🇬🇷 Greece · Permanent Residency
Permanent-residence routes: eligibility, required years of residence, and the official application steps — including any investment routes where a country offers them.
Quick answer
Greece grants the EU long-term residence permit after generally 5 years of continuous legal residence, with income, health-insurance and Greek-language/integration requirements. It gives near-equal rights to nationals; separately, the Golden Visa offers residence through real-estate or other investment.
Non-EU nationals can obtain long-term resident status in Greece after five years of legal residence; the Golden Visa grants residence through investment. EU citizens gain permanent residence after five years.
- Long-term residence generally follows five years of continuous legal residence.
- The Golden Visa grants residence through qualifying real-estate or other investment.
- EU citizens acquire permanent residence after five years.
Step-by-step
- 1
Choose your route
Choose between the EU long-term residence permit (after 5 years) and the investment-based Golden Visa residence permit.
- 2
Meet the conditions
For long-term residence, show 5 years’ residence, stable income, health insurance, and Greek-language/integration proof.
- 3
Apply to the immigration authority
File the application with the migration authority, providing residence, income and integration documents.
- 4
Complete biometrics
Provide biometrics and undergo checks; the residence permit is issued on approval.
- 5
Maintain and renew
Long-term residence is effectively permanent, renewed periodically; the Golden Visa depends on keeping the qualifying investment.
- 6
Understand path to citizenship
Greek citizenship generally needs 7 years’ residence and a language/civics exam; the Golden Visa alone does not fast-track it.
Checklist
- Route (EU long-term / Golden Visa)
- 5 years’ residence + income + health insurance
- Greek-language / integration proof
- Migration-authority application + documents
- Biometrics + residence permit
- Golden Visa: maintain qualifying investment
- Citizenship ~7 years + language/civics exam
- Avoid long absences
Official authorities
- Ministry of Migration and Asylum
Ministry of Migration and Asylum — long-term residence and Golden Visa.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Golden Visa?
A residence permit granted for a qualifying investment (often real estate above a threshold); it grants residence, not citizenship.
How long until long-term residence?
Generally 5 years of continuous legal residence, plus income, health insurance and Greek-language/integration requirements.
Does the Golden Visa lead to citizenship?
Not directly — citizenship still requires around 7 years’ actual residence and a language/civics exam, regardless of the investment.
Official-information aggregation, not legal advice. Always verify on the authority's own site.