Greece citizenship by investment does not exist: Greece grants no citizenship in return for an investment. What the investment buys is the Golden Visa, a five-year renewable residence permit for third-country nationals. Greek citizenship is a separate application, made years later, under a different statute, to a different ministry, and it carries an examination in Greek language, history, geography, culture and political institutions.
The distinction is not a technicality. It changes the amount, the timetable, the documents and the answer to the only question most buyers are really asking. Everything below is taken from the Greek state’s own publications, first retrieved on 23 August 2026 and read again against the primary texts on 30 September 2026.
Greece or Türkiye: what the same money buys
Set side by side, the Greek Golden Visa and Turkish citizenship by investment differ on one line before any figure: the Greek investment buys residence, the Turkish one buys citizenship.
| Point of comparison | Greece | Türkiye |
|---|---|---|
| What the investment buys | A five-year renewable permanent residence permit for investors, not citizenship | Turkish citizenship, by Presidential decision under Article 12(b) of Law No. 5901 |
| Minimum by route | EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Thira and islands over 3,100 inhabitants; EUR 400,000 elsewhere; EUR 250,000 for a change of use or a listed building; one property in every case | USD 400,000 for a property, the same asset class as the Golden Visa; USD 500,000 on the deposit, fixed capital, state debt, fund and pension routes; or 50 jobs created |
| Holding period | For the life of the permit: resale during its validity revokes it | Three years on real estate (a no-sale annotation on the title deed), deposit, debt instruments, fund units and pension; none on fixed capital or employment |
| Family in the same file | Spouse or registered partner, unmarried children under 21, the parents of either spouse, and adult children lacking legal capacity | Spouse and every child who is a minor or a dependant, inside one application and one investment |
| Deciding authority | Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Directorate of Residence Permits | A certificate from the ministry or regulator of the chosen route, then a Presidential decision |
| Published time | 50 days for the permit; citizenship only after seven years of lawful and permanent residence | An official framework of three to six months; a complete file reaches the decision in about three to four in our experience |
| Residence and language | Citizenship requires seven years of residence and a written examination | No residence requirement, no language exam and no interview; one short biometric visit |
For a buyer whose aim is a second passport, the Greek route is a seven-year residence plan with a property attached, and the Turkish route is a citizenship file decided in months. For a buyer whose aim is to live in the European Union, the Greek permit is the product, and a Turkish passport does not replace it. The Turkish routes are set out on the Turkish citizenship by investment page, and every other program is set against both on the citizenship by investment country comparison.
The three investment thresholds and where each applies
The thresholds were restructured by Article 64 of Law 5100/2024, which amended Article 100 of the Immigration Code (Law 5038/2023). The Ministry of Migration and Asylum set out the effect in Circular 9 of 25 September 2024. The single figure that dominates search results, EUR 250,000, is no longer the general threshold; it survives only for two specific categories of property.
| Minimum acquisition value | Where and what it applies to |
|---|---|
| EUR 800,000 | The Region of Attica, the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki in the Region of Central Macedonia, the Regional Units of Mykonos and Thira in the Region of the South Aegean, and every island whose population at the last census exceeds 3,100 inhabitants. The Ministry states expressly that Euboea counts as an island area and falls under the EUR 800,000 limit. |
| EUR 400,000 | The remaining areas of the country. |
| EUR 250,000 | Property whose main areas are converted to residential use, where the change of use is completed before the application is filed. Also property consisting of a listed building, or part of one, to be restored or reconstructed, or property within which a listed building stands. |
Two constraints ride on top of the amounts and are missed more often than the amounts themselves.
- One property, not a portfolio. The minimum value must be reached in a single property. The restriction now applies to every category. Storage rooms and parking spaces bought under the same contract, in the same building, as ancillary spaces may be counted towards the total price.
- A 120 square meter floor. For built property, or property for which a building permit has been issued, the main areas must measure at least 120 square meters. The limit does not apply to unbuilt property or land without a building permit, and it does not apply to the two EUR 250,000 categories. Storage and parking areas do not count towards the 120 square meters even where their price counts towards the investment.
