The order in one paragraph
You choose a property and appoint your own Greek lawyer. The lawyer gets you a Greek tax number, opens a bank account with you, checks the property and the seller, and reads every contract. You sign the deed before a notary and pay the full price through the Greek banking system. When the property meets the route’s conditions, your lawyer files the application online. You give your fingerprints in Greece. The authorities decide.
Every step, who owns it, and what it produces
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Check the route and the property
Produces: a shortlist, and the questions for your lawyer.
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Appoint an independent lawyer
Produces: a power of attorney, signed at a Greek consulate or with an apostille, so the lawyer can act for you.
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Tax number and bank account
Produces: your Greek tax number (AFM) and an account at a bank in Greece, needed to pay the price.
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Legal due diligence
Produces: a report on title, encumbrances, permits, the legal use and, for a conversion, the permitting act.
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Reservation, if any
Produces: a written agreement your lawyer has read. Any pre-payment is part of the price and follows the payment rules.
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The deed
Produces: the notarial deed, recording the price, the payer and the accounts. The transfer tax is paid before signing.
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Payment of the full price
Produces: proof of payment by transfer, crossed cheque or card into the seller’s account at a bank in Greece.
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Registration
Produces: the property registered in your name at the Hellenic Cadastre.
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For a conversion: completion
Produces: the engineer’s report that the change of use is complete.
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The application
Produces: a filing certificate that lets you stay in Greece while the file is examined.
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Biometrics
Produces: fingerprints and photographs for the cards; children under six give none.
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The decision and the cards
Produces: a residence card for the investor and each family member, valid for five years.
The documents your file will need
Your lawyer prepares the list for your case. It usually includes passports, the deed and proof of payment, the Cadastre certificate, proof of health insurance for each applicant, civil-status documents for family members (translated and apostilled) and the fees. For a converted property, the engineer’s report on the change of use. The official list is the decision on documents, JMD 214926/2025.
What you can do from abroad
Almost everything. With a power of attorney your lawyer can get the tax number, open the bank account with you remotely where the bank allows it, sign the deed on your behalf and file the application, even before you have travelled to Greece. You may enter Greece visa-free, on a Schengen visa or on another residence permit; a national visa is not required.
The one trip you cannot avoid
After the application is filed, each applicant aged six or over gives fingerprints in person at the competent service in Greece. Your lawyer books the appointment. One trip is usually enough; ask whether your cards can be collected by your lawyer.
After the decision
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Your card
Valid for five years. Keep the property and your health insurance in place.
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Renewal
Every five years, while you still own the property, with the fees and a declaration about its use.
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If you sell
The permit rests on the property: buy the replacement first, notify, then sell.
Sources
- Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), art. 100, as replaced by Law 5100/2024, art. 64 (accessed October 13, 2026)
- Joint Ministerial Decision 214926/2025 on supporting documents (Government Gazette B' 6014, 11.11.2025) (accessed October 13, 2026)
- Circular 1/2026 of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (Prot. 72019, 21.04.2026), on Diavgeia (accessed October 13, 2026)
- mitos.gov.gr: investor residence permit, change of use, initial issue (accessed October 13, 2026)
- Law 5038/2023, art. 94: entry and residence of third-country nationals (accessed October 13, 2026)
- Joint Ministerial Decision 133692/2024: minimum health insurance for residence permits (accessed October 13, 2026)