The Greece Golden Visa program stands out as a strong option for investors and professionals looking to evaluate residency, work, and education rights in Europe in 2025. However, this program contains details that are often confused regarding residency, work, and education rights. In this article, I clarify the real rights and limitations offered by the Greece Golden Visa, especially for non-EU entrepreneurs, investors, and highly mobile global professionals. Additionally, I address how Corpenza’s incorporation, payroll, and tax optimization solutions fit into this framework with practical examples for those looking to strategically plan the process.
Basic Framework of the Greece Golden Visa
Legal nature of the program and the 2025 threshold
The Greece Golden Visa (officially named “Residence Permit for Investment Activity”) provides renewable long-term residency permits in exchange for investment to non-EU/EEA citizens. The current framework of the program is determined by the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum. You can access official information directly here: Greek Ministry of Migration Golden Visa page.
During the 2024–2025 period, minimum amounts for real estate investment have increased by region. In high-demand areas (for example, certain neighborhoods in Athens, central Thessaloniki, tourist islands), the lower limit has risen to the range of €400,000–€800,000; lower thresholds still apply in less sought-after areas.
Basic rights: Residency, Schengen travel, family reunification
Summary of rights for the Golden Visa applicant and their family:
- 5-year renewable residency permit (as long as the investment is maintained)
- Right to reside freely in Greece (without minimum stay requirements)
- Visa-free travel in the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in 180 days
- Residency rights for spouse, children under 21, and parents of both parties
- Access to public education and healthcare in Greece
This framework creates a highly flexible model for investors, C-level executives, and freelance professionals who operate with the approach of “move your base to the EU, but manage your schedule yourself.”
Residency Rights with the Golden Visa: Flexible, Yet Conditional Permanence
Minimum stay requirements and renewal dynamics
One of the most attractive aspects of the Greece Golden Visa is that it does not impose a requirement for actual residence to renew the residency permit. This means you do not need to spend a certain number of days in Greece each year to maintain your residency card; maintaining your investment is sufficient.
The practical result of this:
- Investors, family offices, and entrepreneurs looking for a “backup plan” in Europe can keep their residency card active while living in another country.
- High-level executives with busy travel schedules can use the Golden Visa as a “legal option to relocate when necessary.”
Path to permanent residency and citizenship
The Golden Visa does not guarantee citizenship on its own; however, when structured correctly, it opens the legal pathway to permanent residency and subsequently citizenship:
- Residency permit: Indefinite renewal possibility with 5-year periods, as long as the investment is maintained
- Permanent residency / long-term EU residency: Comes into play when certain residency and integration conditions are met.
- Citizenship: Generally requires 7 years of actual residence, language proficiency, integration, and examination requirements.
The critical point here is that for citizenship, simply having a Golden Visa is not enough; you must physically reside in Greece and structure your income-tax declaration accordingly. Corpenza designs structures that optimize tax obligations both in Greece and Turkey (and in any third country, if applicable) at this stage.
Strategic use of residency with Corpenza
When you conceptualize the Golden Visa not just as a “residency card” but as part of a broader mobility strategy, you gain significant advantages. At this point, Corpenza:
- Aligns your residency permit plan with your business model and family plans.
- Consolidates steps such as incorporation in Greece, tax residency, and expansion to a second country within the EU into the same roadmap.
- By re-establishing the residency-company-tax-payroll connection from the start, it minimizes your risks in future compliance audits.
Work Rights with the Golden Visa: What is Possible, What is Not?
The most critical fact: Golden Visa does not automatically grant work permission
The Golden Visa does not directly grant the right to be employed (employee) in Greece. This point is the most common misconception about the program. The Golden Visa card authorizes you to live freely in Greece and conduct your investment; however, to be employed as a payroll worker in a Greek company, you need an additional work permit or a different residency status.
What can you do as an investor, employer, and freelancer?
Your scope of action under the Golden Visa is broad in the following areas:
- You can rent out your real estate and earn rental income.
- You can establish a company in Greece and be a partner and manager of that company.
- You can operate international business models, digital products, consulting, e-commerce, etc., through your company.
- You can earn passive or semi-passive income such as profit shares, dividends, licensing income, and similar.
However, entering employment as a payroll worker relies on a different permit legally. Here, a two-way solution emerges:
- Acting as a “business owner” in a managerial/partner role in your own company.
- Remote work for a company outside Greece; declaring your income at another center.
Practical scenarios for global professionals and remote workers
Professionals working in fields such as technology, finance, design, and consulting particularly use the Golden Visa as follows:
- They reside in Greece while working remotely for their employer in the USA, UK, or Turkey.
- To optimize their income flow from a tax perspective, they invoice through the company established in Greece.
- Start-ups or scale-ups with regional expansion goals sell to EU customers through their Greek company.
Corpenza fully takes over the international accounting, tax planning, and compliance aspects in such models. Thus, even if Greece is not the country where you physically reside, it becomes the “gateway” for your business in the EU.
Employer side with Corpenza’s payroll and personnel leasing solutions
The most critical issue for employers not based in Greece or another EU country is how to legally and deductibly position their remote employees and contracted personnel. At this point, Corpenza:
- Offers payroll services: It processes your remote employees and contracted professionals through Corpenza; your company records these costs as legal expenses.
