Residence in Greece under the Golden Visa Programme — one of Europe's most established residency-by-investment schemes for internationally mobile individuals and families.
Greece's Golden Visa Programme, introduced in 2013, remains one of Europe's most established residency-by-investment schemes. Designed for third-country nationals, it offers long-term residence rights in exchange for qualifying investments, while maintaining a high degree of flexibility across multiple asset classes. Together with our partners in Greece, zeta. guides clients from route selection through application, approval and renewal.
An EU and Schengen member state offering residence anchored to an investment — without requiring you to move your life there.
Check Your EligibilityThe Golden Visa grants a renewable residence permit to third-country nationals who complete and maintain a qualifying investment in Greece. Its enduring appeal lies in its flexibility: the permit is tied to the investment rather than to relocation, and it extends to the family in a single application.
Maintaining the permit, becoming a Greek tax resident and qualifying for citizenship are three different tests with three different presence expectations. We map all three before you invest.
Applicants may qualify under two primary routes — the Real Estate Investment Route and the Alternative Investment Route — across a flexible range of qualifying investments.
The flagship route is the acquisition of qualifying real estate in Greece. The applicable minimum investment is tiered by location: prime areas — including Athens, Thessaloniki and the more populous islands — attract the highest thresholds, designated investment zones the lowest, with the remaining regions in between. This tiered structure reflects increased demand in prime areas while preserving accessibility in emerging locations.
The thresholds have been revised several times in recent years and further changes are possible — which is precisely why we describe them here by type rather than amount. Current figures for your target location, together with any conditions attached to the property's size or use, are confirmed at consultation.
For investors seeking diversification beyond property, Greece offers several financial and capital market options, each with its own prescribed minimum:
A long-term lease or time-share agreement, for a statutory minimum term, over property qualifying as hotel accommodation or furnished tourist residences — with the qualifying value depending on location.
A fixed-term deposit above a prescribed minimum in a Greek credit institution — a lower-risk alternative to market-linked investments.
Greek government bonds above a prescribed minimum, with a required remaining maturity, acquired through a Greek financial institution.
A qualifying contribution to a Greek real estate investment company investing solely in Greece, an investment in closed-end or mutual funds established in Greece, or a capital contribution or bond subscription in listed Greek companies.
Shares or bonds listed on Greek exchanges above a prescribed minimum, spanning both government and corporate instruments.
A reduced qualifying threshold applies for mutual funds investing exclusively in Greek regulated markets, or EU-based alternative investment funds dedicated to Greece.
Each route carries a prescribed minimum investment set by law, and the amounts differ by route and, for property, by region. Because they change over time, current thresholds are confirmed at consultation before any commitment is made.
Residence permits are initially granted for five years and are renewable for further periods of five years, provided the qualifying investment is maintained. The main applicant may include the following dependents in the application.
A married spouse of the main applicant, covered under the same application and investment.
Children below the qualifying age limit — currently set at under 21 — subject to conditions on dependency and renewal as they grow older.
Parents of the main applicant, without a separate investment requirement.
Parents of the married spouse, allowing three generations to be covered by one qualifying investment.
The Golden Visa is not the only door into Greece. For clients who intend to actually live there, a national visa route is often the better fit.
A national visa route for individuals who can demonstrate stable, regular income from sources outside Greece — pensions, investments or remote earnings — sufficient to support themselves and their family without working locally. Unlike the Golden Visa, it presumes genuine residence in Greece, with presence expectations attached, and no investment is required. Requirements and income levels are set by the authorities and confirmed at consultation.
Greece also operates the standard national permit categories — employment and self-employment, study, and family reunification — alongside newer options aimed at remote workers. Where a client's circumstances fit one of these better than an investment route, we say so, and our partners in Greece handle the application accordingly.
A Greek application runs on two tracks at once — the investment and the immigration file. We keep both moving together.
Start the ConversationWe confirm eligibility, compare the real estate and alternative routes against your objectives, and set out the current thresholds, costs and timeline before anything is committed.
Through our partners, the practical foundations are put in place — typically a Greek tax number, a local bank account and, where convenient, powers of attorney so much of the process can run without repeated travel.
For property, that means sourcing, legal due diligence, notarial completion and registration; for alternative routes, executing the qualifying deposit, bond, fund or securities investment through the appropriate Greek institution.
The residence application is submitted with the evidence of investment and supporting documents, and biometrics are captured in Greece. A confirmation of submission generally allows lawful presence while the application is processed.
On approval, the five-year residence permits are issued for the main applicant and included family members.
We diarise renewals, confirm the investment remains qualifying, and keep evidence in order — with our accounting and tax team supporting any Maltese or cross-border filings that follow.
Holding a Golden Visa does not, by itself, make you a Greek tax resident — tax residence follows your facts, principally physical presence and personal ties. For those who do become resident, Greece offers two distinct regimes.
Individuals taxed under the standard rules are subject to Greece's progressive income tax rates on their worldwide income, with the rate rising in bands as income increases — the applicable rates confirmed at consultation.
Alternatively, qualifying new residents may elect Greece's non-dom regime — a flat annual charge on foreign-sourced income, regardless of amount, extendable to family members for an additional annual charge per person, subject to conditions and time limits.
Locally sourced income remains taxed under standard rates in both cases, and the interaction with your existing tax residence and any double tax treaty needs to be assessed on your facts. The above is an outline, not tax advice — we coordinate with tax counsel as part of the engagement.
Applications on the ground are handled together with our established partners in Greece — with zeta. holding the relationship and the standard of work.
A Golden Visa is rarely a stand-alone decision. It usually sits inside a wider picture — a family's mobility plan, an investment portfolio, sometimes a Maltese structure or trust — and that is where a single advisory relationship earns its keep.
Tell us about your family and objectives — we'll confirm the current thresholds for your preferred route and set out a realistic plan with our partners in Greece.
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