Latvia vs Greece Golden Visa: The 2026 Comparison
Greece still advertises a EUR 250,000 golden visa tier in 2026 — and almost nobody who enquires about it ends up using it. The headline number survives, but it's reserved for property conversions and heritage restorations only, and it comes with a short-term rental ban attached. The tiers Greek property investors actually face are EUR 800,000 in the prime zones — Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini — and EUR 400,000 everywhere else.
Latvia's EUR 250,000, by contrast, means what it says: one completed property at that price, anywhere in the country including central Riga, full title, no rental ban, no restoration obligation. Comparing the Latvia vs Greece golden visa programmes in 2026 is therefore less about two similar offers and more about what EUR 250,000 actually buys in each system. We're CORVUS, an attorney-at-law office in Riga — the Latvian numbers below are our daily practice; for the fine mechanics of the Greek programme, confirm current terms with Greek counsel.
Three Greek Tiers, One Latvian Number
| Greece (2026) | Latvia (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Prime locations | EUR 800,000 (Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini) | EUR 250,000 — including central Riga |
| Other regions | EUR 400,000 | EUR 250,000 |
| Discounted tier | EUR 250,000 — conversions/heritage only, short-term rental ban | Not needed — the standard tier is EUR 250,000 |
| Alternative route | — | EUR 100,000 company share capital |
| What you own | Property | Property with Land Book title / shareholding |
Read the table from the buyer's chair. In Greece, wanting the capital city costs EUR 800,000. In Latvia, the capital city — a Eurozone capital, with a transparent public Land Register — is included at the entry price. If your budget is between EUR 250,000 and EUR 400,000, Greece's mainstream tiers are simply out of reach, and its discounted tier asks you to become a renovation project manager with restricted rental income. That's a specific niche, not a general offer.
The gap widens with Latvia's second route: EUR 100,000 into the share capital of a Latvian company — no property purchase at all, a flat EUR 10,000 state fee on grant, and one of the lowest golden visa entry points in the EU. Greece offers nothing comparable.
The two Latvian routes also combine, which matters for new-build buyers. An apartment still under construction can't qualify for the property route until it's completed and registered — so investors put EUR 100,000 into the developer's holding company now, take the five-year permit immediately, and switch to the real-estate basis after handover, with the share investment typically returned under the programme documentation — so residence needn't wait for handover. Buying off-plan in Greece offers no equivalent bridge: the permit waits for the property, and so does everything the permit was supposed to deliver.
Fees, Terms and the Life of the Permit
Latvia's costs above the investment are front-loaded and statutory: 5% of the purchase price as a one-off investment fee (EUR 12,500 at the threshold), 1.5% Land Register fee capped at EUR 50,000, review fees of EUR 160 per applicant at standard speed, and EUR 5,000 at each five-year renewal. The full budget with worked examples puts a family of four at roughly EUR 17,500 in first-year fees on the property route.
The permit itself runs up to five years, covers spouse and children under 18, and demands remarkably little of you afterwards: one short visit per year for the annual card registration, no residence requirement, no language exam for holding or renewing. Travel across Schengen at 90 days per 180 is included — Greece's permit travels on the same Schengen terms, so on mobility the programmes tie.
Where they don't tie is rental freedom on the entry-level tier. A Riga apartment bought for the Latvian programme is, in our clients' practice, routinely let out — the properties earn while the family uses the permit as a legal foothold. Greece's EUR 250,000 tier explicitly bans short-term rental; its unrestricted tiers start at EUR 400,000. If yield matters to your plan, run that difference through your spreadsheet before deciding anything.
Timelines deserve honesty on both sides. Standard review of Latvian investor applications takes about 30–90 days (formally 30, with extensions routine in investor cases); realistic end-to-end planning is three to six months, including the mandatory State Security Service opinion and the document-legalization stage. We manage that timeline actively — but we don't pretend it away, and you should treat any programme promising EU residence in weeks with suspicion.
Not sure which route fits your situation? Send us the basics — we reply with a free preliminary assessment.
Free preliminary assessmentWhich Programme Fits Which Investor
Greece earns its place for investors who specifically want Greek assets — a Mykonos villa is its own reward — and whose budget clears EUR 400,000–800,000 comfortably. The Greek market is larger, the tourism economy familiar, and for a lifestyle purchase in the islands the programme fee is incidental to the property decision.
Latvia wins on arithmetic and on cleanliness of terms: capital-city ownership at EUR 250,000, a EUR 100,000 corporate alternative Greece doesn't offer, no rental restrictions at entry level, and a maintenance regime of one visit per year. For investors treating the permit primarily as an EU residence instrument — with the property as a sound but secondary asset — the Latvian structure is hard to argue against in 2026.
One eligibility line applies regardless of budget: Latvia's investment route is closed to citizens of Russia and Belarus under current law. For them the working Latvian door is the EU Blue Card; Greek eligibility rules are their own matter — check them with Greek counsel.
Running the Numbers on Both?
Send us your budget and family composition, and we'll show you exactly what the Latvian route delivers for it — entry costs, five-year maintenance, realistic timeline — so you can compare like with like instead of headline with headline.
Contact CORVUS for an assessment of your situation →
This article is general information, not legal advice. Figures for Latvia are current as of July 2026 and may change; verify the current terms of Greece's programme with Greek counsel. Contact us for advice on your specific situation.
Author: Valērija Barišņikova — sworn attorney (Latvia), CORVUS Attorneys-at-Law (ZAB Corvus Vanags Legal SIA). Reviewed by Andrejs Voroncovs — sworn attorney (Latvia), founder of CORVUS Attorneys-at-Law. Mag. iur. with distinction, University of Latvia; member of the Latvian Bar Association and of its commission for tax and financial matters. Profile → The firm has handled migration cases since 2004 — hundreds of cases for clients from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the USA and Canada. Member of the Russell Bedford international network.