The EUR 250,000 categories in detail
Change of use: the main areas of the property must change to residential use, and the change must have been completed after Article 64 of Law 5100/2024 entered into force, that is on or after 5 April 2024, and before the residence permit application is filed. The conversion may be carried out either by the buyer or by the seller. The same treatment covers property consisting of an industrial building, or part of one, where no industry has been installed and operating there for at least the preceding five years.
Listed buildings: the minimum acquisition value is EUR 250,000 for a listed building to be restored or reconstructed. For holders in this category the Ministry attaches a further condition to the first renewal of the permit, namely that the full restoration or total reconstruction has actually been carried out. A transfer of the property before that work is complete is void.
The rules attached to the property after purchase
- No short-term letting. Property acquired in full ownership and possession for the initial grant or the renewal of an investor permit may not be let or sublet on a short-term basis within the sharing economy. The Ministry ties the definition to Article 111 of Law 4446/2016: a letting or subletting for a fixed period of under 60 days where no services beyond accommodation and bed linen are provided. Long-term lettings, and lettings to tourism businesses where genuine additional services are provided, fall outside the prohibition.
- No business seat. Property acquired under the change-of-use category may not be used as the seat or a branch of a business.
- Resale ends the permit. Resale of the property during the validity of the residence permit brings simultaneous revocation of the seller’s permit.
- Sanctions. Breach of the letting prohibition, or of the listed-building transfer rule, carries revocation or non-renewal of the permit and administrative fines.
What the permit is and what it costs to obtain
- Duration: five years, renewable, subject to the investment being retained.
- State fee: EUR 2,000 for the residence permit, plus EUR 16 for the electronic printout of the permit.
- Statutory processing deadline: 50 days.
- Employment: the investor residence permit establishes no right of access to any form of employment.
- Payment of the price: for purchases carried out from 1 September 2024 onwards there are no transitional provisions, so the price must have been paid in full before the residence permit application is filed.
Who can be included in the family
Article 95(2) of the Immigration Code, as amended by Article 29 of Law 5275/2026 (Government Gazette A’ 17 of 6 February 2026), lets the holder be accompanied by family members, who receive a residence permit for family reunification expiring at the same time as the sponsor’s permit. The family members are:
- the spouse, or the partner with whom a cohabitation agreement has been concluded
- the unmarried common children of the spouses or partners, under 21
- the unmarried children of the sponsor, or of the other spouse or partner, under 21, where custody has been lawfully assigned to that parent
- the direct ascendants of the spouses or partners
- adult children of the sponsor or of the spouse or partner who are third-country nationals lacking legal capacity, regardless of age, where they live with and are supported by the sponsor; the lack of legal capacity is proved by a final court decision or an equivalent document of the competent authority of the country of origin or habitual residence, duly certified and translated
Children in the second and third categories who reach the age of 21 are granted an autonomous residence permit for three years, on production of the previous family reunification permit.
Does the Greek Golden Visa lead to citizenship?
Only through residence, never through the investment. Greek citizenship is governed by the Greek Citizenship Code, Law 3284/2004, and is administered separately from the residence permit. The National Registry of Administrative Public Services, in its entry last updated on 14 September 2026, states the naturalisation requirement for a foreign national as residence in Greece lawfully and permanently for seven years before the application is filed, and it lists the permanent investor residence permit among the residence titles an applicant may hold. A Golden Visa holder who actually lives in Greece for seven years may therefore apply; one who holds the permit from abroad has not built the residence the Code asks for.
The registry records shorter and longer periods for defined groups: three continuous years for citizens of an EU member state, for spouses of a Greek national with a child, for those holding parental care of a child of Greek citizenship born in Greece and for stateless persons; no time requirement for a person born and continuously resident in Greece; and twelve continuous years for holders of any other valid residence title.
An applicant must also obtain the Certificate of Adequacy of Knowledge for Naturalisation, by a written examination held twice a year, which covers Greek language, history, geography, culture and political institutions; applicants exempted by attendance at a Greek school or university do not sit it. The application fee runs from EUR 100 to EUR 550. Citizenship itself is acquired on taking the oath, which must occur within one year of the publication of the naturalisation decision.
