This is a budgeting guide, not legal, tax, property or investment advice. Before paying a deposit, confirm the route, property category, payment path and family scope with Greek counsel.
Greece Golden Visa cost in 2026
Start with the route, not the advertised minimum. The investment threshold is only part of the budget, and the cheapest headline route is not available for an ordinary apartment purchase.
| Route | Minimum investment | What it usually means | Main budget risk | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special conversion property | EUR 250,000 | Commercial or industrial property converted to residential use, with the change completed before the investor permit application. | This is a specialist route. The conversion evidence, one-property rule and timing matter. | Law 5100/2024 |
| Listed-building restoration | EUR 250,000 | A listed building or listed-building part bought for restoration or reconstruction. | Restoration completion affects renewal planning and transfer restrictions. | Law 5100/2024 |
| Standard real estate | EUR 400,000 | Property outside the high-demand zones. Built property normally needs at least 120 sq m of main spaces and must be one property. | Do not assume several smaller units can be combined. | Law 5100/2024 |
| High-demand real estate | EUR 800,000 | Attica, the Thessaloniki Regional Unit, Mykonos, Santorini (Thira) and islands with more than 3,100 residents. | The same one-property and 120 sq m built-property rules apply. | Law 5100/2024 |
| Qualifying fund-unit routes | Usually budgeted from EUR 350,000 | Certain mutual-fund or alternative-investment-fund units can use a EUR 350,000 floor when the product and custody conditions qualify. | Fund eligibility, manager, custodian, subscription, exit and filing evidence need separate review. | Law 5038/2023 |
| Direct listed securities route | Usually budgeted from EUR 800,000 | Direct purchases of qualifying listed shares, corporate bonds or regulated-market securities are not a EUR 350,000 route. | Product classification, trading venue, custody and filing evidence need separate review. | Law 5038/2023 |
| Bank deposit or qualifying bond route | Usually budgeted from EUR 500,000 | Fixed-term bank deposits and certain Greek government-bond routes generally use a EUR 500,000 floor. | Bank onboarding, source-of-funds, custody, remaining term and renewal mechanics can drive timing. | Law 5038/2023 |
Total upfront budget by route
Use these as single-applicant worksheet ranges, not quotes. They combine the investment floor with a practical allowance for third-party costs. They exclude Movingto service fees, property search, mortgages, unusual due diligence, tax advice, currency-transfer loss and renovation or restoration overruns.
| Route | Investment floor | Transaction and professional allowance | Indicative upfront budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR 250,000 conversion or restoration route | EUR 250,000 | About EUR 12,500 to EUR 17,500, plus filing and setup costs | Often EUR 265,000 to EUR 272,000+ |
| EUR 400,000 standard property route | EUR 400,000 | About EUR 20,000 to EUR 28,000, plus filing and setup costs | Often EUR 422,000 to EUR 432,000+ |
| EUR 800,000 high-demand property route | EUR 800,000 | About EUR 40,000 to EUR 56,000, plus filing and setup costs | Often EUR 842,000 to EUR 860,000+ |
| EUR 350,000 qualifying fund-unit route | EUR 350,000 | Subscription, legal, bank, custody and filing costs vary | Often EUR 358,000 to EUR 370,000+ |
| EUR 800,000 direct listed securities route | EUR 800,000 | Custody, legal, bank, transaction and filing costs vary | Threshold plus quoted product, custody, bank and filing costs |
| EUR 500,000 deposit or qualifying government-bond route | EUR 500,000 | Bank, legal, custody, filing and document costs vary | Often EUR 505,000 to EUR 512,000+ for deposits; bond costs need a separate quote |
How the 5% to 7% allowance is built
The 5% to 7% figure is a planning allowance, not an official Greek fee schedule. For a normal property file, it covers costs around the purchase and residence filing: legal work, notary, registry or cadastral items, transfer-tax treatment, insurance, translations, apostilles, certificates, AFM or bank setup, and basic filing administration. Keep quoted service fees, property search, mortgage costs, tax advice, unusual due diligence, FX loss and renovation or restoration overruns outside that allowance.
| Cost area | Usually inside the allowance | Keep separate |
|---|---|---|
| Legal, notary and registry | Greek legal review, notarial work, registry or cadastral items, and transaction evidence. | Complex title defects, zoning problems, litigation, unusual building-status work or extra specialist advice. |
| Tax treatment | Normal transfer-tax budgeting and confirmation of the purchase tax treatment. | VAT-sensitive purchases, tax-residence advice, rental-income planning and future sale tax advice. |
| Residence filing | Insurance, translations, apostilles, civil-status certificates, AFM or bank setup, card fees and basic filing administration. | Movingto service fees, replacement documents, extra travel, biometrics logistics and unusual family-document work. |
| Property and finance | Basic transaction coordination needed to evidence the qualifying investment. | Property search, buyer-agent fees, mortgage costs, currency-transfer loss, purchase price above the threshold and renovation or restoration overruns. |
What each cost line means
| Cost item | Typical budget treatment | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Government e-fee | Budget EUR 2,000 for the main investor where applicable, plus the separate card-printing fee. | The Ministry document list refers to the investor e-fee and card fee for the permanent residence permit process. |
| Residence-card printing fee | EUR 16 per residence permit card. | This is a small line item, but it applies to card issuance. |
| Greek legal due diligence | Usually a separate professional fee. | Title, encumbrances, zoning, building status, cadastral records and Golden Visa eligibility need review before commitment. |
| Notary, registry and cadastral costs | Budget as part of the 5% to 7% transaction-cost allowance. | The purchase cannot be treated only as a visa spend. It is also a Greek real-estate transaction. |
| Transfer tax or VAT | Depends on the property and transaction. | Do not assume every purchase is simply transfer tax, and do not assume 24% VAT applies to every property. |
| Insurance | Required for the residence file and again at renewal. | Family members add insurance and document costs. |
| Translations, apostilles and certificates | Varies by country of issue and family scope. | Marriage, birth, criminal-record and identity documents can become the slowest small-cost items. |
| Property agent or search costs | Deal-specific. | These are separate from government and legal filing costs. |
Why the EUR 250,000 route is not the normal cheap route
The EUR 250,000 threshold exists, but it is not the general property route. It is limited to conversion and listed-building cases. For conversions, the main spaces must be changed to residential use before the investor residence application. For listed buildings, restoration and renewal consequences need to be planned from the start.
