How to obtain a Greece Golden Visa by investment

The Greece Golden Visa is what a residence permit for investors is called. To get it, applicants invest at least €250,000 in the country’s economy: they often buy real estate or shares of Greek companies.

An investor with a Greek residence permit can travel without a visa to the Schengen countries, enjoy a preferential tax system and apply for a Greek passport.

The Greece Golden Visa Program has been operating since 2014. During this time, more than 9.5 thousand investors and 30 thousand members of their families received residence permits. 

Greece attracts investors with its mild Mediterranean climate, Blue Flag beaches and marinas, and real estate prices below the EU average.

What to invest in for a Greece residence permit

Under the terms of the Greece Golden Visa Program, applicants choose between seven investment options.

Purchasing real estate. Investors buy residential or commercial real estate for an amount starting at €250,000: it can be one or more properties, and the applicant can live there or rent it out. 

The total expense amount for the option depends on the property’s cost and the number of additional applicants. 

Expenses for investors who obtain Greece residence permits through a real estate purchase

Expense	Investor	Additional payments per  family member
Purchase of real estate	€250,000+	€0 if the investor is legally married or has a cohabitation agreement with a partner
Fees, taxes, document translation, lawyer and notary services when buying real estate	€25,000+ — about 10% of the property value	€0
Stamp duty	€2,000	€150 per adult applicant
Health insurance	€300	€300
Total amount	€277,300+	€450+

The property owner can be:

• an investor, the main applicant;
• a legal entity registered in the European Union if the investor holds 100% of the company’s shares;
• spouses or partners with a cohabitation agreement registered in Greece. If the agreement is not concluded, each partner must invest €250,000 to own equal shares.

The investor must keep real estate for five years while the residence permit is valid.

Renting a hotel in a tourist resort complex. Investors enter a 10-year lease agreement with a hotel or tourist residence amounting to €250,000 or more. Only properties registered with the Greek National Tourism Organisation are eligible to participate in the program. 

Purchasing a land plot for construction or farming. Investors buy a plot of land and sign a contract with a construction company amounting to €250,000 or more.

Opening a deposit in a Greek bank. Investors open deposits for at least one year with an annual auto-renewal and transfer of at least €400,000.

Purchasing shares and corporate or government bonds must amount to €400,000 or more. This can be investments in a Greek company capital, purchase of venture capital funds or Greek government bonds with a residual maturity of at least 3 years.

Making a timesharing agreement grants the right to use the property at certain time intervals: for example, from July 14th to July 27th every year for 10 years. The contract amount must be at least €250,000. 

Receiving real estate as an inheritance or under a gift agreement for €250,000 or more.

An investor must own real estate and shares or bonds for five years to maintain the residence permit. After that, the investment can be returned, everything except for property renting.

Who can participate in the Greece residence permit by investment program

A foreigner can apply for participation in the Greece investment program if they:

• are older than 18;
• have no criminal records or visa violations in the Schengen countries;
• have legal income.

The investor can also include the following family members in the application: 

• a spouse or a partner with whom a cohabitation agreement has been signed in Greece; 
• unmarried children under 21; 
• parents of any age.

Additional expenses for family members start at €450 and include health insurance and stamp duty for obtaining a residence permit card.

How to get a Greece Golden Visa

Obtaining a Greece residence permit by investment takes at least six months. After choosing the suitable investment option, applicants usually undergo a preliminary Due Diligence check with a licensed agent of the Greece Golden Visa program. This helps to reduce the risk of refusal.

Afterwards, investors can proceed with other steps. 

Necessary documents. The investor prepares a complete list of documents and attaches it to the residence permit application.

The main set of documents for obtaining a Greece residence permit by investment includes the following:

1. Application form, filled, two copies.
2. Photo: four colour photos, size 3.5×4.5 cm. Submitted in printed and digital form on a CD-ROM.
3. International passport, a copy of a valid passport with a visa, certified by a notary.
4. Investment characterisation report, a copy of the document issued by the Greek Ministry of Development and Competitiveness.
5. Receipts for paid stamp duty and residence card issuance fee. To receive receipts for payment of the stamp duty for submitting an application and the fee for making a residence permit card, the investor must fill out a form and send a request via the Paravolo electronic platform.
6. Health insurance with a minimum coverage of €30,000 on the territory of Greece.
7. Certificate of criminal record absence: the certificate will stay valid for 3 months from the date of issuance.
8. Medical certificate confirming that the applicant has no diseases that can threaten public health.
9. Certificate of marital status and proof of kinship for additional family members.

Additional documents. The list of documents for obtaining a residence permit in Greece depends on the investment option. Investors who buy real estate provide a purchase and sale agreement; those who rent provide a notarized copy of the lease agreement. These papers are included in the main set of documents. 

