Greece Golden Visa Citizenship: How Investors Can Become Greek

Is there Greece citizenship by investment?

No. Greece has no citizenship by investment programme. Buying property, bonds or shares gives you a residence permit, not a passport.

The Golden Visa is a residence permit for third-country nationals who invest in Greece. It is issued under Article 100 of the Migration Code, Law 5038/2023, for property, and Article 100A for financial investments. Citizenship is a separate process under the Greek Citizenship Code (Κώδικας Ελληνικής Ιθαγένειας), Law 3284/2004. It is called naturalisation (πολιτογράφηση) and it is decided by the Ministry of Interior, not by the migration authorities that issue Golden Visas.

Any offer of a Greek passport in exchange for an investment is false. The investment can start the clock on residence. It cannot replace the residence, language and integration tests described below. For the permit itself, see our Greece Golden Visa guide.

Does Golden Visa time count towards Greek citizenship?

Yes, the permit type counts. The Ministry of Interior’s list of qualifying permits, updated on 30 January 2026, names the residence permit for investment activity, the permanent investor residence permit and the property owner residence permit.

Article 5 of the Citizenship Code sets the residence periods. The Ministry’s January 2026 conditions list summarises them as follows:

• 7 years of continuous legal residence for most applicants who hold a qualifying permit.
• 3 years for EU citizens, spouses of Greek citizens who have a child together, parents with custody of a Greek child born in Greece, and stateless persons.
• 12 years for people who hold a valid permit that is not on the qualifying list (rule added by Law 4531/2018).

The qualifying list also includes the EU long-term resident permit, ten-year and indefinite permits, second-generation permits and permits for family members of Greek or EU citizens. Temporary permits are not accepted.

The real test for Greece golden visa citizenship: living in Greece

The Golden Visa has no minimum stay. Naturalisation, in substance, does. Article 100(4) of Law 5038/2023 says absences from Greece do not block renewal of an investor permit. The Citizenship Code asks a different question: is Greece the centre of your life?

The Ministry’s January 2026 conditions list sets out how this is checked:

• Continuous legal residence. The 7 years must be continuous and legal before the application date.
• Economic integration. You must show income that covers a decent standard of living without welfare. The Ministry measures this through your Greek tax assessment notices. For tax years 2019 to 2022 the minimum was €7,500 a year for a single filer, plus €750 for each dependant. You must file Greek returns for 5 of the 7 years.
• Tax and social security. All tax and insurance obligations must be up to date.
• Social integration. Indicators include family ties with Greek citizens, children in Greek schools, training, volunteering and continuous residence that makes Greece the centre of your life.

This has a tax consequence. Someone who lives in Greece for more than 183 days in a year becomes a Greek tax resident and is taxed on worldwide income. Plan this before you start. See getting a tax number (AFM, ΑΦΜ) and, for retirees, the 7% flat tax for pensioners.

Greek naturalisation requirements at a glance

Seven formal and substantive conditions apply to every applicant. The table summarises the Ministry of Interior’s January 2026 list and the Mitos procedure page.

The Greek language and civics exam (PEGP)

Most applicants must hold the Certificate of Adequacy of Knowledge for Naturalisation (Πιστοποιητικό Επάρκειας Γνώσεων για την Πολιτογράφηση, PEGP). It tests Greek language and knowledge of Greek history, geography, culture and institutions.

• The Ministry of Interior holds written exams twice a year, according to its January 2026 conditions list.
• The autumn 2026 exam takes place on Sunday 15 November 2026. Applications ran from 15 July to 10 September 2026 on the Ministry’s exam platform, with a fee of €150.
• You apply online with TAXISnet credentials, so you need a Greek tax number first.
• The Ministry publishes a question bank on the exam platform. Use it to prepare.
• People who attended a Greek school or hold a Greek-language university degree are exempt.

The exam was introduced by Law 4735/2020, which replaced the earlier interview-based assessment. Since then an interview before a three-member committee is held only if the file leaves doubts about integration, under Ministerial Decision 738/2022.

Application steps, fees and processing time

You apply on paper to the Regional Directorate of Citizenship for your place of residence. Mitos, the Greek state’s procedures register, gives an official processing time of up to one year.

