Yes — Greece is the only EU Member State still running a substantive real-estate-backed Golden Visa after Portugal (closed October 2023), Spain (abolished April 2025), and Ireland (closed February 2023). Under Law 5100/2024, from 1 August 2024 the minimum real-estate investment increased to €800,000 in Zone A high-demand areas (Attica region / Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and other designated islands) and €400,000 elsewhere in Greece, with a minimum property size of 120 m². Previous thresholds were €500,000 in Zone A and €250,000 elsewhere. Five-year renewable residency, no minimum stay.

A tax-resident flat-tax regime introduced by Law 4646/2019 and codified in Article 5A of the Greek Income Tax Code. Anyone who becomes a Greek tax resident (having not been resident for seven of the preceding eight years) and who commits to invest at least €500,000 in Greece within three years, can pay a single €100,000 annual flat tax to cover all foreign-source income regardless of amount. Duration is fifteen years. Extendable to close family members for €20,000 per person per year. Since April 2025's UK non-dom abolition this has become the leading EU alternative for UK non-doms.

Introduced by Law 4714/2020 and codified in Article 5B. A 7% flat tax on all foreign-source income (not just pension income) for foreign pensioners who transfer their tax residency to Greece. Duration fifteen years. Eligibility requires a foreign pension entitlement and non-Greek-resident status for at least five of the six preceding years, plus a tax-information-exchange agreement in place between Greece and the pension-paying country. Particularly attractive for US, UK, Canadian, and Australian retirees.

Yes, and this is one of the strongest reasons to use Greece. The Golden Visa (Law 4251/2014) is a residency permit, not a tax regime — holding it does not automatically make you a Greek tax resident. If you cross 183 days or establish centre of vital interests in Greece, you become tax-resident. At that point you can elect into Article 5A (pay €100k/year flat on all foreign income) or Article 5B (pay 7% flat if you meet the pensioner criteria). A qualifying Golden Visa property often also counts toward the Article 5A €500k Greek-investment commitment, efficiently stacking the two regimes.

No. The Greek Golden Visa has no minimum physical presence requirement to maintain the permit — you can hold it for years without spending significant time in Greece. It renews every five years based on continued ownership of the qualifying property. The trade-off: time spent outside Greece does not count toward the seven-year residency clock for citizenship, and cumulative presence needs to be genuine to trigger tax residency under Article 5A or 5B.

Naturalisation after seven years of continuous legal residency under the Greek Citizenship Code (Law 3284/2004, as amended by Law 4332/2015). Requires Greek-language proficiency (B1 level), a civics test on Greek history and institutions, and demonstrated integration. The permit must be a regular residency category — time on the Golden Visa counts if you physically live in Greece, but not if you hold the permit without meaningful presence. Spouses of Greek citizens qualify after three years of marriage plus residency. Greece allows dual citizenship.

Under standard Greek tax rules (no Article 5A or 5B election), Greek tax residents pay progressive IRS income tax on worldwide income up to 44%, plus solidarity contribution (suspended since 2023 for most categories). Investment income is taxed at 5-15% (dividends 5%, interest 15%, capital gains 15%). Most Greek tax residents with substantial foreign income therefore elect Article 5A or 5B to cap the effective rate. Non-resident Greeks are taxed only on Greek-source income.

Yes. On the Golden Visa, spouse and dependent children under 21 are included on the principal's investment with no threshold uplift. On Article 5A, family members can opt into the regime for €20,000 per person per year (vs €100,000 for the principal). On Article 5B, family members are generally covered automatically at the 7% rate, subject to their own foreign-pension status. Parents of the principal can be added to the Golden Visa under limited circumstances.

Yes. Greece has been a participating CRS jurisdiction since 2017 and is an active EU exchange partner. Mechanics are widely misunderstood: CRS is not a general broadcast of your banking information. Under CRS, a Greek bank reports account holders to the tax authority of the country where the account holder is tax-resident. If your declared tax residency is Greece (with an Article 5A or 5B election in place) and you hold a Greek Tax Residency Certificate, your Greek account is retained within Greece only — AADE does not onward-exchange. CRS only sends data abroad when the account holder's tax residency is elsewhere. Becoming a genuine Greek tax resident under one of the flat-tax regimes is how you exit the CRS feed to your former home.

Three main items. Property-transfer tax (FMA) at 3.09% on resale properties, or 24% VAT on new-build properties from a commercial developer (the FMA exemption applies to most purchases). Annual ENFIA (Single Property Tax) at progressive rates based on property value — typically €500-€3,000 per year on a €400k-€800k Golden Visa property. Municipal tax (TAP) 0.025-0.035% annually. Greek residents also pay rental income tax on letting income (15-45% progressive). Holding costs are modest by EU standards.

Short-term tourist lets (Airbnb-style) were permitted on Golden Visa properties historically. Under Law 5100/2024, short-term rentals on qualifying Golden Visa property were restricted, and on properties acquired from August 2024 under the €800k Zone A threshold, short-term letting is prohibited. Long-term residential letting remains permitted and is the recommended use where you do not plan to occupy the property. Rental income is taxed in Greece under progressive rental rates.

Three reasons. First, price: €100,000 per year under Article 5A is half of Italy's €200,000 Article 24-bis regime. Second, the real-estate residency pairing: Greece is the only EU country where you can simultaneously hold a real-estate Golden Visa AND elect into a flat-tax regime, and the Golden Visa investment often double-qualifies as the Article 5A €500k commitment. Third, the 7% pensioner regime is cheaper and simpler than Italy's €200k for pure-retiree clients with sub-€2M annual foreign income. Italy wins for larger foreign-income bases, for heritage-eligible jure sanguinis applicants, and for those who prefer Italy's mature private-banking and cultural infrastructure.