Greece Golden Visa for citizens of Lebanon

Schengen visa required (Annex I)

Lebanese citizens need a Schengen visa to enter Greece: Lebanon is listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 (consolidated text of 30 December 2025, checked 12 September 2026). Because fingerprints and a photograph are given in person in Greece, at least one short-stay (type C) visa is needed for the residence permit file.

In Lebanon, applications for a Greek visa are collected by VFS Global, which states on its Greece/Lebanon site that it is the official partner of the Embassy of Greece in Lebanon (checked 12 September 2026).

Under the Visa Code (Regulation 810/2009, consolidated) an application may be lodged up to six months before travel; the decision is due within 15 calendar days and may be extended to 45.

Pre-crisis bank money cannot fund the purchase (BdL 158)

Lebanon has no capital-control statute, but money already sitting in Lebanese banks from before the crisis cannot be moved abroad freely.

Under Banque du Liban Basic Circular 158 (Basic Decision No. 13335 of 8 June 2021, as amended), foreign-currency deposits in accounts opened before 31 October 2019 are repaid only gradually: an eligible account holder may have up to USD 54,200 moved to a special sub-account and then draws about USD 1,000 a month from it — USD 800 in cash, or by transfer inside Lebanon and abroad, or into a Fresh account, plus USD 200 through cards — which the decision caps in the order of USD 12,000 a year.

A purchase of EUR 250,000 to EUR 800,000 therefore cannot in practice be funded from pre-2019 Lebanese deposits; the money comes from fresh funds or from accounts held outside Lebanon, and the Greek bank and notary will require documentary proof of where it came from. Assemble that source-of-funds file before you sign anything. (checked 12 September 2026)

NOT in the Apostille Convention — consular legalisation

Lebanon is NOT a party to the Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961 — it does not appear in the HCCH status table for that Convention (checked 12 September 2026). Lebanese documents therefore cannot be apostilled and need full consular legalisation instead: certification by the Lebanese authority that issued the document, then by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, then by the Greek diplomatic mission in Beirut.

This runs document by document and takes longer than an apostille.

Confirm the current chain, fees and appointment lead times with the Greek Embassy in Beirut before you plan dates — its pages could not be reached for automated verification on 12 September 2026.

No treaty with Greece

There appears to be no double taxation treaty in force between Greece and Lebanon. Lebanon does not appear in the official list of Greek double taxation treaties published by the Greek Independent Authority for Public Revenue (ΑΑΔΕ), and it is likewise absent from the Greek treaty table in PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries (Greece page last reviewed 8 September 2026); both checked 12 September 2026.

In practice this means Greek rental income is taxed in Greece under Greek law, and any relief on the Lebanese side follows Lebanese domestic rules alone. Have a Lebanese tax adviser confirm your position — we state the absence of a treaty, not its tax consequences for you.

• The judicial record certificate (سجل عدلي / إخراج قيد عدلي) is issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Justice. Because Lebanon is outside the Apostille Convention it must go through consular legalisation, not apostille.
• Every Lebanese document in the file — the judicial record, civil status records, powers of attorney — goes through the same legalisation chain, each one separately. Count the working days for each before committing to a filing date.
• Legalised documents are then translated into Greek; confirm in writing with the lawyer opening the file which form of translation the Greek authority accepts.
• If you live outside Lebanon, ask the Lebanese mission in your country of residence which of these steps it can perform locally — the route differs from the one used inside Lebanon.

• Lebanon is on the EU list of high-risk third countries for money laundering and terrorist financing (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675, Annex point I, as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1184 of 10 June 2025; consolidated text of 29 January 2026). EU banks, Greek banks included, must apply enhanced due diligence to customers and transactions connected with Lebanon. Expect more documents, more questions and a longer account opening — and expect that some banks will simply decline. Nobody can promise you a Greek bank account.

  What we do about it: We open the bank conversation first, before any money moves: we ask which Greek banks currently accept Lebanese files, prepare the enhanced due diligence pack with you, and tell you plainly if the answer is no — before you are committed to a purchase.

• No one can guarantee that a given transfer will clear: the decision sits with the sending bank, the correspondent bank and the receiving Greek bank, and any of the three can refuse.

  What we do about it: We structure the payment route with your bank and ours in advance and confirm each leg in writing, so a refusal happens on paper at the planning stage and not on the day of the notary.

• We promise no timeline. At 31 May 2026 the Greek migration ministry reported 9,210 pending investor applications and 33,051 files pending in total with family members; Lebanese nationals held 947 valid investor permits as of October 2025, the third largest group.

  What we do about it: Instead of a timeline you get status: we write to you where the application stands and where the queue is — a record, not a forecast.

• A property bought for the residence permit may not be let short-term (Art. 64 of Law 5100/2024) — short-let income cannot be part of the plan.

  What we do about it: We let and manage the flat long-term after the purchase, and we put the expected rent in writing before the deal, using figures from our own Athens portfolio.