first application needs:

• passport copy and photos
• the notary's certificate
• proof of registration at the Land Registry, or proof you applied
• the E9 declaration
• the private health insurance contract (or later, if filed remotely)
• the €2,000 electronic fee

When the file is complete, you receive the certificate of application. It proves lawful stay and gives you the permit's rights until the decision (Art. 10 par. 8). It is not a Schengen travel document: Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Art. 2(16)(b)(i) excludes a temporary permit issued while a first application is pending, so until the card arrives you travel on your passport's own 90/180 status. You can enter Greece visa-free or on any visa. A national D visa (€180 consular fee) is optional.

If your lawyer filed from abroad, you come within 12 months of filing to give fingerprints and have your photo taken (Art. 10 par. 11). Every applicant pays €16 for the card at this step, children included (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024). Each family member attends their own appointment.

The Secretary of the Decentralised Administration decides. You and each family member get a 5-year card, and all the cards expire on the same date.

Worked example: a couple with a 12-year-old pays €2,000 + €150 + €0 in permit fees and 3 × €16 for cards, so €2,198 in state fees. Tax, professional fees and insurance come on top.

On 6 September 2026 the Prime Minister announced a rise in transfer tax from 3% to 15% for buyers from outside the EU (speech). As of 26 September 2026 no law or start date has been published, so I'd treat 3% as the rate until one is.

• your spouse or registered partner
• unmarried children under 21
• the parents of both spouses
• adult children who depend on you and lack legal capacity (added by Ν. 5275/2026, Art. 29)

At 21 a child can get an independent 3-year permit on showing the previous family permit, for a €450 fee (Art. 95 par. 2; Art. 171 par. 1(β)). Family permits end when the investor's permit ends (Art. 95).

To renew for another five years:

• still own the property
• pay €2,000 again
• show private health insurance again
• file the E9 and final Land Registry proof
• sign a declaration that the home is not let short-term
• file in the 2 months before expiry; up to 3 months late is accepted with a €100 fine per month (Ν. 5275/2026, Art. 12)

What can end the permit:

• short-term (holiday) letting or subletting: revocation plus a €50,000 fine (Ν. 5100/2024, Art. 100 par. 7A). Long-term letting is allowed.
• using a converted property as a business seat or branch
• not restoring a listed building before the first renewal: €150,000 fine (Ν. 5100/2024)
• selling the property

• 11 November 2025, in force: Decision 214926/2025 set a new document list; a Land Registry request is enough at first filing.
• 6 February 2026, in force: Ν. 5275/2026 added adult dependants and set the renewal window and late fine.
• 6 September 2026, announced: 15% transfer tax for non-EU buyers, no law yet.
• Unchanged since 5 April 2024: the three investment thresholds.
• Demand: 3,426 first-time applications filed from January to August 2026 (Ministry of Migration, August 2026 statistics).