How Long Does the Greek Golden Visa Take in 2026?

The honest answer to "how long does the Greek Golden Visa take" is: it depends on when the file was filed, where, and how complete it is. Official figures show a queue that has been shrinking, but nobody publishes a single guaranteed number. This guide sets out what is known, what is not, and how to plan.

The stages of the process

1. Choosing and buying the property. Due diligence on the title and building permit, the preliminary contract and the notarial deed. This stage is in your hands and depends on the property and the lawyer, not on the migration service. Read about the thresholds before you choose.
2. Filing the application. The file is submitted with the deed, proof of the transfer of funds, insurance and the family documents.
3. Processing. The migration service checks the file and may ask for additional documents. This is the stage that creates the queue.
4. Approval, biometrics and the card. After approval the residence card is issued and the five-year validity starts.

What the numbers say

IMI Daily reported on 6 January 2026 that pending Golden Visa applications had fallen to 42,390 by November 2025. The backlog dropped by just over 4% between October and November, the steepest monthly fall since August, and monthly reductions since then have averaged just below 3%. Processing reached its highest monthly rate since improvements began in March 2025, and approvals exceeded new applications in every month from April 2025.

The share of files completed depends heavily on the filing year, according to the same report:

• applications filed in 2023: 88% completed;
• applications filed in 2024: 50% completed;
• applications filed in 2025: 26% completed.

By filing month in 2025, more than half of the January files had been approved, about a third of those from March and April, and only 1% of those from October. Some files were cleared in under 30 days. Processing times previously reached 18 months, and the report credits the move to decentralised offices for part of the improvement, although this is the author's interpretation rather than a documented cause.

Why you cannot take one figure as a promise

• The ministry publishes the size of the queue and the number of decisions per month. It does not follow the same group of applications from filing to decision, so any "average" is an estimate.
• Files differ: a complete file with documents of the right form moves faster than one that needs a second round of paperwork.
• Practice differs between offices, and the best-known delays were in Attica.

What a buyer can do

• Prepare the family documents (apostilles and translations) before the purchase: this is usually the longest part you control.
• Confirm the source of funds and the transfer from abroad in advance, because banks and the service check it.
• Ask your lawyer where the file will be filed and what the current practice there is.
• Plan the dates of trips and of the property deal with the possibility of a longer wait in mind. We plan for about eight months from the start of the search to the card, and tell you if the picture changes.

A change to watch: the validity date

IMI Daily also reported that the Migration Minister planned legislation to count the five-year validity from the day the card is issued rather than from the filing date, so that waiting time would not eat into the validity. We have not confirmed that it became law, so ask your lawyer which rule applies to your file.

Compared with Portugal

For comparison, Portugal's agency AIMA had processed about 6,000 of 46,000 pending golden visa files by October 2026 according to IMI Daily; see Greece or Portugal.

Sources: IMI Daily, 6 January and 8 October 2026. This material is informational and is not legal advice.