Foreign property ownership in Greece, explained: open to foreigners, with a permit in border areas.

Is there any limit on foreigners owning property in Greece?

Only in border areas, as far as found. EU and non-EU individuals and companies can buy land and buildings in most of Greece on the same terms as Greeks, per buyer guides. The only nationality-based rule located is the border-area law, which applies to buyers from outside the EU and EFTA.

That rule, Law 1892/1990 Art. 25, prohibits any transaction creating a right over property in a border area in favour of a person whose nationality or seat is outside the EU and EFTA. It also catches share transfers in companies that own such property.

Which areas of Greece are border areas?

The regional units of the Dodecanese (including Rhodes and Kos), Evros, Thesprotia, Kastoria, Kilkis, Lesvos, Xanthi, Preveza, Rodopi, Samos, Florina and Chios; the islands of Thira (Santorini) and Skyros; and several former provinces and communities in the north and west. Presidential decrees can add or remove areas.

• Former provinces: Nevrokopi, Pogoni, Konitsa, Almopia, Edessa and Sintiki.
• Former communities: Othonoi, Mathraki and Erikoussa.

Santorini and the Dodecanese are both border areas and golden-visa zones, so a non-EU golden-visa buyer there needs the permit too.

How does a non-EU buyer get a border-area permit in Greece?

By applying to have the prohibition lifted, stating the intended use of the property. A committee at the regional Decentralised Administration decides by majority, and the decision needs the consent of the Defence ministry representative.

Law firms report the permit is usually granted for ordinary residential use, but it adds time before the contract can be signed. No processing time was found, and a permit is never automatic.

Does owning property in Greece give residency?

It can, through the golden visa. As of September 2026 the thresholds are EUR 800,000 in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Santorini and islands over 3,100 inhabitants, and EUR 400,000 elsewhere, in a single property of at least 120 m². These tiers applied to purchases from 1 September 2024.

• EUR 250,000 route: only for converting a non-residential building to residential use, or restoring a listed building. The 120 m² minimum does not apply.
• No short-term letting: breach means revocation and a EUR 50,000 fine. Long-term letting is allowed.
• Permit: five years, renewable while the investment is held, with no minimum stay, as reported.
• Proposal, not law: a national housing strategy approved in August 2026 proposes a multi-property category for long-term lets. It is not legislated.

Is Greece restricting foreign buyers from 2027?

Not by law as of 22 September 2026. A rise in transfer tax from 3% to 15% on home purchases by non-EU citizens was announced on 5 and 6 September 2026, with reported start dates of 1 January or 1 July 2027. It changes the cost, not the right to buy.

At the Thessaloniki International Fair on 5 and 6 September 2026 the Prime Minister announced that the transfer tax on home purchases by citizens of non-EU countries would rise from 3% to 15%. As of 22 September 2026 it is an announcement, not law. Reports give different start dates, 1 January 2027 or 1 July 2027, and one reports it covers homes only, not commercial premises or plots. Exemptions, the treatment of golden-visa purchases and whether EFTA or UK citizens count as non-EU were not stated in any source found. Check the published bill before you sign.

Header photo: Yair Haklai, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.