It is often said that staying at the top is harder than getting there. Seen through that lens, the news that Greece has once again ranked first in the Henley Residence Program Index for 2026 is even more significant than last year’s achievement. In 2025, the country climbed to the top of the ranking for the first time, overtaking Portugal, which had held the leading position for nearly a decade.
The distinction is far more than symbolic. Compiled by Henley & Partners, the index evaluates the world’s most prominent residence-by-investment programs, assessing factors such as required investment levels, tax policies, residency flexibility, quality of life, application processing times, and access to international mobility. In essence, it provides a comparative guide for global investors seeking a second base of residence—or a strategic “Plan B” for the future.
Greece Holds the Lead
In the 2026 edition, Greece retains the top position with a score of 73 out of 100, confirming the steady momentum it has built in recent years. Italy, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates follow closely, sharing second place with 72 points, while Portugal, long considered the benchmark for residency-by-investment programs, ranks just behind with 71.
Further down the ranking, Australia scores 69, while Canada and Uruguay share fifth place with 68 points. The top ten also includes Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, and Panama, with Latvia and the United States appearing slightly lower in the list.
What makes Greece’s performance particularly notable is that the country maintained its leading position during a period of substantial reforms to its Permanent Residency by Investment program. These changes were designed both to ease pressure on the housing market in high-demand locations and to encourage investment in broader sectors of the economy.
Beyond the right to reside in Greece, the permit effectively serves as a gateway to the Schengen Area, allowing holders to travel freely across much of Europe. For investors from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, this mobility represents a powerful incentive, offering easier access to European markets and business opportunities.
The Evolution of Greece’s Permanent Residency Program
The most significant adjustment to the program concerns the minimum investment requirement. The long-standing threshold of €250,000, which once applied nationwide, has been replaced with a tiered structure.
Today, the minimum investment rises to €800,000 in high-demand locations such as Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, and Santorini. In most other regions of the country, the threshold stands at €400,000. The €250,000 level remains available only in specific cases, such as the conversion of older commercial or industrial buildings into residential properties—an initiative aimed at encouraging the redevelopment of underutilized real estate.
Additional reforms have introduced stricter rules regarding both property use and the nature of the investment. Properties acquired through the Permanent Residency by Investment program can no longer be used for short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb, a measure intended to limit upward pressure on housing prices in major urban centers.
Furthermore, the investment must now typically involve a single property meeting defined criteria, reducing the practice of purchasing multiple smaller apartments. At the same time, the government has sought to broaden the program beyond real estate by introducing the option of investing in startups registered within the Elevate Greece ecosystem, a move designed to channel capital into the country’s growing innovation sector.
Despite these adjustments, the Greek program remains widely regarded as one of the most competitive globally. It combines relatively accessible investment thresholds with efficient processing times and minimal physical presence requirements. Unlike several competing schemes, investors are not required to live permanently in Greece to maintain their residency status, making the program particularly attractive to internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors.
A Broader Shift in Global Investment Migration
Greece’s rise in the Henley index reflects a wider transformation. Following the economic crisis of the previous decade, the country actively pursued foreign investment as a key pillar of economic recovery. The Permanent Residency by Investment program has played a central role in that strategy, bringing substantial capital into the Greek economy while contributing to the revival of the real estate sector.
At the same time, global demand for investment migration has grown sharply. In an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment, many high-net-worth individuals are seeking alternative bases of residence that can offer greater stability, improved mobility, and expanded opportunities for their families.
For this growing class of global investors, residence-by-investment programs have effectively become a form of strategic insurance. As a result, real estate markets in countries offering such pathways—Greece among them—have increasingly attracted international attention and capital.