Greece will revoke golden visas for discounts and short-term letting: what the minister said

In brief

• The minister said permits will be revoked if the real purchase price falls below the EUR 250,000 threshold because of discounts, refunds or a "lease" that returns money to the buyer.
• The second ground is getting around the short-let ban through a sublet. The owner leases the unit to an operator for a year, and the operator lets it to tourists by the night. That is also grounds for revocation.
• There is no text of a new rule. This is a ministerial statement, not a law or an order. The inspection procedure and timing have not been announced.
• The short-let ban for programme properties has applied since 2024: a EUR 50,000 fine and revocation of the permit. What is new is that the state promises to look at schemes, not only at listings on rental sites.
• The programme is not being closed. The minister openly defended it as a useful tool.

What the minister said

Plevris spoke at a real estate trade show in Athens. He did not talk about tourists or housing prices in general, but about two specific techniques he knows from cases.

The first is the fictitious discount. The contract states an amount equal to the programme threshold, for example EUR 250,000 for converting commercial space into housing. The buyer gets part of the money back: in cash, under a separate agreement, or through a "lease" at an inflated rate. On paper the threshold is met; in reality the investor put in less. The minister said the state does not accept such deals and permits will be revoked as soon as a discount arrangement is found.

The second is the sublet. Letting a golden visa property by the night is banned, so the owner signs a long lease with a management company, which then lets the flat to tourists. Formally the owner lets for a year; in fact guests stay three nights at a time. The minister called this a workaround too, and said the permit will be revoked for it.

He also spoke about the purpose of the programme: Greece needs investors who turn non-residential premises into housing and live in them or let them to long-term tenants. Investment "for show" is not wanted. According to him, most golden visas today are held by citizens of China and Turkey, with Israel and the United Kingdom also among the leaders.

What this means for you. If your deal is clean, the statement does not affect you. If it contains a "bonus", a "refund" or a "guaranteed yield" that lowers the real price, this is no longer a grey zone but a direct risk of losing the permit.

What is not yet on paper

I always separate a minister's statement from a rule. As at 16 October 2026 there is no bill and no ministerial decision describing how permits are revoked for discounts. It has not been said who checks deals, how far back, whether a court is needed or what happens to family members who received permits through the investor.

But the two grounds stand on different footing. The short-let ban is written into Law 5100/2024: a EUR 50,000 fine and revocation of the permit. So on sublets the ministry can act already; it only has to prove that guests stay by the night. Discounts are harder: if money went back to the buyer, the real investment is below the threshold, and the ground for the permit is formally not met. Experience in other countries shows that such cases start with bank statements and lease agreements, not with listings.

What Law 5100/2024 changed in the programme as a whole we covered in the review of Greek golden visa changes 2024-2026.

What this means for you. Waiting for the text of a rule before dropping a scheme is a poor strategy. Revocation on existing grounds is possible without a new law.

Which schemes are now risky

I have put into a table what I see in offers from developers and intermediaries. The danger is not letting as such, but a lease that returns part of the price to the buyer or turns the property into a hotel.

The most common trap is the "guaranteed rental". The developer sells the flat and promises to pay 5-7% a year for three years while letting it by the night. To the buyer it looks like income. To the ministry it is both a refund of part of the price and short-letting of a programme property. Two grounds for revocation in one deal.

What a long lease actually earns is shown in the analysis of rental yields in Greece, and the full list of costs in the piece on hidden golden visa costs.

Who is affected

The statement hits the EUR 250,000 segment hardest. This is the conversion of commercial premises into housing and the restoration of listed buildings, and here the price is closest to the threshold. Any discount of 10-20 thousand takes the deal below the line. Buyers of properties at EUR 400,000 and 800,000 are affected by the same logic, but such deals usually have more headroom.

The terms of this segment are described in detail in the article on the Greek golden visa for EUR 250,000.

The second group is owners who already hold a permit and let the property through a management company. Look at the agreement: if the manager may let the flat for less than a year, you have a problem today, not after a new law.

The third group is those still choosing a property. Here it is simplest: do not take offers where the contract price and the real payment differ, and do not sign a "guaranteed yield" programme on a golden visa property. How to choose a property without these mistakes I covered in the piece on mistakes when buying for the golden visa.

