Greece Golden Visa 2026: The New €250K, €400K and €800K Tiers Explained

The Greece Golden Visa is no longer a flat €250,000 programme. As of 2026, the minimum property investment depends entirely on where you buy, and in the most popular locations it has tripled. If you want a residence permit through Greek real estate, the first question is not how much you have, it is which zone the property sits in.

The change came through Law 5100/2024, which amended the immigration framework set out in Law 5038/2023 and took effect on 31 August 2024. It replaced the single national threshold with a dual-zone system, plus two special routes that keep the old €250,000 figure alive for specific property types. Here is how the tiers actually work.

The three thresholds

The €800,000 tier applies in Greece's high-demand areas. That means Attica, which covers Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and any island with a registered population above 3,100. If you are buying in or near the capital or on a well-known island, this is your floor.

The €400,000 tier covers the rest of the country, meaning regions and smaller islands outside the high-demand zones. For a buyer willing to look beyond Athens and the headline islands, this halves the entry cost.

For both the €800,000 and €400,000 tiers, the investment must go into a single property of at least 120 square metres. This is the rule that trips up applicants. You cannot assemble the threshold from two smaller apartments. Combining units is explicitly prohibited under the new law. One property, one title, minimum 120 square metres of living space.

Two special cases keep a €250,000 threshold available across all of Greece. The first applies to a property converted from commercial or industrial use into a residence, where the change of use must be completed before you submit the Golden Visa application. The second applies to listed buildings of historical or cultural value, provided the investor fully restores or reconstructs the property. These routes are narrower and more administratively demanding, but for the right building they remain the cheapest way in.

The Airbnb restriction nobody mentions upfront

A detail that materially changes the investment case: properties acquired under the new Golden Visa rules cannot be let out as short-term rentals through platforms like Airbnb. Violating this carries cancellation of the residence permit and an administrative fine of €50,000. If your plan was to buy in Athens and run a holiday let to cover the carrying cost, that math no longer works under the current programme. Long-term rental remains permitted.

There is one nuance on the 120 square metre rule worth knowing. The minimum surface requirement does not apply to undeveloped land or property for which no building permit has been issued. A plot, in other words, is assessed on value alone. That matters mostly for buyers eyeing development land rather than finished homes.

What the Golden Visa gives you

The permit grants residence in Greece and visa-free movement across the Schengen Area, with no minimum stay requirement to maintain it. It covers the investor, a spouse, children up to 24, and both sets of parents. The permit is renewable every five years as long as the investment is held. It is a residence route, not a citizenship route; naturalisation has its own, much longer, requirements and a physical-presence test the Golden Visa itself does not impose.

Beyond real estate, Greece also offers alternative investment routes that sit outside the property tiers, including a €350,000 investment-fund option and a €500,000 bank deposit. These appeal to buyers who want the residency without managing a physical asset.

Diligence still matters at every tier

A higher threshold does not mean a safer purchase. Greek property transactions run through a notary, and the key documents are the title check at the local land registry or cadastre, the property's tax clearance, and confirmation that the 120 square metre measurement on the building permit matches what you are buying. An undersized unit, or one whose permitted area falls below 120 square metres, fails the Golden Visa test even if the price clears the threshold.

For off-plan or recently completed stock, the developer's track record is the variable that decides whether your title arrives clean and on time. Bektu lets buyers check a developer's delivery history before committing, which is the kind of step that prevents a stalled project from sinking a residency application.

If you are weighing Greece against other European routes, our legal guide to foreign property ownership in Greece covers the purchase mechanics in detail, and our roundup of top property developers in Greece for foreign buyers is a useful starting point for the €400,000 regions where the value sits.

The Greece Golden Visa in 2026 rewards buyers who look past Athens. The €800,000 zones grab the attention, but the €400,000 and €250,000 routes are where the workable deals still are.