Greece: residency, citizenship, tax and living

The Greece Golden Visa program allows you to become a permanent resident of Greece after making an eligible investment in real estate, a business, or a financial instrument. After meeting the program requirements, you get a five-year residence permit that’s renewable indefinitely, and you can also apply to extend the benefit to your family members.

The minimum investment for the Greece Golden Visa is EUR 250,000. The investment has to be made in a property that was converted into residential property and requires renovation. For a more hands-off type of investment, a EUR 350,000 investment in a mutual fund is the next most affordable option.

It takes seven years of residence in the country to become eligible for Greek citizenship. This could be shortened to three years if you are married to a Greek citizen and have a child with them, or if you have a child who is a Greek citizen. Greece doesn’t have a citizenship by investment program, so naturalisation is the only available pathway.

The Greek flat tax (non-dom) regime allows new residents to pay a flat tax of EUR 100,000 per year on their foreign-sourced income for 15 years. The regime is available to individuals who invest at least EUR 500,000 in Greek real estate, businesses, or shares or securities, and who haven’t been a tax resident in Greece in seven out of eight years before moving to Greece.