What this is not
- It is not citizenship by investment. The investment produces a residence permit. No provision of Greek law converts an investment into citizenship, and no amount shortens the naturalisation period.
- It is not a passport. No Greek passport follows from the property purchase. A passport follows citizenship, and citizenship follows the separate application described above.
- EUR 250,000 is not the entry price. It has not been the general threshold since the 2024 restructuring. Any current offer built on that figure is either one of the two narrow property categories or is out of date.
- It is not a work permit. The permit expressly confers no access to employment.
- It is not a rental business. Short-term letting within the sharing economy is prohibited on property acquired for the permit, which removes the yield model most buyers assume they are buying.
- The 2026 legislation did not move the amounts. Law 5275/2026 amended the Immigration Code in several places, including the family-member rule set out above. It did not change the EUR 800,000, EUR 400,000 or EUR 250,000 thresholds, which continue to rest on Article 64 of Law 5100/2024.
What actually sinks a file
- reaching the threshold across two or more properties instead of one
- main areas under 120 square meters where that limit applies
- a change of use completed after the application is filed, or completed before 5 April 2024
- an incomplete payment of the purchase price on a transaction carried out from 1 September 2024
- a listed building sold on before the restoration or reconstruction is finished, which makes the transfer void
- the property appearing on a short-term rental platform
- resale during the validity of the permit
- an area classification taken from a marketing map rather than from the census threshold and the regional units named in the circular
How Serka works a Greek file
We act as independent counsel, not as an agent of any Greek authority or developer. That distinction decides what you are told about a property. An agency paid on the transaction has an interest in the classification of the area and in whether the 120 square meter floor is met; we do not, and our reading of both is written down before anything is signed.
The work is verification before commitment: the regional unit and the census position of the island, the surface of the main areas as against the ancillary ones, the date and completeness of any change of use, the listing status and the restoration obligation that comes with it, the payment route and its evidence, and the family composition against Article 95(2) as amended. Then the application, and then the renewal conditions that attach to the category chosen.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from a Greek state publication, first retrieved on 23 August 2026 and read again on 30 September 2026.
| What it supports | Source | Read |
|---|---|---|
| EUR 800,000 and EUR 400,000 areas, the Euboea ruling, the 120 square meter floor, the one-property rule, both EUR 250,000 categories, the 5 April 2024 date, the short-term letting prohibition, the business-seat prohibition, the listed-building renewal condition and the full payment rule from 1 September 2024 | Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Circular 9, ref. 240076/S.9/25-09-24, on the application of Article 100 of Law 5038/2023 as amended by Article 64(1) of Law 5100/2024 | 30.09.2026 |
| Five-year permit, EUR 2,000 plus EUR 16 fee, 50-day processing deadline, no access to employment, revocation on resale | National Registry of Administrative Public Services (MITOS), permanent golden visa, initial issuance, last updated 22 September 2026 | 30.09.2026 |
| The list of family members, the expiry of the family permit with the sponsor’s, and the autonomous three-year permit at 21 | Law 5275/2026, Article 29, amending Article 95(2) of the Immigration Code, Government Gazette Series A, issue 17, 6 February 2026 | 30.09.2026 |
| Seven-year residence requirement for naturalisation, the investor permit among the qualifying titles, the shorter and longer periods, the certificate examination, the fee range and the oath deadline | National Registry of Administrative Public Services (MITOS), naturalisation of foreign nationals, last updated 14 September 2026 | 30.09.2026 |
Related pages
- Citizenship by investment country comparison
- Turkish citizenship by investment: the seven routes
- Golden visa or citizenship by investment: what each one buys
- Austria: why there is no citizenship by investment program
Before anyone signs, send us the property and the buyer. A Greek purchase turns on three questions: which threshold the property falls under, what the permit will and will not give the family, and how the same money reads on Türkiye’s citizenship routes. The details go to Serka Law Firm by e-mail to info@serkalaw.com or on WhatsApp to +90 530 127 59 35.