Golden Visa reality: 800,000/€400,000 is the new standard, but €250,000 projects offer the only high ROI real option.

The landscape of the Greek Golden Visa (GV) program has been fundamentally restructured by a new law, marking a significant shift in requirements for foreign investors. The legislation, passed on April 2, 2024, and officially published on April 5, 2024 (Law 5100/2024), establishes a three level system for real estate investment that went into effect on August 31, 2024. This change introduced three distinct investment levels (€800K, €400K, and the special €250K exception), replacing the former uniform minimum and aiming to manage housing pressures in popular regions.

Let’s take a look at these three levels and compare them.

Level 1: The €800,000 Minimum: This is the highest investment category, targeting areas under intense housing pressure, including The entire Region of Attica (includes Athens, Piraeus, and the surrounding suburbs) and the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki. It also includes any Greek island with a population exceeding 3,100 inhabitants, so basically all the well-known Islands like Lefkada, Corfu, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes and Crete.

Level 2: The €400,000 Minimum: This level refers to properties all over Greece that do not fall into the first tier.

Level 3: The €250,000 Minimum (The hidden jewel): While the two above levels of €800,000 and €400,000 are the new standard, the original €250,000 threshold still exists for highly specific, government favored investments, regardless of the property's location:

• Commercial-to-Residential conversion: Investing in a property for the purpose of converting it from commercial to residential use.

• Restoration of registered historic buildings: Investing in the purchase and restoration of historical or preserved buildings.

Having defined these three levels, it is crucial to note that the new law not only raised the minimum investment thresholds but also imposed several additional restrictions.

For Levels 1 & 2 there are three restrictions:

1. Size Requirement: The property must be a single residential apartment or house with a minimum of 120 legally registered square meters.

2. Single Property Rule: The required investment amount must be met by a single property, unlike in the past where multiple smaller properties could be combined to reach the threshold.

3. Use and Rental Restrictions: New restrictions have been placed on the property's use:

   • Prohibited: Short-term rentals (e.g., Airbnb) are now illegal.

   • Permitted: Only personal use or long-term rentals are allowed.

   
   

For Level 3 there are only two restrictions:

1. Single Property Rule: The required investment amount must be met by a single property, unlike in the past where multiple smaller properties could be combined to reach the threshold. There are no restrictions on the property's size (square meters) for this specific investment type.

2. Use and Rental Restrictions: New restrictions have been placed on the property's use:

   • Prohibited: Short-term rentals (e.g., Airbnb) are now illegal.

   • Permitted: Only personal use or long-term rentals are allowed.

   
   

Generally, these restrictions significantly diminish the profitability of real estate investments, resulting in a substantially lower Return on Investment (ROI) compared to historical performance. However, the critical distinction lies between the restrictions imposed on Levels 1 & 2 versus Level 3.

This difference in the property size requirement is precisely why the $250,000 investment in a conversion property remains the only level that still offers an attractive ROI. These specific exceptions are vital for investors who prioritize capital efficiency over location, a point we will thoroughly analyze in our upcoming report.

250,000 Euros conversion to residential financial benefits