The Secret Greek Golden Visa: Residency Without Buying Property
For the past year, we have been working behind the scenes to secure our residency in Greece. While most people assume a Greek Golden Visa requires buying real estate at €250,000, €400,000, or €800,000, we discovered a way to get our Golden Visa without requiring property ownership.
This is how we got our Greek Golden Visa. We also answer the question of how much it costs to get a Greek Golden Visa at the bottom of the post.
Step 1: Getting a 1-year FIP visa (optional)
We were told the Golden Visa would take 3-4 months, and we were concerned we’d run out of time waiting in Greece. So we got a 1-year visa first while we worked on our Golden Visa. In order to get the 1-year visa, we started the process in Houston where the Greek Consolute is for us as Texas residents. We did a complete video about that process, so please watch that to answer your questions.
Step 2: Navigating the Investment and Legal Roadmap
We found a lesser-known alternative to the Greek Golden Visa tucked away in the fine print: investing €350,000 into a qualified Greek mutual fund. In order to get the Golden Visa via investment, we had three main points to conquer.
- The Attorney Factor: Navigating Greek bureaucracy on your own is nearly impossible. We hired a local attorney who specialized in these exact filings to handle our tax IDs, bank accounts, and power of attorney.
- The Bank Choice: Out of all the institutions in Greece, EuroBank is one of the few that actively works smoothly with U.S. citizens while navigating foreign tax reporting requirements.
- The Documentation: Just like our initial 1-year visa, we needed FBI background checks, medical clearances, apostilled marriage certificates, and private health insurance.
Step 3: Waiting for the Ministry of Investment to Verify our Funds
After opening the bank account, we transferred money to the account, then purchased the mutual fund. Here is the prospectus of the mutual fund. (We are not attorneys, brokers, financial advisors, etc. This is our personal experience.) At that point, our attorney notified the Ministry of Investment. Their job is to follow the money and make sure the funds weren’t nefarious. That took almost 10 months.
Step 4: Submitting the Visa Application
Once the Ministry approved the investment, our attorney finally submitted our application. It took about 2-3 weeks for Immigration to accept it. They asked for another copy of our marriage certificate. About a month later, we were approved.
Step 5: Getting Fingerprinted
Once approved, we made an appointment with the Biometrics office to get our finger prints done. It took a couple of weeks to get the appointment.
Step 5: Receiving Residency Cards
It takes 1-3 months to get our residency cards. We are still awaiting them. But our temporary paperwork gives us all the rights of having the card, so we are currently residents.
The Real Cost Breakdown and Insurance Essentials
One of the best parts of choosing Greece is that it remains one of the most affordable residency options in all of Europe. Here is a look at the hard costs involved for a married couple utilizing the primary applicant and family member structure:
- Government Application & Card Fees: €2,182 total (approx. $2,500 USD) for the primary applicant and secondary family member
- Legal Fees: €3,000 plus 24% VAT tax, coming out to €3,720 (approx. $4,300 USD)
- Total Out-of-Pocket Investment: Roughly $6,800 USD in administrative and legal fees to secure a 5-year European residency
A Special Note about Insurance Coverage: We maintain two layers of protection. We carry affordable local Greek insurance (~$100/year) to meet visa requirements and grant us access to public hospitals, paired with comprehensive travel medical coverage through Mondial for broader coverage across Schengen.
We are happy to have our Greek visa for three reasons: we now have a place to go to outside of the USA if we need one, we have access to Greek hospitals, and we have easier access to the Schengen zone for travel.
Watch the full breakdown on YouTube.
Chris Englert, the Walking Traveler, believes walking is the platform for life. Wanderlusting since the age of 5, she’s since traveled all 50 US states and 62 countries. Chris shares her love of walking while traveling via blogs, books, and presentations. A natural storyteller, she invites you along as she explores the world, one walk at a time.
Currently, Chris and her husband, Steve, travel the world, full-time as nomads, with just their two carry-ons. They’ve been traveling since May, 2021.