- Establishes a personnel leasing / posted worker model: With the logic of a temporary employment agency, it deploys your project-based workers within the EU; you receive this service as a single invoice.
- Prepares a flexible workforce model for firms wanting to “test the market” before establishing a permanent company in Greece or other EU countries with low commitment.
This approach positions the investor who obtains residency through the Golden Visa at the center of a business model that scales across the EU.
Golden Visa and Education Rights: What Does It Mean for Families?
Public schools and universities for children
The Golden Visa grants the applicant’s family the right to access public education in Greece. In this context:
- Children can enroll in public schools under the same conditions as Greek citizens.
- National exams and academic criteria apply for admission to Greek state universities; Golden Visa status facilitates residency and enrollment processes.
- Some universities offer education in English, especially in graduate and certain undergraduate programs.
This situation provides a strategic advantage for investor families planning for their children to receive an education recognized within the EU and internationally.
Private and international schools: Language, curriculum, and adaptation
In centers like Athens and Thessaloniki, there are many private and international schools that offer education in English or other foreign languages. With the Golden Visa:
- The family can plan long-term enrollment in these schools without visa and residency barriers.
- Children can receive education with IB, British, American, or mixed curricula.
- The family can integrate their education plan with university preferences within the EU (Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavian countries, etc.).
Life-long learning and career transformations for adults
The Golden Visa creates educational opportunities not only for children but also for adult professionals looking to redesign their careers:
- Access to MBA, master’s, and certificate programs in Greece becomes easier.
- There is an opportunity to apply for vocational qualifications and licensing programs recognized within the EU through Greece.
- When transitioning to a new sector or role, the chance to structure the education-residency-work model within the same country increases.
Integrating education and residency planning with Corpenza
Corpenza approaches families’ education plans not just as school selection but as part of a long-term residency, tax, and citizenship strategy. For example:
- If a child aims for high school in Greece, university in Germany, and a master’s in the Netherlands, we calculate residency and visa obligations at each stage from the start.
- We structure the family’s income and company structure to finance educational expenses in the most tax-efficient way.
Tax Optimization, Incorporation, and Global Expansion Strategy
Golden Visa does not create tax residency on its own
Having a residency card does not automatically mean you will be a tax resident in Greece. Tax residency is determined by criteria such as actual stay duration during the year, the center of economic ties, and where family residency is located. In case of incorrect structuring:
- Risks of double taxation (between Turkey–Greece or third countries)
- Unwanted audits under transparency and CRS (Common Reporting Standard)
- Inconsistent declarations in future citizenship applications
may arise.
Correctly structuring tax and accounting with Corpenza
For entrepreneurs and professionals wishing to use the Greece Golden Visa, Corpenza:
- Analyzes tax legislation in Greece, Turkey, and other relevant countries together.
- Structures the company headquarters, subsidiaries, and personal assets focused on tax optimization.
- Presents international accounting and reporting processes (IFRS, etc.) transparently to you and your investors.
Thus, the Golden Visa becomes not just a “residency card” but the financial backbone of a global expansion strategy.
Establishing a company in Greece and opening to the EU market
While residing in Greece with the Golden Visa, you can consider the following steps to establish a business within the EU:
- Establish a company in Greece and manage contracts with EU customers through this company
- Conduct market testing through the Greek company before establishing local companies in different EU countries
- Make applications centered in Greece for EU funds, incentives, and innovation programs (especially in climate technologies, digitalization, health, tourism)
Corpenza manages the company establishment process end-to-end; it coordinates the articles of association, opening of bank accounts, accounting systems, payroll, and compliance processes all in one place.
Reliable sources for official and up-to-date information
Regulations regarding the Greece Golden Visa may change over time. It is important to follow the official and institutional sources below for the most current legal framework:
- Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum – Golden Visa
- Get Golden Visa – Guide to Residency by Investment in Greece
- Kılınç Law – Golden Visa Information Bulletin in Greece
Corpenza, referencing these official and institutional sources, creates a specific, actionable roadmap for your profile and goals.
Conclusion: Positioning the Golden Visa as a Strategic Mobility Tool
Not just a residency card, but a holistic mobility and growth plan
With the Greece Golden Visa:
- You gain flexible residency and Schengen mobility within the EU.
- You secure public and private education opportunities for your family.
- With a correctly structured setup, you open your international business to the EU market.
However, the program requires careful planning in areas such as work permits, tax residency, permanent residency, and citizenship. Moving forward with the correct legal framework is crucial, especially in high-volume investments, rather than relying on incorrect assumptions.
Next steps with Corpenza
Corpenza offers for entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals seeking mobility, incorporation, and workforce solutions in Europe and globally:
- Designs residency and citizenship strategies, primarily focusing on the Greece Golden Visa.
- Creates models for company establishment, international accounting, payroll, and posted worker arrangements.
- Manages tax optimization and compliance obligations under one roof.
If you have considered the Greece Golden Visa, first clarify your legal rights and limitations; then establish a structure that aligns with your business model, family plans, and tax profile. Corpenza makes this process measurable, transparent, and sustainable from start to finish.
