Ministry of Migration (Greece)
Greek ministry responsible for Digital Nomad Visa processing under Law 5275/2026.
Greece's Ministry of Migration recorded 3,086 golden-Visa applications from January to July 2026, down 39% on a year earlier, and cut its backlog to 29,273 files from more than 52,000 at the start of 2025.
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Greece's Ministry of Migration, formally the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, administers the country's residence-permit and Visa-processing framework, including the Digital Nomad Visa and the golden visa for property investors.
Under Law 5275/2026 it became the responsible authority for a consulate-only nomad-Visa regime that replaced in-country conversion from a Schengen short stay. It also publishes golden-Visa application and backlog figures; its January to July 2026 data showed applications down 39% and the backlog reduced to 29,273 files.
For applicants, the ministry's processing capacity sets how quickly a permit arrives. The consular route moves first applications abroad, but renewals and golden-Visa files still run through the ministry itself.
Golden-visa applications fell by 39%
Migration Ministry figures for January to July 2026, reported in early September by an investment-migration trade publication, showed 3,086 golden-Visa applications, down 39% from 5,028 a year earlier. The same data put the ministry's backlog at 29,273 files, against more than 52,000 at the start of 2025.
The figures surfaced as the government tightened the property market that many applicants buy into. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister, said on 5 September that the freeze on fresh short-let licences in Greece's two biggest cities would run to the end of 2027; no ministerial decision had given that extension legal force when he spoke.
Nomad visas now require consular applications
Since March 2026, Law 5275/2026 has abolished in-country switching to Greece's Digital Nomad Visa. Applicants must obtain a Type D national long-stay visa at a Greek consulate or embassy before arrival, which moves the first queue for the ministry's nomad caseload abroad.
The income floor is €3,500 a month net, or €42,000 a year, with 20% added for a spouse and 15% for each dependent child. As of 8 May 2026 the ministry had published no consular processing-time guidance for the May to June application peak, leaving applicants without a stated waiting time.
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How long does the Greek Ministry of Migration take to process a digital nomad visa application?
