Going into 2025, the Greek Golden Visa program offers the most affordable property price point of all EU Golden Visas (only €250,000, compared to Cyprus’ €300,000 ex VAT on residential property, and Spain’s €500,000 minimum requirement).
Greece ties with Latvia and Hungary’s 2024 Golden Visa program in terms of its minimum property investment requirements… However, in Hungary, the €250,000 option requires an investment in a qualifying real estate fund (buying a standalone property will set you back a whopping €500,000.
And in Latvia, opening a bank account – which is a mandatory step to invest in property – is exceedingly challenging for the majority of non-EU/EEA citizens. (Hence the Latvian Golden Visa By Property Investment option has never really gained much traction…)
And in Portugal, all of the real estate related options (both in hotels/aparthotels, commercial, freehold properties and real estate focussed funds – have been scrapped in their entirety.
Against this backdrop, getting a Greek Golden Visa by buying either a commercial or lifestyle property for just €250,000 makes plenty sense to a large percentage of total EU Golden Visa applicants.
Furthermore, the Greek program allows you to buy more than one property in any location to add up the requisite value. You can opt to buy either residential, agricultural or commercial RE, and you have the option to buy new off-plan properties or existing ones.
And in fact, Portugal’s shuttering of their €280,000 and €350,000 property options has seen Greece rocket to the top of the European Golden Visa log in the past 18 months.
However, the program now features a new 3-tier pricing structure, priced at €250,000, €400,000, and €800,000, respectively, based on the type of property, and its location.
Consult our Greek Golden Visa Map tool to identify the areas affected by the price increase (map data update in progress).
To further cement its market appeal, the program offers a zero-day in-country presence requirement during the 5-year temporary residency period, in line with the programs of Italy (which doesn’t offer a property investment option) and Spain.
And unlike as in Portugal, Greece has managed to process thousands of applications and their families within around 6 months – whereas waiting times for biometrics appointments in Portugal is now approaching 36 months (or more) for scores of disgruntled investors.
To be clear, this includes people who invested in real estate even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. And SEF (now AIMA), have reportedly been ignoring court procedures compelling them to provide many of these applicants with biometrics appointments…
So whilst Portugal’s claim to fame has long been its swift path to naturalization – after just 5 years – having to wait another 3 years just to get your residency clock started means that the country loses some of this competitive advantage.
Add to that the low cost of Greek Golden Residency Permit applications and renewals – again, compared to Portugal’s heavily loaded Golden Visa residency renewal fees – and it’s easy to see why the Greek program was the top-selling Golden Visa in 2023 and many years preceding.
Why you should consider the Greek Golden Visa By Real Estate investment in 2025
- Lowest property price entry point of all EU Golden Visas – just €250,000.
- No in-country stays required to maintain your residency status – zero days per year required.
- Greek Golden Visa applications can typically be completed in 4-6 months.
- You can buy a property anywhere in Greece, however areas of Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as Mykonos and Santorini now require a minimum investment of €500,000.
- The Greek Golden Visa residency is valid for 5 years, and renewable in 5-year increments.
- The Greek GV program offers exceptionally affordable residency permit renewal fees.
- The Greek GV program is exceptionally stable (whereas the Portuguese program is presently not).
- Over 30,000 Greek residency permits have been issued to date.
- Start the application process from home – only one visit to Greece required.
Key Considerations
- €250,000 Conversion Properties (Zone C Areas)
- €400,000 Properties (Zone B Areas)
- €800,000 Properties (Zone A Areas)
Bonus TIP: How to get the Golden Visa by investing only 250K
Convert a commercial property of any size, situated anywhere in Greece, to a residential property. Complete the conversion project before submitting your Golden Visa application, OR;
Restore or reconstruct a listed property (with cultural or historical importance), regardless of location or property size. Complete the renovation works by Year 5 to renew your Golden Visa.
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