How many years until Greek citizenship?

As a rule, 7 years of continuous legal residence. 3 years for EU citizens, spouses of Greek citizens with a child together and some other categories; 12 years if your residence permit is not on the allowed list.

Do years on the Golden Visa count?

Yes, the permanent investor permit is on the allowed list. But naturalisation needs Greek resident tax assessments for the years of residence, proven income and the PEGP exam, so the route does not work without living in Greece.

When can the spouse and adult children of a Golden Visa holder get citizenship?

Also after 7 years of legal residence, but with a change of status: their family member permit is not on the list allowed for naturalisation. After 5 years of living in Greece they apply for EU long-term resident status instead of a renewal, and 2 years later they can apply for citizenship. Without the change of status the term is 12 years. Minor children living in Greece become citizens together with the parent.

Which exam do you have to pass?

The PEGP exam: Greek at level B1 and knowledge of the geography, history, culture and institutions of Greece. Pass mark 70 out of 100, fee EUR 150, held twice a year in Greece.

How much does a Greek citizenship application cost?

A EUR 550 fee plus the EUR 150 exam, EUR 700 in total. For ethnic Greeks, EU citizens, refugees and stateless persons the fee is EUR 100.

Do you have to give up your citizenship?

Greece does not require it. Whether you keep your previous citizenship depends on your own country's law.

Greek Citizenship in 2026: No Citizenship by Investment, Which Routes Work

Q: Can you get Greek citizenship by investment?

No. The Greek Citizenship Code has no investment route. The property Golden Visa gives a 5-year residence permit; years on it count towards naturalisation only if you actually live in Greece.

Q: Does marriage to a Greek citizen give citizenship?

Marriage alone does not. The spouse of a Greek citizen can apply for naturalisation after 3 years of residence with a child together, otherwise after 7 years.

Published October 27, 2026 Updated October 28, 2026 9 min read

Reviewed by Susana Abliamitova LLM, Senior Legal Counsel & Compliance Expert

Contents

In brief
Can you get Greek citizenship by investment
All routes to citizenship
The Golden Visa and citizenship: what counts
Naturalisation requirements
The PEGP exam
Filing, fees, timing, oath
By marriage and by descent
Dual citizenship
Outdated figures you still see
Sources

There is no Greek citizenship by investment: the Citizenship Code has no such route. The Golden Visa is a 5-year residence permit for property from EUR 400,000 (EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki and popular islands, EUR 250,000 for converting a commercial building to housing). Years on it count towards the 7 years needed for naturalisation, but only if you actually live in Greece, pay tax there as a resident and pass the exam on the Greek language and the country.

In brief

Route	Key condition
By investment	does not exist; the Golden Visa gives residence only
Naturalisation	7 years of continuous legal residence, the PEGP exam (Greek B1 and knowledge of the country), economic integration
Reduced term, 3 years	EU citizens, spouses of Greek citizens with a child together, parents of a Greek child born in Greece, stateless persons
12 years	for holders of a residence permit that is not on the list allowed for naturalisation
Descent	the child of a Greek citizen is Greek from birth; ethnic Greeks apply without the 7-year requirement

Can you get Greek citizenship by investment

No. The Greek Citizenship Code (Law 3284/2004, text on the Ministry of Interior website) lists the routes: birth, naturalisation, honorary naturalisation and a few special cases. There is no investment route. Honorary citizenship (art. 13) is granted by presidential decree for exceptional services to Greece: it has no price and no procedure for investors, and cannot be bought.

What is often sold as "Greek citizenship by investment" is in fact the Golden Visa: a 5-year renewable permanent investor permit (art. 100 of the Migration Code). It does not allow employment. Conditions and thresholds: Greece Golden Visa.

All routes to citizenship

The residence period for naturalisation depends on who you are and which residence permit you hold (art. 5 of the Code):

7 years of continuous legal residence: the general case, including Golden Visa holders and refugees.
3 years: EU citizens, spouses of a Greek citizen with a child together, parents of a child with Greek citizenship born in Greece, stateless persons.
12 years: if your residence permit is not on the list allowed for naturalisation. Temporary permits do not count at all.
No minimum: ethnic Greeks and people born and continuously living in Greece.

The Golden Visa and citizenship: what counts

The permanent investor permit is on the list of residence permits that allow a naturalisation application (Ministry of Interior guidance of 30.01.2026). But the status alone does not lead to citizenship. Besides the 7 years, the law requires:

making Greece the permanent centre of your life (art. 5A);
tax assessments for the years of residence issued to you as a Greek resident (art. 6). You become a tax resident after more than 183 days in Greece within 12 months (art. 4 of the Income Tax Code);
income above the threshold for at least 5 of the 7 years. The Ministry table for 2019–2022 sets EUR 7,500 a year for a person without dependants, plus EUR 750 for each dependant;
passing the PEGP exam.

