Portugal Golden Visa vs Greece Golden Visa 2026: side-by-side comparison
A neutral, field-by-field reference built from the same facts registry as the Golden Visa Index. It compares programmes; it does not recommend one.
Freshness: verified through Scope: programme rules recorded for Portugal and Greece only
Answer first
The decisive differences
Investment: The registry records the same headline figure for both programmes: €250,000. Portugal registry context: €250,000 non-refundable cultural/heritage capital transfer is the cheapest route (Lei 23/2007 art. 90.º-A vi; a 20% low-density-territory reduction to €200K exists but is geography-restricted). (The fund route is €500K.) Greece registry context: €250,000 for commercial→residential conversion or listed-building restoration, nationwide.
Citizenship timeline: Portugal’s recorded eligibility field is 10 years to eligibility under the nationality-specific tiers in the registry note; Greece’s is 7 years to eligibility subject to the conditions in the registry note; these are conditional eligibility fields, not citizenship promises.
Permit presence: Greece has the lighter permit-maintenance stay rule: 7 days per year for Portugal vs 0 days per year for Greece; permit stay rules do not replace citizenship-residence conditions.
Programme stability: Greece has the lower internal closure-risk score: 4 for Portugal vs 3 for Greece.
Source at every cell
Side-by-side programme table
Every value below is projected from the programme registry. The authority hostname and verification date remain visible inside each programme cell so a figure never loses its provenance when quoted out of context.
Dimension
🇵🇹Portugal Golden Visa
🇬🇷Greece Golden Visa
Programme status
Open
Nationality reform ENACTED: Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 published in Diário da República 18 May 2026, in force 19 May 2026. Citizenship clock now 7 years (Portuguese-speaking/CPLP + EU nationals) or 10 years (all others); pending applications keep the prior regime. Source: Diário da República + Ministério da Justiça. The €1.5M capital-transfer route (bank deposit / government bonds) closed to new applications on 7 October 2023 with the real-estate routes (Lei 56/2023).
Tiers set by Law 5100/2024 art. 64 (in force 5 April 2024; ministry circular 9 of 24 Sept 2024): €800K in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Thira and islands over 3,100 inhabitants; €400K elsewhere; €250K for commercial-to-residential conversions and listed-building restorations; golden-visa properties may not be short-term let (€50K fine under Migration Code art. 100 as amended). Law 5275/2026 (Feb 2026) amended family-member provisions, not the tiers. A separate short-term-rental registration freeze applies in central Athens (districts 1–3, through end-2026) and Thessaloniki (from Mar 2026) — an urban registry rule.
€250,000 non-refundable cultural/heritage capital transfer is the cheapest route (Lei 23/2007 art. 90.º-A vi; a 20% low-density-territory reduction to €200K exists but is geography-restricted). (The fund route is €500K.)
Cultural donation:€250,000Capital transfer to approved cultural/heritage projects; non-refundable. €200K only in low-density territories (20% reduction).
Investment fund:€500,000 · primary registry routeQualifying CMVM-registered fund; ≥60% Portuguese-companies allocation; 6–8 year hold typical.
Research donation:€500,000Contribution to Portuguese research institutions.
Job creation:No fixed capital amountCreate and maintain 10+ full-time jobs in Portugal.
Real estate:€250,000Commercial-to-residential conversions or listed-building restoration, anywhere in Greece.
Real estate:€400,000 · primary registry routeStandard real estate outside prime-zone list.
Real estate:€800,000Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, the Mykonos and Thira (Santorini) regional units, and islands over 3,100 inhabitants.
Government bonds:€500,000Greek sovereign bonds with ≥3-year residual maturity (€500k).
Bank deposit:€500,000Fixed-term deposit in a Greek bank, auto-renewable (€500k).
Company shares:€800,000Purchase of shares or corporate bonds already traded on a Greek regulated market (art. 99(1)(στ)).
Company shares:€500,000Capital-increase shares or newly issued bonds of a Greek company with its head office or an establishment in Greece (portfolio-investment and real-estate-investment companies excluded), admitted to a Greek regulated market or MTF, via a certified intermediary (art. 99(1)(a)). Appended after the historical routes so calculator route indices stay stable.
