Greece Golden Visa: Mainstream Real-Estate Minimum Is Now €400k–€800k

What changed

Greece has restructured the price of its real-estate Golden Visa into tiers. Under Laws 5100/2024 and 5275/2026, the minimum is now €800,000 in the highest-demand areas — Attica (greater Athens), Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with a population above 3,100 — and €400,000 in the rest of the country. The familiar €250,000 entry point still exists, but only for two narrow cases: converting a commercial property to residential, or restoring a listed heritage building.

A few mechanical rules come with the new pricing. The investment must go into a single property of at least 120 square metres. And short-term or holiday letting of a Golden Visa property — the Airbnb model many buyers assumed — is now banned: a breach can trigger revocation of the permit and a €50,000 fine.

A note on timing: the program's official page can lag behind the law. We've sourced these thresholds from the Greek legislation and advisory reporting as of 2026-06-24, and you can verify the current rules on the Greek Ministry of Migration page. Treat this as analysis, not legal advice — confirm your specific case with a qualified Greek lawyer.

Who this affects

The change sorts buyers into three groups.

If you wanted Athens or the famous islands for lifestyle or rental yield, your budget effectively doubles or triples versus the old €250,000 era. €800,000 is now the floor in those postcodes.

If you're flexible on location, €400,000 in a non-prime region is the realistic mainstream route. That still buys solid property in many parts of Greece, and it keeps the headline benefits intact.

If you're an investor comfortable with renovation risk, the €250,000 conversion/heritage tier is the only way to keep the old number — but it's a project, not a turnkey purchase, and it narrows your property search dramatically.

What you still get

The core package is unchanged. The Greece Golden Visa grants EU residency with no minimum-stay requirement to hold that status — useful for a Chinese applicant who wants an EU foothold without relocating. Status typically lands in 2–4 months, and as an EU residence permit it lets you travel visa-free across the Schengen Area for short stays — note that's residence-permit travel, not the 180-plus visa-free count of the Greek passport, which only comes with citizenship.

Greece allows dual citizenship, and at the residency stage you keep your Chinese passport — this is a residency permit, not a second nationality. That matters because China does not recognize dual nationality; the Golden Visa does not force you to choose. The route to a Greek (EU) passport is long: 7 years of genuine, continuous residence, plus a Greek language and citizenship exam. So the citizenship track is a genuine relocation commitment, while the residency itself is light-touch.

A word on the rental ban

The short-term letting ban removes a common assumption — that the apartment would pay for itself through holiday rentals. If your model depended on Airbnb income, the math has changed. Long-term letting and capital appreciation are still on the table, but plan your return on the property accordingly.

Realistic alternatives

If the new Greek pricing pushes your budget, three other routes are worth weighing.

• Portugal Golden Visa — another EU residency-to-citizenship path, with a lower entry around $216,000, though processing currently runs 12–39 months because of a backlog. Same EU-foothold logic, slower clock.
• Panama Qualified Investor Visa — from $300,000 with permanent residency in roughly 30 days. Not the EU, but fast and capital-efficient if a Latin American base works for you.
• Paraguay Investor Residency — the budget option at $70,000, taking 3–6 months. Modest cost, far lighter passport.
• Austria Residence (financially independent) — an EU alternative processed in roughly 3–6 months, but constrained by a tight annual quota, so timing is the gamble.

For the wider picture on living, taxes, and re-entry, see our Greece country guide. If you're managing capital out under SAFE limits or thinking about CRS tax-residency exposure, model those before committing — the property price is only one line in the budget.

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If Greece is still on your shortlist, the Greece Golden Visa program page has the current thresholds and timelines laid out — a good next read before you talk to an adviser.