Scouting for Home: Greece & Golden Visas

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Later this month, my partner Rob and I will be visiting Greece—yes, because of its Golden Visa program. I’d heard the term often, but only recently began to research it. What I found is that the rules around residency and citizenship for Americans are constantly evolving, and the costs vary widely. As financial expert Scott Galloway says, we now live in a time when rights aren’t granted by nationality—they’re bought. If you have the means, you can purchase a passport to just about anywhere and when you get there you can obtain whatever rights you are after. Countries entry fee can be found listed on sites that resemble eBay. Since I don’t wish to leave a country that’s fast resembling Viktor Orban’s style of leadership to enter one, I’m heading to Greece. 

Unlike programs that require investment in a country’s infrastructure (after that you can buy a home), Greece’s Golden Visa offers a path to residency—and potentially citizenship—through real estate ownership. A few years ago, countries like Italy and Portugal had similar programs, but they’ve since ended. Today, only a few countries—Greece, Hungary, and Latvia among them—still offer this option. Researching these programs can be confusing, as many websites blur the lines, promoting “Golden Visas” that are actually just investment-for-access schemes.

Our task was to identify five cities in Greece where we might consider living—very different from choosing a vacation spot. Our priorities included a population between 30,000 and 100,000, coastal access, a presence of expats, a rich cultural life, walkability, and most importantly, eligibility under Zone B of the Golden Visa. In Zone B, a €400,000 real estate investment qualifies you for the program. In Zone A, the requirement doubles to €800,000—which is outside our budget, as we hope to preserve enough savings to live on and earn some interest.

We chose: Nafplio, Kalamata, Preveza, Volos, and the Pelion Peninsula. 

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