ENACTED (Lei Orgânica 1/2026, in force 19 May 2026): 7 years for Portuguese-speaking/CPLP + EU nationals, 10 years for all others (this field shows the 10y 'others' tier). Pending applications keep the prior regime. The earlier '5-year' claim is now outdated.
Real estate removed 2023; citizenship timeline lengthened (Lei Orgânica 1/2026). Programme continues but politically less durable than a decade ago.
Internal risk score 3
Reformed in 2024 rather than closed; unlikely to close outright but thresholds may rise further.
Registry change notes
What changed
These notes reproduce the registry’s status, original-amount, and closure-risk fields. Statutes appear only when the registry itself names them.
🇵🇹 Portugal Golden Visa
Current registry status
Open. Nationality reform ENACTED: Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 published in Diário da República 18 May 2026, in force 19 May 2026. Citizenship clock now 7 years (Portuguese-speaking/CPLP + EU nationals) or 10 years (all others); pending applications keep the prior regime. Source: Diário da República + Ministério da Justiça. The €1.5M capital-transfer route (bank deposit / government bonds) closed to new applications on 7 October 2023 with the real-estate routes (Lei 56/2023).
Original-amount context
No original-currency amount is recorded for this programme’s routes.
Stability / closure context
Real estate removed 2023; citizenship timeline lengthened (Lei Orgânica 1/2026). Programme continues but politically less durable than a decade ago.
Open, with reforms. Tiers set by Law 5100/2024 art. 64 (in force 5 April 2024; ministry circular 9 of 24 Sept 2024): €800K in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Thira and islands over 3,100 inhabitants; €400K elsewhere; €250K for commercial-to-residential conversions and listed-building restorations; golden-visa properties may not be short-term let (€50K fine under Migration Code art. 100 as amended). Law 5275/2026 (Feb 2026) amended family-member provisions, not the tiers. A separate short-term-rental registration freeze applies in central Athens (districts 1–3, through end-2026) and Thessaloniki (from Mar 2026) — an urban registry rule.
Original-amount context
No original-currency amount is recorded for this programme’s routes.
Stability / closure context
Reformed in 2024 rather than closed; unlikely to close outright but thresholds may rise further.
Which has the lower listed investment, Portugal or Greece?+
Portugal has the lower headline registry minimum. Portugal: €250,000 — €250,000 non-refundable cultural/heritage capital transfer is the cheapest route (Lei 23/2007 art. 90.º-A vi; a 20% low-density-territory reduction to €200K exists but is geography-restricted). (The fund route is €500K.) Greece: €250,000 — €250,000 for commercial→residential conversion or listed-building restoration, nationwide. Sources: aima.gov.pt (verified 2026-09-09); migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-09-09).
Which has the shorter citizenship timeline, Portugal or Greece?+
Portugal: 10 years to eligibility. ENACTED (Lei Orgânica 1/2026, in force 19 May 2026): 7 years for Portuguese-speaking/CPLP + EU nationals, 10 years for all others (this field shows the 10y 'others' tier). Pending applications keep the prior regime. The earlier '5-year' claim is now outdated. Greece: 7 years to eligibility. Requires B1 Greek language test. These figures describe conditional eligibility, not guaranteed citizenship, and the permit-maintenance stay rule is not a substitute for naturalisation residence conditions. Sources: aima.gov.pt (verified 2026-09-09); migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-09-09).
Which programme includes parents, Portugal or Greece?+
Portugal: parents are listed on dependency terms. Greece: parents are listed. Dependency and evidence conditions still apply where the registry marks them. Sources: aima.gov.pt (verified 2026-09-09); migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-09-09).
What is the minimum stay for Portugal and Greece?+
Portugal: 7 days per year; 14 days in first 2-year permit, 14 days per each 2-year renewal period. Greece: 0 days per year; No minimum stay required to maintain the permit. These are permit-maintenance figures, not citizenship-residence rules. Sources: aima.gov.pt (verified 2026-09-09); migration.gov.gr (verified 2026-09-09).