They want to tie Golden Visa to long-term lease: investors will be allowed to buy several properties at once

Greece is preparing a new Golden Visa model: they want to allow foreign investors to buy not one, but several real estate properties at once – provided that all purchased housing will be used exclusively for long-term rental.

The initiative is part of the National Housing Policy Strategy for 2026–2035 and should be another attempt by the state to combine the influx of foreign capital with the fight against the shortage of affordable housing.

According to Οικονομικός Ταχυδρόμοςthe authorities are preparing a separate Golden Visa category directly related to long-term rentals.

The main change is several objects instead of one

Today, a significant portion of the Golden Visa investment categories are built around the purchase one property corresponding cost.

For example, for the category of converting a commercial property into a residential one, the current rules require an investment of at least €250 thousand in just one property. This is directly reflected in the official register of administrative procedures MITOS.

The new model must change the principle itself.

The investor is supposed to be allowed to form portfolio of several objectsrather than investing all the necessary capital in one apartment, house or building.

But in return, a key condition appears: the acquired property must be used only for long term rental.

Short term rentals excluded

This is a continuation of the policy that the authorities have been pursuing for several years.

Properties purchased under the current Golden Visa are no longer allowed to be rented out through short-term rental platforms using the Airbnb model.

Official government housing policy portal expressly states: objects purchased for the initial receipt or renewal of an investor residence permit cannot be used for short-term rental or sublease.

In the new category, this principle will become even stricter: long-term rental will no longer be just a permitted option for using real estate, but condition of the investment scheme itself.

In addition, a control mechanism is envisaged to check whether the investor actually complies with this requirement.

Why are the authorities changing the Golden Visa again?

The reason is the housing crisis.

The government is trying to increase the supply of apartments for permanent tenants and at the same time return empty or underutilized properties to the market.

The Athens News has already reported on a wider National Housing Policy Strategy 2026–2035. It includes about 50 measures with a total value of more than €6.5 billion – from preferential financing and social rent to changes to investment mechanisms.

The new Golden Visa is part of this strategy.

What will happen to investment thresholds?

Here it is important to distinguish between the existing norms and the new proposed category.

Currently, the main regional Golden Visa thresholds are:

• €800 thousand — Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with a population of more than 3,100 people;
• €400 thousand – most of the rest of the country;
• €250 thousand — special cases, including certain objects with a change in purpose and protected historical buildings.

“Athens News” examined in detail the consequences of raising the investment threshold to €800 thousand in the material “Golden Visa for €800 thousand: what happened to real estate prices in Greece”.

However, the final technical conditions of the new category – in particular, how exactly the investment thresholds will be combined with a portfolio of several objects – must be set out in separate regulations.

Why do authorities consider this model profitable?

In theory, the scheme allows you to solve two problems at once.

The investor still has the opportunity to obtain a residence permit through real estate, but his capital is distributed among several residential properties.

These properties should then enter the long-term rental market.

That is, instead of one expensive apartment costing, for example, €800 thousand, an investor will potentially be able to purchase several more affordable properties for the same total amount.

If they are all permanently rented, more apartments will appear on the market.

That is why the authorities are considering such a mechanism as part of the fight against the housing shortage.

Of particular interest are old buildings and office conversions

At the same time, the government continues to rely on real estate, which today is practically not used as housing.

We are talking about:

• former office buildings;
• closed retail facilities;
• old industrial buildings;
• protected historical sites;
• premises that can be converted into apartments.

For some of these investments there is already a special threshold of €250 thousand.

The Athens News wrote in detail about how the authorities redirect Golden Visa to old and industrial buildings.

Now this logic is actually expanding: the state wants not only to receive reconstructed housing, but also to ensure that it ends up on the permanent rental market.

Interest in Golden Visa has decreased after raising thresholds

At the same time, the structure of demand is changing.

According to the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, in the first half of 2026 there were registered 2551 new applications to the original Golden Visa.

The main activity is concentrated in lower investment categories – around €250 thousand and below €400 thousand, while there are relatively few applications at the €800 thousand threshold.

We have already analyzed these statistics in the article “Golden Visa in Greece: who is the leader among foreign investors today”.

As of June 2026, there were 24,976 active initial investor permits. Almost half are Chinese citizens, and Türkiye confidently takes second place.

Visa is no longer the main reason for buying real estate

There is another interesting change.

According to data provided in the housing strategy, only about 7% Foreign buyers cite obtaining a Golden Visa as their main reason for purchasing property in Greece.

Near 30.8% are looking for housing for permanent relocation, and the largest group – 44.4% – wants to buy a holiday home.

This means that the Greek market is gradually ceasing to be solely a “residence permit purchase” market.

That is why the authorities are trying to change the Golden Visa so that it does not compete with local residents for a limited number of apartments, but rather creates a new supply.

But there is also a downside

In theory, the scheme looks attractive.

However, its effectiveness will depend on the details.

If investors are allowed to buy a few existing apartments in areas where there is a shortage of supply, this could again increase the demand for cheap housing and raise prices.

Then part of the positive effect from the appearance of additional apartments for long-term rental will be eaten up by the increase in the cost of purchasing real estate.

Therefore, it is much more important how much the new scheme will stimulate creation of new housing and return of empty propertiesand not simply a redistribution of an existing fund among foreign investors.

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