Three scenarios for a Golden Visa holder:

You live in Greece, pay tax there and pass the exam: you can apply after 7 years.
You live there part of the time, without tax residence: the years formally run, but you cannot assemble the tax and integration documents.
You do not live there: the Golden Visa renews, but does not lead to citizenship.

A separate issue is the investor's family. The spouse, adult children and parents hold family reunification permits (art. 95 of the Migration Code), and that status is not on the list allowed for naturalisation. EU long-term resident status is on the list, and the law requires an allowed status on the date of application, not for all 7 years. So the route for adult family members is: after 5 years of living in Greece, apply for EU long-term resident status (art. 144 of the Migration Code) instead of renewing the 5-year permit, and 2 years later, once legal residence reaches 7 years, apply for citizenship. Long-term status requires actually living in Greece: absences of less than 6 consecutive months and no more than 10 months over 5 years, income, insurance and Greek at level B1. Without the change of status the 12-year rule applies. The Greek lawyers we work with confirmed this practice in October 2026. Minor children living in Greece become citizens together with the parent on the day of the parent's oath (art. 11).

Naturalisation requirements

adult on the date of application;
no conviction for an intentional crime with imprisonment of a year or more in the last 10 years;
no expulsion order;
continuous legal residence of the required length on an allowed residence permit;
the PEGP certificate: Greek language and knowledge of the country;
economic and social integration: tax, income, social security, housing in Greece (Mitos government services portal).

The PEGP exam

Since 1 April 2021 the interview before a committee has been replaced by the exam for the naturalisation knowledge certificate, PEGP (art. 7 of the Code, Ministry decision 21536/2026):

Greek at level B1: writing, listening and speaking;
geography, history, culture and institutions of Greece; questions come from an open bank of 300;
pass mark: 70 out of 100, with at least 40 of 60 for language and 20 of 40 for the other sections;
fee EUR 150, held twice a year and only in Greece, with no appeal.

Far from everyone passes: according to Ministry statistics for 2022–2026, between 40.8% and 59.5% of candidates per session (Ministry statistics). People who completed 9 grades of Greek school or studied at a Greek university in Greek are exempt. Since February 2026 the PEGP certificate is also accepted as proof of language for EU long-term residence.

Filing, fees, timing, oath

Fee: EUR 550 per application, EUR 200 for a repeat application; EUR 100 for ethnic Greeks, EU citizens, refugees and stateless persons. With the exam, a typical applicant pays EUR 700.
Filing: at the regional citizenship service of the Ministry of Interior for your place of residence, in person, through a lawyer with a power of attorney, or by post; there is no online filing.
Timing: according to the Mitos portal, the standard processing time is 1 year. For consular cases the Ministry reported an average of 12–14 months to Parliament (Ministry reply, 12.05.2026); in practice it can take longer.
Oath: citizenship is acquired on the day of the oath. It must be taken within a year of the decision's publication, otherwise the decision is revoked (art. 9).
Refusal: you may reapply after a year (art. 8).

By marriage and by descent

Marriage alone does not give citizenship (art. 30). The spouse of a Greek citizen can apply for naturalisation after 3 years of residence if the couple has a child together; without a child, the general 7-year term applies. The exam and proof of integration are required here too.

Descent. The child of a Greek citizen is Greek from birth (art. 1); abroad this is registered through the consulate. If a grandparent or great-grandparent was Greek, eligibility can be established when the whole line of descent is documented (Embassy of Greece in the USA). Ethnic Greeks apply for naturalisation without the 7-year requirement, and abroad through the consulate with a EUR 100 fee.

Dual citizenship

Greece does not require you to give up your previous citizenship: there is no such condition among the naturalisation documents. Whether you keep your first citizenship depends on your own country's law. India, for example, does not allow dual citizenship, so an Indian citizen naturalising in Greece would lose the Indian passport.

Outdated figures you still see

"A citizenship programme for EUR 2.5 million". It exists neither in law nor on any ministry website.
"Golden Visa from EUR 250,000 anywhere". Since 2024 it is EUR 800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants and EUR 400,000 elsewhere; EUR 250,000 only for converting a commercial building to housing or restoring a listed building. Even the Greek Migration Ministry page still shows the documents from the single-threshold era.
"3 years for refugees" and "EUR 700 as one fee" from 2019 Ministry guides. Refugees now fall under the general 7 years, and EUR 700 is the EUR 550 fee plus the EUR 150 exam.
"An interview before the naturalisation committee". The committees were replaced by the PEGP exam in 2021; an interview is held only if integration is in doubt.