Guides and insights
Plain-English guides to the Greek Golden Visa, the €250,000 change-of-use route, the taxes and fees around a purchase, and the Patras student rental market. Written by TPL S.A. from the Greek law, the Ministry's own guidance and dated market sources.
Sources last checked 27 September 2026 · General information, not legal advice · The roof garden of the penthouse, illustrative concept render.
The Greek Golden Visa €250,000 change-of-use route
The core guide to the route MVR 19 is designed for: the law, the three thresholds, the conditions of the conversion route, the step-by-step process, letting rules, resale, costs and risks, with every point sourced.
- Threshold
- €250,000, one property
- Size minimum
- None for conversions
- Key condition
- Change of use completed before you apply
- Permit
- 5 years, renewable
- Legal basis
- Law 5038/2023, art. 100
- Updated
- 27 September 2026
Who qualifies, and on what terms
The conditions of the Greek investor residence permit, the size rule that is most often misread, and who one investment covers.
Greek Golden Visa requirements in 2026
Every condition and document for a Greek investor permit, plus the extra paperwork the change-of-use route needs.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 Size rulesThe 120 m² rule and the €250k conversion route
Why the 120 m² minimum applies to the €400,000 and €800,000 tiers but not to converted property.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 FamilyFamily members on a Greek Golden Visa
Who one investment covers: a spouse or partner, children under 21 and the parents of both spouses.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 NationalityThe Greek Golden Visa by nationality
Notes for US, UK, Indian and South African investors on tax residence, documents and banking.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 CitizenshipGreek Golden Visa to citizenship
How lawful residence can count toward naturalisation after seven years, and why investment alone does not lead there.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026What you pay, and what may change
Taxes and fees on a €250,000 purchase today, the transfer-tax change announced for 2027, and how Greece compares with other European programmes on total cost.
What a €250k Greek Golden Visa purchase really costs
Transfer tax, notary, land registry, lawyer and permit fees on a €250,000 purchase, with a worked example.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 Tax changeThe planned 15% transfer tax for non-EU buyers
What the government announced in September 2026 for purchases from July 2027, and what is still unknown.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 ComparisonThe cheapest Golden Visa in Europe in 2026
Europe's residence-by-investment routes compared on what you pay and keep, not on headline price.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026From reservation to residence card
The steps, the documents that take longest, and what you can do from abroad through a lawyer.
How long the Greek Golden Visa takes
From reservation, tax number and bank account to the deed, biometrics and the five-year card.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 Buying remotelyBuying Greek property remotely
Power of attorney, tax number, Greek bank account and notary, and the one trip you must make for biometrics.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026Renting the property, and the student market
Greek law bans short-term platform letting of Golden Visa homes, so long-term tenants matter. In Patras, a university city of about 28,000 active undergraduates, that means students who share, researchers, hospital staff and young professionals.
The Golden Visa short-term rental ban explained
What the €50,000 fine covers, and which long-term and student leases are allowed.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026 PatrasInvesting in Patras student housing
Enrolment, dorm places, rents and new supply in Patras, who rents a one- to three-bedroom home, and honest gross yields at €250,000.
Sources checked 27 Sep 2026Student and rental demand in Patras, both sides of the evidence
How we research, date and correct these guides
Primary sources first. Legal points are taken from the Greek texts themselves: Article 100 of Law 5038/2023 as replaced by Law 5100/2024, Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum's Circular 1/2026, and the official procedure pages on mitos.gov.gr. Law-firm and press summaries are used for announcements that are not yet law, and are labelled as such.
Every guide is dated. Each one shows the date its sources were last checked and lists them in a sources box, so you can read the originals. Market figures such as rents are observations from a named source and date, not forecasts.
Proposals are marked as proposals. Where the government has announced a change that has not passed into law, such as the 15% transfer tax for non-EU buyers announced in September 2026, we say so and do not treat it as settled.
Who writes them. The guides are written by TPL S.A., the developer of MVR 19, which has a commercial interest in the €250,000 route. They have not yet been reviewed by an independent Greek lawyer. When a guide has been reviewed, the reviewer's name and the review date will appear on it.
Corrections. If you find an error or a newer source, email us with the page and the source. We check it, correct confirmed errors, update the date and note the change on the guide.
Nothing here is legal, tax or investment advice. Golden Visa decisions are made by the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Consult an independent Greek lawyer and tax adviser before you buy.
Read the rules, then see the residences
Seven residences in Patras: six of one or two bedrooms at €250,000 each, and a three-bedroom penthouse with the roof garden, price on request. Each is designed for the €250,000 change-of-use route. We reply within one business day, in English or Greek.
Golden Visa eligibility is subject to completion of the change of use before your application and to the Ministry's decision.