Additional documents for each investment option

Investment option	Documents
Purchase of real estate	Purchase and sale agreement and confirmation of its registration in the Land Registry of Greece
Renting of a hotel in a tourist complex	Notarized copy of the lease agreement
Purchase of a plot of land	Purchase and sale agreement   Contract with a construction company Construction permit International invoice for payment of contraction services and the payment receipt
Investment in a Greek company capital	Certificate from the intermediary on the creation of a personal account of the investor in the System of Dematerialised Securities
Purchase of government securities	Bond certificate
Purchase of venture fund shares	Certificate from the fund manager and a certificate confirming the transfer of the required amount by the investor
Opening of a deposit	Certificate detailing the time deposit, its initial amount and duration, and an auto-renewal order

Other ways to get a residence permit in Greece

A Greek residence permit can be obtained not only by investment but also by marriage, an employment contract, or studying at a Greek university. A Greek residence permit can also be obtained by high-net-worth foreigners who prove their monthly income.

A financially independent individual, a foreigner who receives monthly income of €2,000 or more from abroad and puts €24,000 in a Greek bank account, can receive a residence permit.

A high-net-worth foreigner can include close relatives in the application. To do this, the monthly income requirements are increased by 20% for their spouse and 15% for each child. The minimum monthly income for a couple with one child must be at least €2,700.

A residence permit card for financially independent individuals is valid for two years, and the applicant must spend at least 183 days a year in the country.

Work-based residence permit in Greece is granted to foreigners who have entered into long-term or short-term contracts with Greek companies. A residence permit card is issued for the duration of the employment contract. 

Marriage-based residence permit in Greece can be obtained after registering an official marriage with a citizen of the country or when entering into a cohabitation agreement. A residence permit card is issued for five years and includes a Greece work permit.

Student residence permit in Greece is issued to applicants who:

• pass the B2-level English or Greek language proficiency test;
• confirm they are financially secure enough to live in Greece for the duration of their studies, spending at least €400 per month. 

A student residence permit is issued for a year; then, it must be renewed while studying.

How to get a Greek passport as an investor

Greece citizenship is obtained by naturalisation after seven years of residence in the country. 

First, the investor gets a residence permit and moves to Greece. 5 years later, they get a permanent residence card. It can be obtained by investors who have spent no more than 10 months in other countries in the last 5 years. 

After another 2 years, they can get a Greek passport. The investor applies for citizenship, passes a country’s language and history exam, confirms a stable income in Greece, and takes an oath.

An investor wishing to obtain a Greek passport must meet the following requirements: 

• live legally in Greece for 7 consecutive years until the application is submitted;
• be over 18;
• have no criminal record or deportation from the country;
• have a stable income;
• successfully pass the exam for knowledge of the country’s language and history;
• hold a long-term residence permit;
• take the oath.

Minor children of the investor are automatically granted citizenship if they permanently reside in Greece.

Benefits of obtaining a Greece Golden Visa

Additional rental income. Greece’s resorts are popular with tourists from all over the world: 4.5 million people visited the country in 2021 alone. Many travellers prefer to rent apartments and experience the local flavour rather than stay in standard hotels. 

Investors who obtained Greece residence permits don’t need to live in the country to maintain the status. Therefore, real estate purchased under the program is often rented out.

Three-bedroom apartments in Athens can be rented for an average of €870 per month, which is cheaper than in the tourist areas on the coast or the islands. The rent for similar apartments is €740 in Crete and €1,000 in Santorini. 

Real estate prices in Greece are 2—3 times lower than in Spain and Portugal, where foreigners also get a residence permit by investing in real estate. The average price of apartments is €2,500 per m² in the centre of Athens, €5,500 in Lisbon, and €5,400 in Madrid.

The trend continues in the resort towns of Greece: the average apartment costs are €2,000 per m² in Chalkidiki, €3,600 in Spanish Palma de Mallorca, and €5,300 in Portuguese Cascais.

Greek real estate prices are continuously rising: in 2022, prices increased by 5% compared to 2019.

Lower expenses than in the rest of Europe. The cost of obtaining a Greece residence permit is lower than in other European countries: the minimum investment in real estate is €250,000. A similar option costs €350,000 in Portugal and €500,000 in Spain. 

A preferential tax system is available to investors who spend at least 183 days a year in Greece, becoming tax residents of the country.

Investors get the right to pay a fixed global income tax of €100,000 per year. Family members who received residence permits together with the main applicant can also enjoy the benefit: for them, the rate is €20,000.

Vacations in Greece and Europe are year-round. The sailing season in Greece starts at the end of May, and the beach season is at the beginning of June when the water warms up to +23°C. Greek beaches and marinas are among the cleanest in the world: in 2021, the country received more than 400 Blue Flag certificates.

Residents and tourists go trekking, cycling in spring and autumn, and skiing in winter. In Greece, there are eight ski resorts: the most popular are Parnassus, Tria Pende Pigadia, and Karpenisi. Their trails rarely exceed 10 km, except for Parnassus, where the tracks reach 36 km.

Foreigners who obtained residence permits by investment can choose to stay in Greece or any country of the Schengen agreement. With a Greek residence permit card, they can visit 32 countries without a visa.

Possibility to obtain Greece citizenship. After five years of living in the country, investors can get permanent residence, and after another two years — Greece citizenship. For comparison, citizenship by naturalisation is obtained after 8 years of permanent residency in Germany and 12 years in Switzerland.

The program also has restrictions: foreigners who obtained residence permits by investment and their family members are not allowed to get employed in Greece.

Frequently Asked Questions