Greek Golden Visa.

Yes. The programme remains open and active, though the investment thresholds have changed materially since it was first introduced, most recently with the reform that took effect in September 2024. It remains one of the more accessible residency-by-investment routes in the EU, but the figures that applied even a year or two ago are not necessarily the figures that apply today, which is why threshold and zone advice is the first step of any engagement rather than an afterthought.

Yes, location is the determining factor. Attica, the Thessaloniki region, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with a population over 3,100 sit in a higher-demand zone requiring a minimum investment of €800,000, generally through a single property of at least 120 sqm. The rest of Greece requires €400,000. A reduced threshold of €250,000 is available nationwide, regardless of zone, for restoring a listed or heritage building, a building over 100 years old, or converting a commercial building into residential use. The classification of a specific property is not always obvious from its location alone, which is why we verify it before any reservation is signed.

No, and this is an important distinction to be clear about from the outset. The Golden Visa is a residence permit, not citizenship, and it does not by itself lead to citizenship on any fixed timeline. Greek citizenship by naturalisation is a separate legal process with its own, considerably longer and more demanding requirements, including sustained residence in Greece. An investor should not treat the Golden Visa as a stepping stone to a passport on a predictable schedule — it is a distinct track with a different purpose.

No. Unlike a number of other European residency-by-investment schemes, the Greek Golden Visa carries no minimum physical stay requirement. There is no obligation to reside in Greece, or even to visit on any set schedule, in order to keep the permit valid. Renewal depends on retaining the qualifying investment — the property must still be owned — not on time spent in the country.

Yes. A single qualifying investment can bring in the investor's spouse or partner, children under the age of 21, and the parents of both spouses, all as dependants under the same application. This makes the programme considerably more efficient for a family than pursuing separate individual routes, provided the family structure and documentation are set out correctly from the start.

From submission of a complete dossier, issuance of the residence permit card typically takes several months, though timing depends on the caseload of the Immigration & Asylum authority handling the file. If you already hold Greek property that qualified under an older, lower threshold, that acquisition does not automatically requalify under today's figures — eligibility is generally assessed against the threshold in force at the time of the relevant investment, so existing owners considering a first-time Golden Visa application should have their position reviewed individually rather than assuming the current €800,000 / €400,000 / €250,000 figures apply retroactively to a purchase made under earlier rules.

It can. The threshold is set by area, not by whether the property is on an island, and the highest-demand island locations — Mykonos and Santorini among them — commonly fall in the upper tier, while parts of Crete and Corfu may not. The applicable tier must be confirmed for the specific property before an offer is made.