Choosing a Greece Golden Visa property is not only a question of price or location. For an investor, the decisive issue is whether the exact property, transaction structure and supporting documents satisfy the route being used. Santheos therefore approaches each project as a document-led transaction rather than a marketing promise.
Our role is to coordinate the commercial, technical and filing workstreams, while the relevant lawyer, notary, engineer and public authorities retain their own professional and statutory responsibilities. Project documentation is reviewed and verified by Santheos’ internal legal and risk-control teams before we describe a unit as fully eligible. This expression is project-specific and evidence-based; it is not a government certification, an approval guarantee or a substitute for the investor’s independent legal and technical advice.
What Santheos checks before presenting a project
For a EUR 250,000 commercial-to-residential conversion project, the review must begin with the legal route itself. The special conversion route should not be confused with the ordinary residential-property thresholds that apply under other Golden Visa categories.
The Greek National Registry of Administrative Public Services describes the conversion route under Article 100(B.5) of Law 5038/2023, as amended by Article 64 of Law 5100/2024. Its current procedure page states, among other conditions, that the investment concerns one property acquired in full ownership and possession for at least EUR 250,000, and that the qualifying change of use must have been completed after 5 April 2024 and before the residence-permit application. The 120-square-metre minimum applicable to certain other real-estate routes does not apply to this conversion category.
For every unit, the practical review should cover at least four tracks:
- Legal title: the seller’s right to transfer the exact property, title history, cadastral or registry evidence, encumbrances and the draft notarial deed.
- Change of use: the relevant permit, update or revision, approved plans and a route-specific engineer’s technical report confirming the timing and legal basis of the conversion.
- Transaction evidence: the agreed acquisition value, permitted payment method, banking records and the notarial certificate recording the parties, property, consideration and payment details.
- Filing readiness: the investor’s personal documents, property documents, insurance and the lawyer’s current filing checklist.
A project reference such as ST-041 must therefore be assessed through the current documents for the specific unit being purchased. A project name, brochure, reservation form or website statement cannot replace that evidence.
A controlled transaction process
Santheos structures the investor process around decision points, so that payment and filing steps are linked to the evidence available at that stage.
- Before reservation: identify the exact unit, seller, acquisition structure and Golden Visa route; request the reservation terms and the list of refundable and non-refundable amounts.
- Before the main payment: complete legal title review, obtain the technical file and clarify what change-of-use work has already been completed and what remains outstanding.
- Before signing the deed: reconcile the property description, price, payment trail and engineer/notary documents; confirm that the deed contains the information required for the intended residence-permit route.
- Before filing: confirm registration evidence, the final engineer’s report, payment evidence and all applicant and family documents with the filing lawyer.
- After acquisition: retain the deed, registration records, payment evidence, insurance and permit-renewal file; obtain advice before any resale or restructuring.
How timing should be communicated
The official procedure page currently publishes a 50-day administrative completion deadline for the initial change-of-use Golden Visa procedure. This is an official service standard, not a promise that every investor will receive a decision or residence card within a fixed number of days. Actual timing can be affected by document completeness, biometric appointments, requests for additional evidence, registration formalities and the workload or decisions of the competent authority.
Santheos does not promise a predetermined permit-delivery date, claim privileged access to public administration or describe a residence permit as certain. Our practical commitment is narrower and more useful: keep the transaction file organised, identify missing evidence early and make clear which professional or authority is responsible for each decision.
Company purchases require extra care
The official procedure also allows acquisition through a legal entity established in Greece or another EU Member State where the applicant owns all shares or corporate interests. Investors considering this structure should verify beneficial ownership, constitutional documents, corporate approvals, payment source and the way the notarial deed records the acquisition. Company ownership should be chosen only after individual legal and tax advice; it is not automatically better than personal ownership.
Residence, tax and citizenship are separate questions
A Golden Visa residence permit does not itself answer every tax or citizenship question. Greek tax residence is determined under separate rules, including residence, habitual abode, centre of vital interests and, in relevant circumstances, presence exceeding 183 days. Citizenship by naturalisation is also a separate legal process requiring lawful residence and other formal and substantive conditions. Investors should not treat property purchase as an automatic passport route.
Questions to ask Santheos before committing
- Which exact paragraph of Article 100 is being relied upon for this unit?
- What document proves that the qualifying change of use was completed after 5 April 2024?
- Has the engineer reviewed the precise cadastral and planning identity of the unit?
- What remains to be paid, to whom, by which permitted method and against which contractual milestone?
- Which documents are still conditions precedent to the deed or filing?
- Who is responsible for legal review, technical certification, notarisation, registration and immigration filing?
For additional practical questions, see the Santheos Golden Visa Answers. Every answer should still be checked against the investor’s current facts and the documents of the selected property.
Official sources
- National Registry of Administrative Public Services: Permanent Golden Visa (change of use) – Initial issuance, last updated 4 August 2026.
- Law 5100/2024, Article 64, Government Gazette A 49, 5 April 2024.
- Law 5038/2023, Article 100, Immigration Code, Government Gazette A 81, 1 April 2023.
- Ministry of Migration and Asylum Circular 9/2024, issued 24 September 2024.
- Independent Authority for Public Revenue: Tax residence of natural persons.
- Ministry of Interior: Greek Citizenship Code.
This article provides general information as of 7 September 2026. It does not replace project-specific legal, tax, technical or immigration advice.
