Greece FIP Visa: Can Savings Replace Monthly Income?
Savings can be used, but there is no statutory figure that settles it. The law asks for "sufficient resources, at the level of a stable annual income" (Law 5038/2023, art. 163 §8), and a joint ministerial decision sets the benchmark at €3,500 net a month for the main applicant, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% for each child. Bank deposits are a listed form of resources and are assessed on a yearly basis: the main applicant's benchmark for one year comes to €42,000. The "savings thresholds" quoted online are all a monthly benchmark multiplied by 12, 24 or 36 months, not a lump sum written into the law. What decides a file is whose money it is, where it came from, whether it can be drawn on, and whether it covers the family's outgoings.
What the law actually asks for
| Point | Rule |
|---|---|
| Statutory wording | Sufficient resources, at the level of a stable annual income, to cover living costs |
| Benchmark | €3,500 net a month for the main applicant |
| Family uplift | Plus 20% for a spouse or partner and 15% per child: €4,200 for a couple, €4,725 for a couple with one child |
| How it is assessed | Periodic income (pension, rent, dividends, a salary paid abroad) by the month; deposits by the year |
| Who has to meet it | Each family member individually, or the family taken together |
The amount comes from joint ministerial decision KYA 225679/2024. The lower monthly benchmark in older material has been superseded.
Why the numbers online do not match
You will find several "savings thresholds" that contradict each other. None is right and the rest wrong: they are the same conversion run on different monthly benchmarks and different numbers of months, the current benchmark or the old one, over one, two or three years.
| Conversion | Main applicant | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Current monthly benchmark × 12 months | €42,000 | One year, which matches "assessed on a yearly basis" |
| Current monthly benchmark × 36 months | €126,000 | The whole 3-year permit term, often quoted as "the savings threshold" |
| Old monthly benchmark × 24 or 36 months | Out of date | Arithmetic from the previous regime, still on many pages |
All of these are conversions, not a lump sum set by the law. How long a period your consulate wants covered, and how many months of statements, follows that consulate's current list.
Five tests for a savings-only file
- Ownership: whose name the account is in. A family may pool its resources, but each amount has to be attributed; money held by parents, friends or a company is not automatically yours.
- Source: where it came from, and whether salary, dividends, a property sale or an inheritance can be documented. A large sum that arrived just before filing will be questioned.
- Availability: term deposits, investment products, pledged or restricted funds need an explanation of when they can be drawn on.
- Coverage: on a yearly basis, how long the deposit covers the family's benchmark outgoings.
- Durability: savings only go down. At the end of the 3 years the renewal asks for resources and insurance to be proven again, so work out now what will be left then.
Savings plus income: can they be combined?
Yes, and it is the sturdier file: some income arriving every month, with deposits making up the difference. Both go on one list of resources, stating for each item the holder, currency, net amount, source, receiving account, frequency and any restriction on withdrawal.
The "€20,000 to €30,000 in a Greek account" you may have heard is a practical rule of thumb for the living funds kept in the Greek account once it is open. It is not a statutory threshold and does not replace the evidence of resources described above.
How to find out whether yours is enough
The pre-check needs a one-page list of resources and the passport page, and is free: for your family size and your consulate, we say what period to cover and which evidence to prepare. The end-to-end service is €12,400 for the main applicant and €1,240 per family member, VAT and all authentication included, in two bank transfers.
Common questions
There is no statutory lump sum. What is fixed is the benchmark: €42,000 a year for the main applicant, uplifted for family. How long a period your consulate wants covered follows its current requirements.
No. A balance statement is not a three-year permit: ownership, source, availability and the family's outgoings all have to be explained, and the no-work condition, housing, insurance and consular jurisdiction have to be met as well.
What the law asks you to prove is the resources themselves. In practice a Greek bank account with living funds is usually prepared before the visa is filed and submitted alongside the evidence of resources held abroad; the detail follows the consulate.
Yes. When the 3 years end, the renewal application proves resources and insurance afresh.
- Law 5038/2023, art. 163 §8: residence permit for persons with sufficient resources (I.8, the FIP permit), its three-year term and the bar on work
- Ministry of Migration and Asylum: joint ministerial decision KYA 225679/2024 (FEK B' 5223/17.09.2024), the amount of sufficient resources and the family uplifts
General information, not legal or investment advice for a particular case. Any transaction depends on the lawyer's checks and the law at the time.