Greece will revoke investor permits tied to hidden rebates or prohibited subletting, Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris said on October 15, 2026. He made the announcement at Prodexpo 2026, a real estate conference at the Athens Conservatoire.
The pledge covers investors whose purchase appeared to meet the minimum while money later flowed back to them, as well as permit holders who relet homes for prohibited short stays. Plevris said permits would also be cancelled when a deal was advertised as a route to a permit for less than €250,000, regardless of how the discount was arranged.
He announced no new legislation. Existing rules already ban certain property sublets, but a returned payment after a sale is not expressly addressed in the statute setting out how investors must pay.
Plevris offered a blunt example of the kind of transaction he wants officials to stop:
“We have no interest in a property being sold to a Chinese national for €250,000, in him being guaranteed €100,000 back through a lease, and in him getting a residence permit.”
The rebate crackdown tests a gap in the payment law
Current law requires the full qualifying investment to reach the seller before the residence application is filed. Payment can be made by crossed bank check, credit transfer or card into the seller’s account at a payment institution operating in Greece. The notary who prepared the deed must certify the payment method.
The law does not spell out what happens if a seller or another party returns money after the deed is signed. Sellers and agents have advertised qualifying homes for €180,000 to €230,000, with promised rental income or other arrangements sending part of the price back to the investor. The paperwork can show the required sum even when the net investment falls below it.
Circular 1/2026 addresses suspected arrangements in its 23rd clarification. It directs the ministry to refer cases to tax and law enforcement authorities and the Hellenic Anti-Money Laundering Authority. The clarification covers misleading descriptions of permit conditions, whether advertised in Greece or in an investor’s home country, and unexplained or undocumented transfers before or after an investment that leave its actual value substantially below the legal floor.
| Enforcement ground | Consequence or legal position |
|---|---|
| Concealed refund or misleading advertising | The ministry says established cases can lead to permits being revoked; the statute does not expressly cover post-sale refunds. |
| Prohibited subletting | The law provides for permit revocation and a separate €50,000 administrative fine for the property’s owner or holder. |
That difference could shape enforcement. The short-let penalties are written into law, while the rebate approach relies on a circular and referrals to authorities. Legal advisers warn that cancellation decisions over returned funds could be challenged if officials cannot point to a clear statutory basis; they expect lawmakers to clarify the rule if the government pursues cases at scale.
The rental ban already carries a statutory fine
Article 100 of the Migration Code, Law 5038/2023, as amended by Law 5100/2024, bars investors from letting or subletting covered properties for short stays through the sharing economy. A 2024 ministry circular told regional offices to revoke or refuse to renew permits when they find violations, in addition to imposing administrative fines.
Circular 1/2026, signed in April 2026 by Secretary General for Migration Policy Konstantina Papakosta, uses the definition in Greece’s general rental rules. It covers leases or subleases of fewer than 60 days when the operator provides only accommodation and bed linen. The rule applies whether a property is listed on a digital platform or not.
A long lease to a hotel or another tourism business that provides services beyond accommodation is excluded. But an operator who rents a home for a longer term and then offers stays under 60 days with only a bed and linen falls within the ban. Properties acquired under rules predating Law 5100/2024, and investments completed during the transition period after its passage, are outside the prohibition.
Plevris said the restriction targets how homes are used, not simply who owns them. “What did we remove that was very important? We removed short-term rentals, because what matters is not who owns a property, but whether it is made available for long-term use,” he said.
The investment thresholds vary by location and property type
Law 5100/2024 replaced the earlier €250,000 and €500,000 location-based framework with higher standard minimums and narrower reduced-price categories. The standard requirement is €800,000 in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 residents. Elsewhere, the minimum is €400,000.
The standard route requires one property, rather than several smaller units combined to reach the threshold. For a built property or one with an issued building permit, the main areas must total at least 120 square metres. Storage and parking do not count toward that area, though their value may count toward the price when they are ancillary spaces acquired in the same deed and building.
Two categories retain a €250,000 minimum. One covers a property converted from non-residential to residential use, provided the legal change is complete before the application and after 5 April 2024, with the required engineer’s certificate. The property need not meet the 120-square-metre rule, but merely being capable of conversion is not enough. The converted property cannot serve as a company’s registered seat or branch.
The other reduced-price category covers restoration or reconstruction of a listed building, including a part of one or a property containing a listed building. Circular 1/2026 says the reduced-price privilege can be used only once for that property, so a later purchaser cannot claim the same threshold again. The standard rules impose no requirement to rent the property: an investor may use it privately, rent it long-term or hold it without tenants.
Plevris said the program was first intended to stimulate construction when the sector faced serious difficulties, but housing pressures have shifted government priorities. He argued that ending the program would not automatically add homes, and said the government wants investors to convert spaces unsuitable for housing and bring more properties into use, including outside central Athens. Chinese nationals lead the investor group, followed by Turkish nationals, with Israelis and Britons also among the leading nationalities.
The enforcement pledge lands amid a wider political dispute
On October 6, 2026, PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis proposed abolishing the property route and replacing it with an “Angel Visa” tied to productive business investment. His amendment would apply the rental restriction to current holders when their five-year permits come up for renewal.
“The Golden Visa was established in the years of the crisis as an emergency medicine,” Androulakis told lawmakers. “Today, however, this medicine has become poison.”
New Democracy parliamentary spokesman Notis Mitarakis dismissed the proposal. He helped legislate the original program in 2013. PASOK has just over 30 deputies in the 300-seat parliament and cannot pass its amendment without New Democracy’s support.
Christina Georgaki of Georgaki Law Firm said the program “has not been shown to be a primary driver of Greece’s housing crisis.” She said the €800,000 minimum in the highest-priced areas exceeds the budget typically available to an average Greek household, putting those investors in “a distinctly different segment of the [market].”
Plevris said officials want to attract investors who can redevelop spaces that are not currently suitable for housing, then use the finished properties themselves or offer them for long-term rent. He also said the program should not be treated as either wholly beneficial or the main cause of the housing crisis. The next enforcement decisions will test how authorities apply the circular’s rebate guidance alongside the statutory rental restrictions.
