Changes to Greece's Golden Visa 2024-2026: new thresholds, the Airbnb ban and the 120 m2 rule

What actually happened to Greece's golden visa

In short: Greece has closed the era of cheap entry. The golden visa is a residence permit by investment in real estate, granted for a full five years, renewable and extended to the whole family. For many years it was the most accessible program of its kind in the European Union: it was enough to buy 250,000 euros' worth of property anywhere in the country - a studio in Athens, a cottage on an island or even a few small apartments pooled together.

In 2024 everything changed. The Greek parliament passed Law 5100/2024, which introduced differentiated thresholds by region, raised the minimum amount in the most popular locations straight to 800,000 euros, added a property-size requirement and the single-property rule, and banned the very thing many investors came into the program for - renting out housing short-term through Airbnb.

These changes to Greece's golden visa are not a cosmetic tweak but a shift in the program's philosophy. The state no longer wants foreign capital driving up urban housing prices and turning residential buildings into short-stay hotels. The logic now is this: if you want a residence permit, invest serious money in real housing, not in a speculative rental business. Our foundational overview of the program itself is kept in our guide to Greece's golden visa, while here we focus specifically on what changed and when.

A “before and after” table: how the thresholds changed year by year

The clearest way to understand the reform is to look at it over time. Until 2023 the threshold was single and low; it was then split by region, and from autumn 2024 it rose several-fold in the premium locations. Below is a timeline of the key changes tied to their dates, so the logic behind the rising Greek golden visa threshold is clear.

The main thing the table shows: the single 250,000-euro threshold that once applied nationwide is a thing of the past. Today this figure survives only as a narrow exception - which is a separate conversation below. A detailed map of the zones and thresholds is covered in our article on Greek golden visa zones.

Three new thresholds: 800,000, 400,000 and 250,000 euros

The heart of the reform is the move from a single figure to three tiers. The investment amount now depends not on your preference but on exactly where the property is located. These are the new golden visa rules for Greece 2026 on which the whole program rests.

• 800,000 euros - the premium zones. This includes the Attica region (including Athens and its suburbs), Thessaloniki, the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, and any islands with a population of more than 3,100. These are the most sought-after and expensive locations, and the state deliberately raised the entry point precisely here.
• 400,000 euros - the rest of Greece. Regions outside the premium zones: mainland areas, small islands, provincial towns. The threshold is half as high, in order to redirect investors from the overheated centres into regions that need money and development.
• 250,000 euros - only special cases. This reduced threshold survives, but it is no longer “everywhere” - only for two scenarios: conversion (turning a commercial or industrial property into housing) and the restoration of a heritage building. There is a separate section on this.

It is important to understand: the thresholds refer to the minimum contract price of the property. On top come the costs of the purchase tax (3.09% of the value), the notary, the lawyer and registration. The real budget is always higher than the threshold. We keep a detailed price breakdown in our analysis of property for Greece's golden visa.

The 120 m2 rule: the minimum property size

Alongside the new thresholds, Law 5100/2024 introduced a requirement that had never existed before: a minimum property size. The home you buy for the golden visa must now be no less than 120 square metres - either already built or provided for under a valid building permit.

Why was this done? The logic is the same as for the reform as a whole: the state wants investors to buy proper homes to live in, not to carve out cheap studios for short-term letting. A small 35-40 m2 apartment in central Athens, once bought specifically for Airbnb, no longer qualifies for the program - even if its price reaches the threshold.

What this means in practice:

• Floor area is counted per property. 120 m2 is the area of a single property unit, not the combined area across several small properties.
• Property under construction also counts. If the property is not yet completed but there is a valid building permit for the required area, that counts.
• The rule also applies, in its own way, to the 250,000-euro threshold. In a conversion of commercial premises into housing, the property after the rework must meet the established requirements.

For the investor this means a simple thing: you have to count not only the money but the square metres too. A property that clears the amount but falls short on area will get the application rejected. So property selection now runs on two filters at once - price and floor area.

The single-property rule: the investment can no longer be split

Another fundamental change is the single-property rule. Previously the threshold could be made up in any way: buy three apartments at 90,000 euros each in different districts, add them up and get the visa. That was convenient for those who wanted to diversify their real estate or assemble a rental portfolio.

That is no longer allowed. The entire investment must go into one property. If the threshold for your zone is 400,000 euros, you need a single property priced from 400,000 euros, not four of 100,000 each. Splitting no longer qualifies for the program.

This rule serves exactly the same aim as the minimum area and the Airbnb ban: the state is squeezing speculative schemes out of the program. A cluster of small apartments is almost always a rental business, whereas the authorities want to see an investor who buys one substantial property and holds it as a genuine asset.

