Greece Golden Visa vs NZ Active Investor Plus Visa
A factual side-by-side comparison of two residency programmes. All figures are drawn from the canonical program pages — follow either link in the table header for sources and the full profile.
Key Differences at a Glance
- ›Greece Golden Visa is faster: 4 months vs 9 months for NZ Active Investor Plus Visa.
- ›Faster to citizenship: NZ Active Investor Plus Visa at ~5 years, vs 7 for Greece Golden Visa.
- ›Lower capital: Greece Golden Visa (250,000 USD) vs 9,000,000 for NZ Active Investor Plus Visa.
Greece Golden Visa Greece · investment | NZ Active Investor Plus Visa New Zealand · investor | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Greece | New Zealand |
| Category | Investment | Investor |
| Application Fee | $2,200 | $16,000 |
| Minimum Income | — | — |
| Minimum Investment | $250,000 | $9,000,000 |
| Processing Time | 4 months | 9 months |
| Family Included | No additional investment required; covers spouse and dependent children up to 21, as well as parents and parents-in-law | Spouse + dependent children under 24 included as principal applicant family |
| Path to PR | Yes — 5 years | Yes — 2 years |
| Path to Citizenship | Yes — 7 years | Yes — 5 years |
| Physical Presence | No minimum annual stay required to maintain the Golden Visa; 7 years of actual residence required for citizenship | 117 days minimum in NZ over the 4-year investment period (~30 days/year average; effectively very flexible) |
| Dual Citizenship | Allowed | Allowed |
| Tax Impact | No mandatory tax residency triggered by the visa; those who choose to tax-reside may benefit from Greece's non-dom lump sum tax of €100,000/year on foreign income for up to 15 years | NZ tax resident on worldwide income from 183-day rule. Transitional residency exemption (4 years on foreign-source income) materially attractive for new immigrants. No capital gains tax for individuals on most investment activity. |
| Tax Residency Trigger | 183 days/yr | 183 days/yr |
| Worldwide Taxation | Yes | Yes |
| Renewal Cost | $2,200 | — |
About Greece Golden Visa
Greece's Golden Visa is one of Europe's most accessible investment-residency programmes. Originally a uniform €250,000 real-estate threshold, the 2024 reform raised investment minimums sharply: €800,000 in high-demand zones (Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, islands over 3,100 inhabitants), €400,000 in other regions, with the legacy €250,000 threshold preserved only for commercial-to-residential conversions and specific listed-building restorations. Alternative routes include €500,000 in Greek capital-company shares, €500,000 in mutual funds or AIFs, or €500,000 bank deposit. The visa grants 5-year renewable residence with no minimum physical-presence requirement — making it one of the lowest-effort EU residency permits and a popular passive-investment route for non-EU HNWIs. Holders gain Schengen visa-free travel but cannot acquire Greek citizenship through this route directly; standard naturalisation requires 7 years of physical residence plus B1 Greek language. Greece levies progressive income tax to 44%, but a flat-tax regime for qualifying HNWIs taxes worldwide income at €100,000/year for up to 15 years. Property tax (ENFIA) applies annually to the underlying real-estate investment.
Full Greece Golden Visa profile →About NZ Active Investor Plus Visa
Active Investor Plus, launched April 2025, replaces the previous Investor 1 + Investor 2 categories with a points-based, weighted-investment regime. Minimum NZD 5 million invested in qualifying assets weighted by category: direct investment (3× weighting), managed funds (2× weighting), bonds (1× weighting). The weighted total must reach NZD 15 million over the 4-year period. Practically, NZD 5M direct investment satisfies the floor. Major appeal: extremely modest physical-presence requirement (117 days over 4 years), generous transitional-residency tax exemption for new arrivals, and a 5-year path to NZ citizenship with no language test.
Full NZ Active Investor Plus Visa profile →Gotchas to Watch For
Greece Golden Visa
- ⚠September 2024 reform raised thresholds significantly; Athens/Thessaloniki/Mykonos/Santorini now €800k minimum
- ⚠No physical presence required, but also no path to citizenship without 7 years actual residence
- ⚠Greek Golden Visa ≠ EU Schengen freedom; allows visa-free Schengen travel but not residence
- ⚠Property cannot be rented short-term (Airbnb) in Athens/Thessaloniki districts under some interpretations — consult lawyer
- ⚠Citizenship requires 7 years of genuine residence, B1 Greek, civic test
NZ Active Investor Plus Visa
- ⚠Investment is committed for 4 years — early withdrawal triggers visa cancellation
- ⚠Weighting system means lower-risk bonds require nominally larger investments (NZD 15M floor reached at 1× weight)
- ⚠Transitional residency exemption is automatic but should be elected explicitly on IRD form IR3
- ⚠Specialist immigration lawyer fees are substantial — budget USD 30-80k for legal preparation
Neutral reference — we don't recommend one programme over another. Programmes change: always verify each detail against the official source linked on the individual program pages.