Buying on the Islands and in Border Areas of Greece: The Permit for Non-EU Buyers, and Which Areas Are Covered

1Does an Israeli need a permit to buy property on a Greek island?

Only if the property is located in an area designated as a border area (παραμεθόρια περιοχή), and only if the buyer is not a citizen of a European Union or EFTA member state. Outside these areas, Greece has no general restriction on the purchase of real estate by foreigners. But several of the destinations most popular with Israelis, such as Rhodes, Kos, Santorini and Alexandroupoli, lie squarely within the border areas.

The arrangement is set out in Law 1892/1990. Articles 24 to 26 of that law were replaced by Article 114 of Law 3978/2011. Under Article 25, any inter vivos transaction that confers a real right or an obligational right in a property in a border area is prohibited, in favour of an individual or legal entity whose citizenship or seat is outside the EU and EFTA. The prohibition also applies to the transfer of shares or partnership interests, and to a change of partners, in companies of any kind that hold such a property.

2Which areas in Greece are considered border areas?

Under Article 24 of the law, as replaced in 2011, the border areas are:

The law allows the list to be amended by presidential decree, adding areas to it or removing areas from it. Before any transaction, therefore, check the current classification of the exact location, and do not rely on lists published on real estate agency websites. Such lists are sometimes partial or outdated.

3Who is exempt from the permit, and what about Israelis with a European passport?

The prohibition does not apply to someone whose citizenship or seat is in a European Union or EFTA member state. An Israeli who also holds citizenship of an EU member state, for example Portugal, Romania, Poland or Germany, and buys on the basis of that passport, is, on the wording of the law, outside the prohibition. It is advisable to confirm in advance with the notary that he will accept identification on the basis of the European citizenship and will not insist on the application.

Buying through a company is more complex. An Israeli company, whose seat is outside the Union, is subject to the prohibition. As for a company whose seat is in the Union but whose shareholders are Israeli, the case must be examined on its own facts. The prohibition on the transfer of shares in companies holding property in border areas is designed precisely to prevent circumvention. In addition, investment in companies in sensitive fields, including tourism infrastructure in border areas, may also be subject to the foreign investment screening mechanism under Law 5202/2025. We do not recommend building a structure whose sole purpose is to circumvent the permit requirement.

4How do you obtain a permit to buy in a border area?

An application for lifting the prohibition is submitted to the committee operating at each Decentralised Administration (Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση) responsible for border areas. The application must state the intended use of the property. The committee is chaired by the Secretary General of the Decentralised Administration and includes representatives of the relevant government ministries, among them the Ministry of Defence. The decision is taken by a majority of the committee members, and the Ministry of Defence representative must vote in favour.

1. Preliminary check: confirm that the property is indeed in a border area, and that the buyer is not exempt.
2. Conditional preliminary agreement: sign a preliminary agreement in which obtaining the permit is a condition precedent, with a full refund of the deposit if the application is rejected.
3. Preparing the file: identity and citizenship documents, property details, a topographic diagram where needed, a declaration of intended use (for example residence, vacation or rental), and a Greek tax identification number (AFM).
4. Filing and follow-up: the Greek lawyer files the application and tracks its handling. The law as reviewed does not set a binding deadline for the decision, so a time buffer must be planned in advance.
5. The deed: only after a positive decision is received is the deed signed before the notary, and the decision is attached to the deed.

5What happens if you buy a property in a border area without a permit?

A transaction made in breach of Law 1892/1990 is void. It produces no legal effect and cannot be registered in the cadastre. That means the money has been paid, but ownership has not passed. "Creative solutions" such as registering in a relative's name, an unregistered trust arrangement or a long lease are also risky, because the prohibition applies to obligational rights as well, not only to ownership.

6Does the prohibition also apply to a long lease or to inheritance?

The prohibition in Article 25 applies to inter vivos transactions that confer a real right or an obligational right. It is therefore not limited to the purchase of ownership. Transactions such as a right of use or a lease, which confer a right in the property, may also fall within its scope, and they must therefore be examined on their own terms before signing. Inheritance, by contrast, is not an inter vivos transaction and so is not within the wording of the prohibition. But someone who inherits a property in a border area and later wants to sell it, transfer it to their children or mortgage it will meet the same questions in the next transaction.

In practical terms, our recommendation is simple: every undertaking concerning a property in a border area, including a long-term lease, a partnership agreement in a project or the purchase of shares in a company that holds a property, is checked against the law in advance. It is not signed on the assumption that "only ownership requires a permit".

7How does this fit with taxation and the Golden Visa?

The permit requirement is separate from tax and residency questions. Someone who buys a property in the Dodecanese under the Golden Visa programme must meet both the programme's requirements and the permit requirement. On the Golden Visa, see our dedicated guide. In addition, as of October 2026 a bill is in the public consultation process that raises the transfer tax on residential apartments for individuals from outside the Union, effective 1.7.2027. The reported rate is 15%, compared with 3.09% today. Since the border-area permit procedure lengthens the timetable, anyone planning a purchase in 2027 needs to take into account that the delay may push the deed past that date.

From Israel's perspective, the usual rules apply: the obligation to report assets and income abroad, taxation of rental income in Israel with a credit for the tax paid in Greece under the tax treaty between the two countries, and full documentation of the source of funds in the transfer to the Greek bank.

8What to do before signing, and how we accompany the process

When a client is interested in a property on one of the islands or in northern Greece, the first thing we check is the classification of the exact location. Next we check whether the client is entitled to an exemption by virtue of European citizenship. If a permit is required, we draft a preliminary agreement conditional on it, prepare with the Greek lawyer an orderly application file with a clear intended use, and build a timetable that also takes into account the expected tax changes. At every stage the client knows what the risk is and what his deposit secures.

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The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.