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Back to Schengen Visa ServicesGREECE & PORTUGAL · RESIDENCE BY INVESTMENT

Schengen Investment Visa

There is no single Schengen investment visa — you obtain residence in one member state, and that permit is what opens the Schengen Area to you. NELA VISA works with the two routes that suit our clients best: the Greece Golden Visa and Portugal's ARI.

Discuss Greece or Portugal
Schengen investment visa consultancy — Greece and Portugal golden visa route planning at NELA VISA in Istanbul

Greece or Portugal — they answer different questions

Greece is a property route: you buy, you hold, and there is no minimum stay at all, which suits an investor who wants Schengen access without moving. Portugal is a fund and business route — real estate purchase was removed from it in 2023 — and it asks for only a few days a year, but it is the one of the two that leads somewhere, because time on the permit counts towards naturalisation. Choose Greece for the asset and the freedom of movement; choose Portugal if a passport is the real goal.

Thresholds, and what the money actually has to be

In Greece the entry point is tiered by location — the highest tier covers Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini, a middle tier the rest of the country, and a reduced tier applies to specific conversion and listed-building projects, each with its own conditions on property size and use. Portugal's remaining routes run through qualifying investment funds, company formation with job creation, research and cultural heritage. We confirm the current figures and eligible categories against your filing date before you commit to anything, because both countries have moved them.

Source of funds, the file, and local counsel

Both programmes stand or fall on proving where the capital came from. We build the paper trail with you — company accounts, sale contracts, dividends, inheritance, tax records — arrange the apostilles and certified translations, and coordinate with the licensed lawyer in Athens or Lisbon who files it. You keep one point of contact in Istanbul throughout, including the renewals.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions We Are Asked Most

Greece or Portugal — which golden visa is better?

Neither is better in the abstract; they solve different problems. Greece is faster and simpler, requires no physical presence at all, and gives you a real asset — but because you never actually live there, it does not realistically lead to citizenship. Portugal costs more in effort and asks for a handful of days a year, and it is the route where the years spent on the permit count towards naturalisation.

Can I still buy property for the Portugal Golden Visa?

No. Portugal removed the real-estate and capital-transfer options from the ARI programme in 2023. What remains runs through qualifying investment funds, company formation with job creation, scientific research and cultural heritage. If property is what you want, Greece is the route to look at.

How many days a year do I have to spend there?

Greece has no minimum stay requirement — you can hold the permit and never live in the country. Portugal asks for a short qualifying presence: a few days in the first year and a slightly longer period across each subsequent renewal cycle. We confirm the exact requirement for your permit type when the file is prepared.

Does either one lead to an EU passport?

Portugal can, after a qualifying period of legal residence and subject to its language and integration requirements — and note that the required period has been under active reform, so we work from the rules in force on your filing date rather than a number from an older article. Greece requires seven years of genuine residence for naturalisation, which a golden visa with no stay obligation does not build on its own.

Can my family be included?

Yes, in both. Spouses and dependent children are included in the same application, and both countries allow dependent parents under their own conditions. Each family member needs their own civil-status and criminal-record documents, so we prepare those alongside the main file rather than after it.

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