For a standard apartment in Attica, the Thessaloniki Regional Unit, Mykonos, Santorini (Thira) or an island with more than 3,100 residents, plan around the EUR 800,000 threshold. In the rest of Greece, plan around EUR 400,000. Built property normally needs at least 120 sq m of main spaces, and the investment is made in one property.
Family cost scenarios
Adding family usually does not change the investment threshold, but it does add filing, card, insurance, translation and legal-coordination costs. Government fee treatment depends on age and category, so check the amount before filing. The worked examples below show how the same property threshold can become a different household budget.
| Scenario | Investment amount | Extra budget items | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single applicant | Same route threshold | Main applicant government, legal, insurance and document costs. | Use the route table as the base case. |
| Couple | Same route threshold | Extra card, insurance, civil-status documents, translations and legal coordination. | Check whether co-ownership is being used and whether the couple relationship is documented correctly. |
| Family of four | Same route threshold | Children add insurance, birth certificates, translations and card/document costs. | Document collection can matter more than the small fee difference. |
| Parents included | Same route threshold | Parent relationship documents, insurance and extra filing coordination. | Build extra time and document cost into the plan. |
Worked household budget examples
The investment floor normally stays the same when a spouse, children or parents are added. What changes is the document, insurance and filing workload. Use these examples as a household planning check, then replace each allowance with quotes from the lawyer, notary, insurer and tax adviser.
| Household | EUR 400,000 property route | EUR 800,000 high-demand route | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single applicant | Often EUR 422,000 to EUR 432,000+ | Often EUR 842,000 to EUR 860,000+ | Base case: investment floor plus normal transaction, filing, insurance and setup allowance. |
| Couple | Often EUR 424,000 to EUR 438,000+ | Often EUR 844,000 to EUR 866,000+ | Add spouse insurance, civil-status documents, translations, card or filing items, and legal coordination. Check co-ownership and relationship evidence before signing. |
| Family of four | Often EUR 426,000 to EUR 444,000+ | Often EUR 846,000 to EUR 872,000+ | Children add birth certificates, translations, insurance and card or document costs. School, residence and tax planning are separate. |
| Couple plus parents | Start from the couple range, then add a quoted allowance for each parent. | Start from the couple range, then add a quoted allowance for each parent. | Parents add relationship evidence, insurance, translations and filing coordination. Do not assume the single-applicant range covers them. |
Ongoing and renewal costs
| Cost | How to budget it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Maintained investment | The qualifying investment must remain in force for renewal. | Selling the property can affect the residence permit unless the structure is replaced correctly. |
| Property tax and owner costs | Budget annually if you buy property. | ENFIA, insurance, common charges and maintenance sit outside the visa headline cost. |
| Rental income tax | Budget separately if the property is rented. | Greek tax guidance taxes immovable-property income on a scale. Tax residence and double-tax treaty treatment need advice. |
| Short-term rental restriction | Do not model Airbnb income without legal review. | Law 5100/2024 restricts short-term sharing-economy rental and subleasing for Golden Visa properties. |
| Capital gains tax | Check before a future sale. | Greek Ministry of Finance guidance says immovable-property capital-gains taxation is suspended until 31 December 2026. |
| Renewal legal and admin costs | Budget before the five-year renewal point. | Renewal depends on the investment, insurance and continuing eligibility evidence. |
| Fund or deposit costs | Check product, custody, bank and management fees. | Non-property routes replace property transaction costs with financial-product and bank-compliance costs. |
Payment sequence
- Confirm the route before you shortlist property. Check the threshold, zone, size, use and property category before paying a deposit.
- Have Greek counsel check title, encumbrances, zoning, building status, cadastral records and Golden Visa eligibility.
- Set up the AFM, banking and payment trail. Law 5100/2024 specifies accepted payment paths and notarial evidence.
- Complete the purchase, tax, notary and registration steps. The residence file depends on transaction evidence, not just the contract price.
- Prepare the residence application, insurance, biometrics and family documents.
- Keep renewal evidence from the start, especially for restoration, conversion, maintained-investment and rental-use restrictions.
How to use this page with the main guide
Treat this page as the budget worksheet. The main Greece Golden Visa guide covers eligibility, process and family scope. The Greece Golden Visa service page is for route, property-tier, purchase-sequence and filing-evidence review before you transfer funds.
Source notes
Sources used here include Law 5100/2024 for the real-estate threshold rules, Law 5038/2023 for financial-investment thresholds, Ministry of Migration and Asylum pages for the investor-permit document framework, and Greek Ministry of Finance tax guidance for rental-income and capital-gains notes.