Can Chinese citizens buy property in Greece? Yes, except in the border areas, where you apply first.

Can Chinese citizens buy property in Greece?

Yes. EU and non-EU individuals and companies can buy land and buildings in most of Greece on the same terms as Greek nationals. The one nationality based limit is in designated border areas, where a buyer from outside the EU and EFTA needs the prohibition under Law 1892/1990 lifted before the purchase.

You also need a Greek tax number, the AFM, before buying. The transfer is by notarial deed, and a lawyer is standard practice for foreign buyers even though it is not required in every case. Title is recorded on the Hellenic Cadastre, and the property's KAEK, its cadastral certificate and a copy of the cadastral sheet are what you read before signing.

The full position: foreign property ownership in Greece, explained.

Which Greek border areas need permission, and how is it obtained?

The border areas listed under Law 1892/1990 include the Dodecanese and Rhodes, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Evros, Santorini and Skyros. A non-EU or non-EFTA buyer applies to have the prohibition lifted, stating the intended use. A committee at the regional Decentralised Administration decides, and the Defence ministry representative must consent.

Read the list again, because it contains some of the places a foreign buyer is most likely to be shown. Santorini is on it. Rhodes is on it. This is not an obscure technicality reserved for farmland on a frontier.

Build the application into the timetable rather than treating it as a formality after the deposit. A committee decision with a ministry consent attached is not something a sale agreement should assume will land by a fixed completion date.

What do China's foreign exchange rules say about buying property abroad?

SAFE, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, publishes an individual facility with an annual total equivalent to USD 50,000 per person. Overseas property purchase is not among the uses the individual foreign exchange purchase application form permits. Take professional advice on lawful routes before committing to a purchase abroad.

Article 2 of the Detailed Rules for the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange gives the annual total amount as the equivalent of 50,000 dollars for each person every year. SAFE's own explanation of those rules separates current account items, which run under the annual amount, from capital account items, which carry their own approval and registration steps.

Since 2017 an individual buying foreign exchange completes an application form stating the purpose, and As SAFE's own form states, the form does not permit the foreign exchange to be used for property, securities or dividend paying insurance products abroad.

Greece makes the paper trail explicit on its own side. The price must be paid by traceable bank transfer and the deed records how it was paid, and for golden visa purchases the file is checked for the payer, the bank route, the amounts and consistency with the deed. A funding arrangement that cannot survive that check is not a funding arrangement. Resolve it with a qualified professional first.

This page states the published rules and does not set out ways around them.

Does buying in Greece give a Chinese citizen residency, and who uses it?

Yes, through the golden visa, at set thresholds. As of September 2026: EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands over 3,100 inhabitants, EUR 400,000 elsewhere, in one property of at least 120 square metres. A EUR 250,000 route covers only conversions and listed buildings.

Two conditions decide whether the investment works as an investment. Golden visa property must not be let short term: breach leads to revocation of the permit and a EUR 50,000 fine. Long term letting is allowed. And the 120 square metre minimum applies to the EUR 800,000 and EUR 400,000 routes.

On who already uses it, there is a named figure. SchengenVisaInfo, citing the Greek Ministry of Immigration Policy and Asylum, reported on 6 March 2025 that 6,398 golden visas had been issued to Chinese investors by January 2025, ahead of Turkish nationals at 1,367 and Lebanese at 775. That is the largest single group in the programme by a wide margin.

Is Greece raising the transfer tax to 15 percent for non-EU buyers?

It was announced, not legislated. On 5 and 6 September 2026 the Prime Minister announced a rise from 3 percent to 15 percent on home purchases by non-EU citizens. As of 22 September 2026 no law was in force, and reports disagreed on whether it would start on 1 January or 1 July 2027.

Treat it as a live risk to the cost of a 2027 purchase and not as a cost today. Scope and exemptions were not published, which means nobody can yet tell you whether a particular purchase would fall inside it.

What applies today is transfer tax at 3.09 percent of the higher of price and objective value. New builds with a post-2006 permit currently pay that instead of 24 percent VAT, with the suspension running to 31 December 2026. Add notary, cadastre registration, agent and lawyer, and total costs typically land in the 7 to 11 percent range.

The full stack: Greece property buying costs.

What does a Chinese owner pay in Greece each year and on exit?

ENFIA, the Single Property Tax, is levied on everyone holding property rights in Greece on 1 January, non-residents included. Rent is taxed on a scale of 15, 25, 35 and 45 percent from tax year 2026. Capital gains tax of 15 percent exists but is suspended until 31 December 2026.

The suspension is the figure to date-stamp. Extensions were reported in 2026, to 2027 or later, and one report said the tax might be abolished, but none of that was legislated as of September 2026. A sale timed on the assumption that the suspension continues is a sale exposed to a change you cannot control.

One letting rule matters if the plan is short term rental. No new short-term rental registrations have been accepted in central Athens districts 1 to 3 since 2025, announced to run through 2027 and to extend to central Thessaloniki.

The full stack: Greece property tax for foreigners.

Header photo: George E. Koronaios, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.