Across Europe the Golden Visa domino has already fallen.
One country after another is restricting or dismantling its investor residency schemes.
Ireland has officially closed its Immigrant Investor Programme, the Netherlands has terminated its investor visa route, Portugal has ended the Golden Visa through real estate purchases in high demand zones and Spain has formally abolished its property based Golden Visa.
At the same time the European Commission has increased pressure on member states to phase out investment based residency and citizenship schemes due to concerns about transparency, security and financial oversight.
Older programmes proved vulnerable to misuse and the European Union is no longer willing to assume the associated risks.
Greece, however, chose a different strategy.
Instead of shutting down its Golden Visa programme the country redesigned it to remain legal, secure and fully aligned with EU directives.
As of 2025 the minimum investment in prime areas such as Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini has been set at 800,000€ while in other regions the threshold stands at 400,000€. These investments must involve a single property and in several categories the law prohibits short term Airbnb style rentals to ensure proper residential use and compliance.
The well known 250,000€ category now applies only to specific cases such as conversions of commercial properties into residential units or redevelopment of designated buildings.
These opportunities exist but are limited and require strict due diligence.
For traditional residential purchases the four hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand thresholds are now the prevailing standard.
This brings us to the point that matters most to international investors.
Greece remains one of the very few countries in the European Union that still offers a real estate based residency permit with a comparatively low entry point in certain eligible projects.
No other major EU member state currently maintains a functioning property investment route at this level.
For investors seeking access to the Schengen Zone through a transparent and lawful scheme this makes Greece the last meaningful gateway in Europe.
Timing is essential.
With most European programmes closing, raising thresholds or imposing severe restrictions Greece continues to offer a stable and attractive pathway.
Applicants complete a single property purchase, visit Greece once for biometric data and typically receive a five year residency permit within a few months depending on administrative workload and legal processing.
Epsilon Team Real Estate ensures that the procedure is seamless from start to finish. We collaborate with reliable developers in all eligible areas, verify property legality, coordinate lawyers, engineers and notaries and provide a complete investment solution without requiring repeated travel.
The investor arrives once for biometrics and then receives both the property and the residency permit granting free movement across the Schengen Zone.
The present moment is exceptionally favourable.
Demand in the eligible regions is rising steadily because similar opportunities no longer exist elsewhere in Europe.
Investors waiting for past programmes to reopen will wait indefinitely.
Those who act now in Greece secure access to the last affordable and operational Golden Visa framework within the European Union, a gateway that remains open today but may not remain open for long.