The Greek Golden Visa in 2026.

The Greek Golden Visa programme remains one of the most accessible residency-by-investment schemes in the European Union — but the rules changed materially in 2024, and the 2026 environment is meaningfully different from what most desktop research will tell you.

What changed in 2024

The reform created three tiers by geography:

• €800,000 for Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants.
• €400,000 for the rest of the country.
• €250,000 for restoration of heritage-listed buildings and conversion of commercial properties into residential.

For most investors looking at central Athens, the €800,000 floor is the binding constraint, but the €250,000 heritage conversion track remains a powerful loophole that few foreign buyers know how to access.

Heritage conversions: the €250k window

Buildings classified as heritage (διατηρητέα) sit in their own category. If you buy and restore a heritage property, the threshold is just €250,000 — as long as you do not change its protected exterior.

In practice, this means the bulk of pre-war Plaka, Pangrati and Koukaki apartment buildings.

What the visa actually grants

The Golden Visa grants a five-year residency permit, renewable, with no minimum-stay requirement. It does not grant Greek citizenship — that has a separate seven-year pathway with language and integration requirements.

The visa covers spouse and dependent children under 21.

Common mistakes

1. Buying in the wrong tier without realising it. The €400k tier is generous, but does not apply within the Athens or Thessaloniki municipal limits.
2. Treating the visa as automatic. Application typically takes 3–6 months and requires biometrics in Athens.
3. Ignoring tax residency. Holding the visa does not make you a Greek tax resident — but spending more than 183 days a year in Greece does.

See our reading-a-greek-title-deed guide for the legal due-diligence sequence.