Practical implications for the buyer:

• Plan your budget for one property in full. You cannot “top up” the threshold with a second apartment if the first turned out cheaper.
• The choice of properties narrows. In the premium zones with the 800,000-euro threshold we are talking about large, expensive housing, and there are noticeably fewer such lots on the market.
• A family application does not change the rule. One principal investor - one property for the required amount, while the whole family receives the residence permit.

The short-term rental ban: Greece's golden visa and Airbnb

This is arguably the most painful change for investors. Before the reform, a significant share of people entered the Greek golden visa specifically counting on recouping their investment through short-term letting: you bought an apartment, listed it on Airbnb or Booking, and the property earned its keep while you lived in another country. Law 5100/2024 banned that scheme outright.

The essence of the ban: a property bought to obtain the golden visa cannot be placed into short-term rental within the so-called sharing economy - that is, through Airbnb, Booking and similar platforms for short stays. This applies specifically to the property that serves as the basis for the residence permit.

What a breach entails - and here the state means business:

• Revocation of the residence permit. If it turns out the property is being let short-term, the residence permit can be cancelled - meaning the investor loses the very status the whole thing was set up for.
• A 50,000-euro fine. The administrative fine for breaching the ban is a large sum that makes any short-term letting inherently unprofitable.

So what is allowed? Long-term rental of a year or more is not affected by the ban - the property can be let under an ordinary long-term lease. The ban targets specifically the short-stay tourist format that drives up prices and drains housing from the regular market. In other words, Greece's golden visa and the rental ban are about Airbnb, not about renting as such. We examine the logic of the zones and permitted scenarios in more detail in our guide to Greek golden visa zones.

Who still has the 250,000-euro threshold: conversion and restoration

The 250,000-euro figure survived the reform, and that confuses many people. It is important to understand: this is no longer “cheap entry everywhere” as before, but a narrow exception for two specific scenarios. We examine these scenarios in detail in a separate article on the Greek golden visa for 250,000 euros, while here we give the essentials.

The reduced 250,000-euro threshold is available in two cases:

• Conversion. The purchase of a property that was originally non-residential (commercial or industrial premises, a warehouse, an office building), with its subsequent conversion into residential status. The state encourages returning “dead” buildings to the housing stock.
• Restoration of a landmark. The purchase and restoration of a property that holds the status of a protected building or architectural landmark. In this way the authorities encourage the preservation of historical heritage through private investment.

Why it is not as simple as it sounds:

• A special type of property is required. Not every building is suitable for conversion or listed on the heritage register - these are rare and specialised lots.
• Works and permits are required. Conversion and restoration are not just a purchase but a project with design documentation, permits and timelines. The property must actually be turned into residential use or restored.
• Higher legal risks. Such deals require careful checks on the property's status, on heritage restrictions and on how realistic the conversion into housing is.

The conclusion is simple: the 250,000-euro threshold is technically alive, but you should not count on it as an easy way in. For most investors the real thresholds are 400,000 or 800,000 euros.

Summary of Greek golden visa terms after the reform

Let's gather all the current 2026 requirements into a single table, so the full picture of the Greek residence-permit-by-investment reform is clear. This is a working checklist against which any project is worth checking before you start.

This table shows the main point: Greece's golden visa remains one of the most convenient for living purposes (you barely have to reside in the country), but entry has become markedly more expensive and stricter in terms of the property.

The pre-reform frenzy: a record 2024

Any announced threshold increase sets off a race - investors rush to get in on the old terms. With the Greek golden visa this played out very vividly: 2024 became a record year in the program's entire history.

What the figures of this period show:

• A record number of applications. In 2024 around 9,300 applications were submitted - an all-time high - and the total volume of related real estate investment came to more than 2.3 billion euros.
• A race to the deadline. Since the thresholds were being raised from 1 September 2024, investors en masse tried to sign contracts before that date in order to fall under the old terms.
• Transition period. Those who signed a preliminary contract and paid a deposit before 1 September 2024 were given time by the state to complete the deal at the former thresholds, and because of the flood of applications the processing deadline was extended.
• A backlog awaiting processing. The flip side of the frenzy is a large backlog of unprocessed applications, which stretched out the timelines for issuing cards.

This episode is a clear lesson: thresholds in investment migration tend only to rise, and the “windows” under the old terms close quickly. Those who entered the program before September 2024 effectively locked in terms that are no longer available today.

What all this means for the investor in 2026

Let's put the conclusions into practical terms. The reform did not abolish Greece's golden visa - it made it more expensive and stricter, but the program is still alive and one of the most convenient in the EU when it comes to living there.

