How to Obtain Greek Residency Through Property Investment: A Global Investor's Guide

Updated 2026 guide to Greek residency through property: current thresholds under Law 5100/2024, single-property and 120 sq m rules, and the steps to apply.

10/21/20267 min read

Whitewashed houses and a blue-domed chapel above an Aegean bay
Whitewashed houses and a blue-domed chapel above an Aegean bay

General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.

Last updated October 2026. We first published this guide in July 2024, just before the rules changed, and we have rewritten it so that it reflects the rules in force today.

If you have been dreaming of a home in Greece and a foothold in Europe, buying property remains the best-known way to qualify for Greek residency. Families contact us from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and many other countries, and the core rules are the same for all of them. What has changed since our first version of this guide is the price of entry and the conditions attached to it, so in this refreshed guide we walk through both, along with the practical steps from your first tax number to your residence card.

What you receive

A qualifying property purchase supports what Greek law calls an investor residence permit under Article 100 of the Migration Code (Law 5038/2023). It is a five-year residence permit that can be renewed for further five-year periods while you keep the property and meet the other conditions (Law 5100/2024, Article 64). You do not need to live in Greece to keep it, because Article 100(4) states that periods of absence from the country do not prevent renewal. Our article on keeping and renewing your permit explains this in more detail.

The permit lets you live in Greece. It does not give the right to work there, although the Ministry of Migration and Asylum has confirmed that holders may own shares and sit as non-executive board members (Circular 1 of 21 April 2026, Clarification 18).

The current thresholds

The minimum purchase value depends on where the property is, as set out in Article 100(2) of the Migration Code as replaced by Law 5100/2024 and restated in the Ministry's Circular of 21 April 2026:

  • EUR 800,000 in the Region of Attica (which includes Athens), the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki, the Regional Units of Mykonos and Thira (Santorini), and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants. The Ministry's Circular 9 of September 2024 confirmed that Evia counts as an island area here.

  • EUR 400,000 in all other areas of Greece.

  • EUR 250,000 only in two special cases. The first is a property converted from commercial to residential use, with the change of use completed after 5 April 2024 and before you apply. The second is a listed building that you restore, with the restoration complete before your first renewal. The 2026 circular adds that this lower value can be used only once for a given property.

Conditions every purchase must meet

A few rules apply across all tiers, and they matter as much as the price.

The minimum has to be met through a single property. Under the 2026 circular, a parking space or storage room bought on the same contract and in the same building can count towards the price, although it does not count towards floor area. For built property in the EUR 800,000 and EUR 400,000 tiers, the main spaces must cover at least 120 square metres, and the notary's certificate in your file has to state the floor area of those main spaces (Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025).

The full price must be paid before you apply, by crossed bank cheque or bank transfer into the seller's account with a bank operating in Greece, or by card through a payment provider operating in Greece (Article 100(5)). Once you hold the permit, you may live in the property or let it on a long-term basis. Short-term letting through holiday-rental platforms is prohibited for Golden Visa property and can lead to the permit being revoked and to fines (Article 100(7A)).

The steps, from tax number to residence card

The official texts set out what your file must contain, and in practice the steps tend to follow the order below. Many investors give a Greek lawyer a power of attorney so that most of this can happen while they are abroad. A power of attorney signed outside Greece is accepted if it carries an apostille or has been certified by a Greek consulate (Circular of 21 April 2026).

1. A Greek tax number and a Greek bank account

Your first practical step is a Greek tax registration number, known as an AFM, which you need for the purchase contract and for the tax declarations that go with it. Most buyers also open an account with a Greek bank at this stage, since the price has to move through the Greek banking system and the payment details are recorded in your file.

2. Checks and the purchase contract

Your lawyer carries out legal checks on the property, and the purchase is then signed before a Greek notary. The notary issues a certificate confirming the parties, the property, the agreed price, how it was paid and whether the seller had already used the property for an investor permit. The contract is then registered with the land registry or cadastral office. For a first application, proof that registration has been requested, or a lawyer's certificate, is enough, and the final registration proof follows at your first renewal (Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025).

3. Your application to the Ministry of Migration and Asylum

The application is filed electronically through the Ministry's online system and handled by a one-stop service of the Ministry or of the regional Decentralised Administration (Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025; Law 5275/2026, Article 11). Alongside the notary's certificate and the registration proof, the file includes a private health insurance policy, the electronic application fee and a copy of your property declaration, known as form E9. Your lawyer can file before you travel, using the remote filing route in Article 10(11) of the Migration Code.

4. The certificate of application

Once your application is filed, the system issues an electronic certificate confirming that it has been submitted (Ministry Circular 6 of 2024, referring to Decision 118654/2024). Many people call this the blue certificate. It shows that your application is pending while the authority reviews your file.

5. Biometrics in Greece

Each applicant then visits Greece to give fingerprints and a photograph for the residence card. If your lawyer filed remotely, this is when you enter the country (Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025).

6. Your residence permit

Article 100(10) provides that the permit is issued within two months once the authority has the complete file. The overall journey, from your property search to holding the card, takes longer and varies from case to case.

Keeping and renewing the permit

The general renewal rule in the Migration Code was updated in February 2026. Under Article 12 of Law 5275/2026, you file your renewal within the two months before your permit expires. A late application can still be filed up to three months after expiry, with a fine of EUR 100 for each month of delay, and after that point the application is no longer accepted unless there are proven reasons of force majeure. At renewal you show that you still own the property, for example with a recent form E9 or a cadastral extract (Circular of 21 April 2026, Clarification 16).

Bringing your family

One qualifying purchase can support residence permits for close family members. Article 95(2) of the Migration Code, as amended by Article 29 of Law 5275/2026, covers your spouse or registered partner, unmarried children under 21, and the parents of both you and your spouse. It also covers adult children of either of you who lack legal capacity and live with and depend on you, whatever their age. A child who turns 21 can receive an independent three-year residence permit. Our article on who can be included explains the details.

If you bought before the 2024 changes

Many owners bought at EUR 250,000 under the earlier rules. Law 5100/2024 (Article 64(3)) lets permits granted under those rules keep renewing, provided the conditions that applied when they were granted are still met. The 2026 circular (Clarification 6) also explains how investors who completed a purchase before the new thresholds took effect, but never applied, are assessed.

Citizenship is a separate path

A Golden Visa can be part of a longer journey towards Greek citizenship, and citizenship is a separate application with its own conditions, including real residence in Greece. Our article on residency, citizenship and Schengen travel sets this out. You can compare the property route with other options in our 2026 routes overview and our deposit route article.

Ready to explore your options?

Every purchase and every family is a little different, so we always suggest getting professional advice for your own case before you commit. If you are weighing a property purchase in Greece, we would be glad to hear about your plans. Please enquire through our contact page, or read more about how we help on our services page.

Rules change often; check the current position before you act (checked October 2026).

Sources

Not legal advice. Greek residency rules change, so please get professional advice for your own situation before you act.

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