Georgaki Law Firm on why Greece's property and banking routes lead Europe, and what a proposed 15% transfer tax would change.
In the high summer of 2026, the bond market paid Greece a compliment. On July 16, investors were lending to Athens for ten years at 3.83%, according to Bank of Greece data, while France paid 3.93% and Italy 3.95%.
Bond markets rarely flatter without cause. Every major credit rating agency now rates Greek debt investment grade, and public debt fell by eight percentage points of GDP last year, the largest decline in the EU.
The economy grew 2.1% in 2025, then expanded 2.0% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, four times the euro area’s pace. Nearly 38 million travelers spent a record €23.6 billion in 2025, and net foreign direct investment jumped 62% to €11.4 billion.
Few residence programs in Europe still offer what Greece does. Spain closed its golden visa in April 2025, and Portugal no longer accepts property purchases. Greece lets an investor qualify either by buying a home or by placing capital in its banks and markets, all under a single permit.
The Front Door and the Vault
Whichever route an investor chooses, the permit is the same. It runs for five years and renews for as long as the investment stays in place. Holders face no minimum stay and may travel across the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.
A single application can cover a spouse, unmarried children under 21, and the parents of both spouses. Since February, under Law 5275/2026, the five-year clock starts on the day the residence card is issued, so processing time no longer eats into it.
The front door is property. Buyers need €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands of more than 3,100 residents, or €400,000 elsewhere, for a single home of at least 120 square meters. Commercial buildings converted to residential use, and listed buildings under restoration, qualify through a narrower €250,000 route.
Values beneath those thresholds have kept climbing. Apartment prices rose 9.1% in 2024 and 8.1% in 2025, according to the Bank of Greece, and were still up 5.7% year over year in the first quarter of 2026. Owners may lease qualifying homes long-term, although the program bars short-term rentals.
The vault is the Greek financial system. A €500,000 fixed-term deposit at a Greek bank qualifies, as does €500,000 in Greek government bonds with at least three years to maturity. Funds investing exclusively in Greece start at €350,000, while listed shares and corporate bonds require €800,000.
Greece’s four systemic banks earned a combined €1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, and the sector’s non-performing exposure ratio stood at 3.4% in March. Athens-listed shares returned 44.3% in 2025 and added a further 16.7% by mid-July 2026.
For sheer simplicity, nothing in the program rivals the deposit. Interest is taxed at a flat 15%, withheld by the bank, and there is no deed to sign and no transfer tax to pay. Residence rights last as long as the money stays put, and the program requires that the full €500,000 sit with one bank.
Capital can also change doors. An investor who enters through a deposit may later move the money into property or another qualifying asset, provided the new investment is completed within two months.
What a Deed May Soon Cost
In September, the Greek government announced plans to raise the property transfer tax paid by non-EU buyers from 3% to 15%. The measure belongs to a €2.2 billion housing package unveiled at the Thessaloniki International Fair, and the Ministry of National Economy and Finance has since pointed to July 1, 2027, as its start date.
None of it is law yet. No bill has been published, and the rules for purchases already underway remain unwritten.
As announced, the higher rate would apply to homes bought by nationals of countries outside the EU and European Economic Area who lack long-term resident status in Greece. Commercial property and land are excluded. Unless the final text says otherwise, golden visa property buyers would be covered.
On an €800,000 home in Athens, the transfer tax would rise from €24,000 to €120,000, before a small municipal surcharge. A €400,000 purchase elsewhere would carry €60,000 instead of €12,000. How the €250,000 conversion route will be treated, given that it begins with a commercial building, is one of the questions the bill will need to answer.
For property buyers, the proposed date frames a window. If the measure becomes law as described, deeds signed before July 1, 2027, would carry today’s 3% rate. Because the tax is paid before the notarial deed is signed, the signing, not the reservation, is the date to watch.
Off-plan homes and conversions still under construction may not reach a notary in time, which turns project selection into a matter of timing as much as taste. Neither the banking route nor the securities route involves a transfer of property, so both sit outside the proposal altogether.
Investors who plan to enter through a deposit and move into real estate later should test that sequence against the calendar. A purchase completed after the proposed date could carry five times the tax.
The Queue Has Turned
The program’s administration has caught up with its popularity. Pending files, counting investors and family members, fell from more than 52,000 at the start of 2025 to 29,273 at the end of July 2026, according to Migration Ministry data.
Decisions have consistently outpaced new applications since the spring of 2025, and Law 5275/2026 now assigns each new file automatically to the office with the shortest queue. Active investor permits reached 34,278 at the end of July, up from 22,001 in June 2025.
Fitting the Route to the Family
Which route suits an investor depends on facts no program guide can know. A family that wants a summer house on the water faces a different calculation from an entrepreneur who needs capital to stay liquid. Both also answer to tax authorities at home on Greek interest or rent.
Greek residence is not the same as Greek tax residence. Tax residence takes more than 183 days in the country within a 12-month period, or a personal and economic life centered there. Newcomers who relocate may qualify for a flat €100,000 annual tax on foreign income for up to 15 years, an election best structured before the capital moves.
Small errors carry large costs. A home a few square meters under the size rule, an unfinished change of use, a bond too close to maturity, or a deposit split between banks can each stall an application after the money has moved. Because the full deposit must sit with one institution, the choice of bank deserves the scrutiny a buyer would give a property title.
Georgaki Law Firm
Georgaki Law Firm has advised foreign investors in Greece since 2007. From offices in Athens and Thessaloniki, the firm has facilitated more than 9,000 foreign direct investments and processed more than 3,500 residence permits, working across seven languages.
Its practice spans banking and finance, tax planning, corporate structuring, real estate, and investment migration. That breadth allows an investor’s bank selection, title review, tax analysis, and residence application to sit with a single firm instead of being passed between advisors.
Both of Greece’s doors remain open, and one of them may soon cost considerably more to walk through. For investors deciding whether to buy before the proposed July 2027 date, or whether a deposit or a fund better suits their family and tax position, Georgaki Law Firm offers consultations through its website at georgakilawfirm.com
Article originally published on IMIDaily