How to plan your entry correctly now:

• First the zone, then the budget. Decide where you want the property. If Athens, Thessaloniki or the top islands are essential, budget from 800,000 euros. If the amount matters more than the location, look at regions with the 400,000-euro threshold - the choice there is wider and cheaper.
• Count the square metres alongside the money. The property must be at least 120 m2 and a single lot. This immediately rules out cheap studios and clusters of small apartments.
• Do not build your plan on short-term rental. Housing bought for the visa cannot be let through Airbnb. If you want income, that means long-term rental of a year or more, and the yield on it is more modest.
• Budget for the additional costs on top. Purchase tax of 3.09%, the notary, the lawyer, translation and apostille of documents, the annual ENFIA property tax - all of this is on top of the threshold.
• Remember the path to permanent residence. Greece is a member of the EU and Schengen, and the golden visa is the first step toward long-term residence and, in time, citizenship. It is an investment not only in real estate but in status.

The program is available to Russian nationals (strictly legally, with enhanced source-of-funds checks and no circumvention of sanctions). The key is to enter with a realistic budget and under the current rules, not under figures from outdated articles.

An expert's view: typical mistakes after the reform

The reform of Greece's golden visa spawned a wave of outdated information online - and that is exactly what investors most often get burned on. Let's go through the most common mistakes we see in working with clients.

• Anchoring on a 250,000-euro threshold “everywhere”. This is the most widespread illusion from old articles. Today 250,000 euros means only conversion or the restoration of a landmark, not any property in any location.
• Counting on splitting the amount. Out of habit, people plan to make up the threshold with several apartments. The single-property rule forbids this - you need one lot for the full amount.
• Ignoring the 120 m2 requirement. The property fits on price but falls short on area - the application is rejected. Floor area is now a mandatory filter.
• A plan to recoup the investment through Airbnb. After the reform this is a direct path to a 50,000-euro fine and the revocation of the residence permit. Short-term letting is prohibited.
• Underestimating the zoning. The line between a premium zone and an ordinary region is a difference of 400,000 euros. Getting the property's zone wrong means getting the budget wrong by a factor of two.

All these mistakes share one thing: people rely on the pre-reform rules. Current terms and forms are always worth checking on the official portal of the Greek Migration Service (migration.gov.gr), and any contentious points on a specific property should be talked through with a lawyer before signing the contract.

We will help select a property under the new rules

After the reform, selecting property for Greece's golden visa became a task with three filters at once: the right zone and threshold, an area of at least 120 m2 and a single property; and on top of that the property must not be geared toward short-term rental, or the investment loses its point. A mistake on any of these points means a rejected application and lost time.

We handle obtaining a Greek residence permit by investment on a turnkey basis: we select a property that clears the amount, the floor area and the zone, verify the legal soundness of the deal, manage the application and support the family at every stage - from the first call to the resident card.

Discuss your situation with a BRIDGES GLOBAL expert - we will calculate the real budget for your specific scenario and advise which zone is more advantageous to enter through.

Why Greece raised the threshold in the first place

To understand the reform it helps to know its causes - that makes it easier to predict where the program will go next. The rise in Greece's golden visa threshold is not a whim but a response to a concrete problem: the housing crisis in the major cities.

What happened over the years of the cheap program:

• Rising housing prices. The mass inflow of foreign capital into the real estate of Athens, Thessaloniki and the popular islands drove prices up so high that it became hard for local residents to buy or rent housing.
• The draining of housing into short-term rental. Entire buildings were being turned into tourist apartments on Airbnb, and there was less and less ordinary housing on the market.
• Public discontent. The housing question became politically charged, and the authorities came under pressure from demands to protect housing affordability for Greeks.

The reform addresses exactly these pain points: a high threshold in the overheated zones cools demand precisely where it is needed, the 120 m2 requirement and the single-property rule push cheap studios out of the program, and the Airbnb ban returns the purchased housing to normal use. In other words, the state is not closing the program but retuning it so that foreign money flows into regional development and genuine housing rather than speculation.

Bottom line: Greece's golden visa got more expensive but did not close

Let's draw the line. Over 2024-2026 Greece's golden visa went through the most substantial reform in its history. The single 250,000-euro threshold that once applied nationwide is gone, replaced by a three-tier system: 800,000 euros in premium zones, 400,000 euros in the other regions and 250,000 euros only for conversion or the restoration of a heritage landmark. On top of that came a minimum of 120 m2 per property, the single-property rule and a ban on short-term rental through Airbnb carrying a 50,000-euro fine.

The intent behind all these changes is the same: the state is squeezing the speculative rental business out of the program and channelling foreign investment into genuine housing and regional development. For the investor this means a higher entry threshold and more careful property selection - but not a closed door. Greece remains a member of the EU and Schengen, and its residence permit by investment is one of Europe's most comfortable statuses when it comes to actually living there, as well as a stepping stone to permanent residence and citizenship.

Anyone entering in 2026 with a realistic budget, the right zone and a clear plan for the property gains a solid legal EU resident status. The key is to rely on the current rules rather than figures from outdated sources. You can check the details for a specific property, zone and budget in our guide to Greece's golden visa and in the analysis of property for the program.