1. Pass the PEGP exam, unless you are exempt.
2. Pay the €550 fee as an electronic fee (e-paravolo, code 2159).
3. File the application in person, through a lawyer with a power of attorney, or by registered post.
4. The Directorate checks formal conditions, criminal record and deportation status.
5. It then checks economic and social integration. You may be called to an interview if there are doubts.
6. If approved, the decision is published in the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ).
7. You take the citizenship oath within one year of publication. You become Greek on taking the oath.

Documents include a certified copy of your passport, your residence permit, the PEGP certificate, an apostilled and translated birth certificate, Greek tax assessment notices for the residence years, your social security number (AMKA, ΑΜΚΑ) and proof of economic integration.

EU long-term residence in Greece after 5 years

Golden Visa holders are not excluded from EU long-term resident status by name, but the conditions assume you live in Greece. Article 144 of Law 5038/2023 grants the status after 5 years of legal and continuous residence immediately before the application.

• Absences. No single absence over 6 consecutive months and no more than 10 months in total over the 5 years.
• Income. At least the annual income of a minimum-wage worker, plus 10% for each family member, shown through tax and insurance records (Joint Ministerial Decision 225679/2024).
• Health insurance. Full cover for you and your family.
• Integration. Knowledge of Greek language, history and civilisation (Article 145).
• Fee. €150 for the M.1 permit under Article 171.

Article 143(2) excludes people on a temporary residence status. The law does not say in terms whether investor permits fall in that category. Ask the Decentralised Administration (Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση) before relying on it. The long-term permit is useful because it is on the citizenship qualifying list and it allows work, which the Golden Visa does not.

Children, spouses and dual citizenship

Minor children usually follow the parent. Article 11 of the Citizenship Code makes the minor, unmarried children of a naturalised person Greek with no further formality.

• Spouses apply in their own right. A spouse of a Greek citizen who has a child with them needs 3 years of residence, not 7.
• Adult children on a Golden Visa as dependants (covered to age 21) must meet the conditions themselves.
• Dual citizenship. Greek law does not require you to give up your current nationality. Losing Greek citizenship happens only on your own request or by revocation (Articles 16 to 18). Check whether your home country allows dual nationality.
• Military service. Greek men have military obligations. Ask the Hellenic Army recruitment service how they apply to you before the oath.

How Greece compares with Portugal, Malta and Cyprus

No EU country now offers an open citizenship-by-investment route. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled on 29 April 2025 (case C-181/23) that Malta’s investor citizenship scheme breached EU law. Cyprus closed its programme in November 2020.

For a permit-level comparison, read Greece Golden Visa vs Cyprus, Malta and Latvia.

If citizenship is your goal: a practical plan

Treat citizenship as a relocation project, not an add-on to a purchase. These steps follow from the rules above.

1. Choose a permit that lets you live in Greece on your terms. Compare the Golden Visa with the FIP visa and the digital nomad visa on our residence permits page. FIP and digital nomad permits are not on the qualifying list, so plan a switch to long-term residence.
2. Move your life to Greece. File Greek tax returns every year from the start.
3. Keep absences short. Long trips break continuity for both long-term residence and citizenship.
4. Learn Greek early. The PEGP is a real exam.
5. Keep records: leases, utility bills, school enrolments and insurance.
6. Watch the law. Proposals to change the Golden Visa appear often, such as the opposition amendment to end the property route, which is not law.

Start with our moving to Greece hub and the free Golden Visa 2026 guide.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Ministry of Interior, General Secretariat for Citizenship: Formal and substantive conditions for naturalisation (updated 30 January 2026)
• Mitos (gov.gr): Naturalisation of foreign nationals, procedure, fees and documents (2026)
• Ministry of Interior: PEGP naturalisation exam platform (2026)
• GLOBALCIT (European University Institute): Greek Citizenship Code, Law 3284/2004, English translation
• Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 100: Golden Visa permit (consolidated text, Taxheaven)
• Law 5038/2023, Article 143: Exclusions from long-term resident status (Taxheaven)
• Law 5038/2023, Article 144: Conditions for long-term resident status (Taxheaven)
• Law 5038/2023, Article 171: Residence permit fees (Taxheaven)
• Ministry of Migration: Joint Ministerial Decision 225679/2024 on sufficient resources and income (September 2024)
• Court of Justice of the EU: Judgment in Case C-181/23, Commission v Malta (29 April 2025)
• Lexidy (law firm): Portuguese citizenship law 2026, new 10-year rule (2026)