What this means for you. Your lease matters as much for the permit as your purchase agreement. Read it before signing, not after a letter from the ministry.

How this links to the 15% tax

Plevris spoke six weeks after the announcement of the home purchase tax for non-EU citizens: 15% instead of 3% from 1 July 2027. This is still a plan and the law has not been passed; details are in the analysis of the 15% tax for non-EU buyers.

Together the two steps form a clear line. Greece is not closing the door, but making it more expensive and stricter. The tax cuts the demand that pushes up housing prices, and revocation for schemes cuts out those who entered the programme below the threshold. I expect more such statements before the spring 2027 election, and inspections to be made into examples.

The amount for your family including taxes and fees is shown by the Greek golden visa cost calculator, and all deal taxes are collected in the review of property taxes in Greece.

What this means for you. If you planned a purchase in Greece for 2027, count both the tax and the cleanliness of the scheme. A "discounted" deal after 1 July 2027 could cost you both the 15% and the permit.

What to do now

1. Match the contract price against the bank payments to the seller. The amounts must match in full, with no refunds or "bonuses".
2. Read the lease. If it allows letting for less than a year, replace it with a long lease to a tenant.
3. Decline guaranteed-yield programmes on a golden visa property if the income is paid by the seller or a company linked to it.
4. Keep the documents on the source of funds and the payments. They will be the first thing requested in an inspection.
5. If the deal is not yet closed, have the property and payment scheme checked by an independent lawyer before the deposit.

Common reasons for refusal are collected in the article on golden visa refusals, and the specifics for Russian citizens in the piece on the Greek golden visa for Russians. How we handle the deal from checking the property to the residence card is shown on the page Greek golden visa application.

For those whose route to a Greek permit is blocked by bank sanctions restrictions, or who want a back-up path, we covered the route to a Greek residence permit with a Vanuatu passport.

How a deal could be checked

The inspection procedure has not been announced, but the Greek state already has the tools, and they are digital. Golden visa payments go by bank transfer to the seller, so the contract amount and the statement amount can be compared in a minute. Leases in Greece are filed electronically with the tax authority, and short-term letting requires the property to have a registration number in the short-term rental register.

This shows where schemes break. A refund by separate transfer is visible in the seller's bank. A "guaranteed rental" is visible from the lease filed with the tax authority. Nightly letting is visible from the registration number and listings, even if the agreement with the manager is for a year.

What this means for you. Every discount or sublet scheme leaves a trace in documents the state already receives. The only question is when it starts matching them.

Example: how a deal falls below the threshold

Suppose commercial premises for conversion into housing are sold for EUR 250,000, exactly at the threshold. Bundled with it is an agreement under which the developer "rents" the flat for three years and pays 7% a year, EUR 17,500 annually. If an ordinary long lease of such a flat brings, say, 4%, the extra 3% over three years is EUR 22,500.

From the ministry's point of view that EUR 22,500 is part of the price returned to the buyer. The real investment is EUR 227,500, and the threshold is not met. And if the "tenant" lets the flat to tourists by the night, a second ground is added. The figures in the example are illustrative, but the logic is the one the minister described.

What this means for you. Check your deal the same way: how much money actually stayed with the seller and who lives in the flat.

My conclusion

The minister did not change the rules; he changed the tone. For two years the state turned a blind eye to discount and sublet schemes; now the minister has named them publicly and promised revocation. For an honest buyer this is good news: the programme stays, and the dishonest deals that damaged its reputation become dangerous.

For anyone who bought "at a discount", it is a reason to check the documents today. To those still choosing I ask one thing: the contract price must be real, and the flat must be a home, not a hotel.

The wider European picture is in the review of EU golden visas in autumn 2026.

How this piece was prepared

This piece is based on the statement of the Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum of 15 October 2026 as reported by the Greek state broadcaster, the text of Law 5100/2024 on thresholds and the short-let ban, and our practice in supporting transactions. There is no text of a new rule as at publication; the article will be updated when it appears. It is not legal advice on a specific transaction.