Bringing a non-EU spouse or family to Crete: which of four routes applies, what each one asks for, and where to file
A house in Crete gives nobody's family a right to live in it. Which route a non-EU spouse, child or parent uses depends on the buyer: the residence card for family of an EU citizen, family reunification for non-EU residents under the 2023 Migration Code, the family permits that come with a Golden Visa, or the Withdrawal Agreement for Britons who were here before 2021. Who counts as family, the income and housing tests, the fees and the offices, as checked in November 2026.
A house in Crete gives nobody’s family a right to live in it; the right comes from the buyer’s own status, and there are four different routes. An EU citizen’s spouse has the easiest; a non-EU resident waits two years and passes income tests; a Golden Visa carries the widest circle; a Briton depends on which side of 2021 they arrived. Pick the route before the removal van, because two start abroad. As checked in November 2026 against Presidential Decree 106/2007, the 2023 Migration Code and its 2026 amendments on Taxheaven, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Mitos and the European Commission.
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Take an immigration lawyer’s view of your own case before anyone books a flight.
Bringing family in one minute. EU citizen’s family (PD 106/2007): spouse, children under 21 or dependent, dependent parents and a partner in a proven stable relationship; apply within three months of arrival, card valid five years, decision within six months, €150 fine for not applying. Non-EU sponsor (law 5038/2023, arts. 83–89): two years of lawful residence, family abroad while the file runs, adequate housing, full sickness insurance, income of at least a minimum-wage earner’s annual net pay (monthly pay × 14) +20% for a spouse and +15% per child; spouse 18+, children under 18, no parents; fee €150, minors exempt, €16 card. Ι.8 holders bring family on their own permit, with the €3,500 floor raised the same percentages. Golden Visa: spouse or civil partner, children under 21, both sets of parents. Britons here before 2021: Withdrawal Agreement document, €16.
A non-EU spouse or child of an EU citizen
Article 2 of PD 106/2007 counts as family, whatever their nationality, the spouse, the couple’s children and the spouse’s children under 21 or of any age if dependent, and dependent parents of either spouse. Law 5275/2026 rewrote article 3 this year: a partner in a stable, duly attested relationship, and other relatives who depend on the EU citizen or need their personal care, now receive the same five-year card instead of the old two-year permit.
The card is applied for within three months of arrival under article 9, with a passport, proof of the relationship, proof that the EU citizen lives here lawfully (usually the registration certificate in moving to Crete as an EU citizen) and proof of dependence where relevant. A certificate of application is issued on the spot and the decision is due within six months. Missing the deadline costs a €150 fine, and after more than a year without applying no card is issued. The card lasts five years, and absences of up to six months a year do not affect it, under article 10.
On cost the sources differ. The Ministry’s page, dated 2021, lists €16 for printing the card. Your Europe says such cards are often free and any charge may not exceed what nationals pay for an identity card. A Greek citizen’s non-EU family follows separate rules under the Migration Code.
Family reunification for non-EU residents
A non-EU resident’s family comes under articles 83 to 89 of law 5038/2023, and the tests are stricter. Article 83 opens reunification to sponsors holding a permit valid at least two years that can lead to long-term residence. Article 84 adds two years of lawful residence, with the family still abroad while the file is examined, and three conditions: adequate housing for everyone, full sickness insurance covering the family, and stable income not drawn from welfare, at least the annual net pay of a minimum-wage earner plus 20% for a spouse and 15% for each child. Family is narrow under article 4: a spouse aged at least 18, unmarried children under 18 of the couple or of either spouse with custody, and adult children who cannot look after themselves. No partners and no parents.
Joint ministerial decision 225679/2024 defines the base as the annual net income of a minimum-wage earner, calculated as the monthly pay times 14, and puts no euro figure on it. The minimum wage itself is €920 a month for full-time work from 1 April 2026, under ministerial decision 8934/2026. The 2024 decision does not say whether the monthly pay it multiplies is counted before or after deductions, so no official annual figure exists to quote: ask the office which amount it applies before the sponsor files.
The sponsor applies online through the Ministry, under article 85. Police and the consulate give opinions within three months, and a family member who misses the consular interview sinks the application. After approval the consulate issues entry visas. Each family member then applies for a permit before the visa expires, normally issued by the Decentralised Administration, and the whole process is meant to finish within nine months, or twelve exceptionally, under article 86. In Crete it has offices in Heraklion, Chania, Rethymno and Agios Nikolaos. Permits end with the sponsor’s; with a long-term-resident sponsor they run three years. Under the fee article a family-reason permit costs €150, minors pay nothing, and every card adds €16.
On work the sources disagree. Article 89, as published on Taxheaven, gives family members the same access to employment as the sponsor and names no waiting period; the European Commission’s immigration portal says access comes at the first renewal. Ask the office before a spouse accepts a job.
Retirees on the Ι.8 permit, and Golden Visa families
The retiree on the sufficient-means permit in moving to Crete from outside the EU does not wait two years. Article 163(8) lets family accompany the holder on individual permits that end with the holder’s, with the resources met per person or by the family together: at least €3,500 a month of net income plus 20% for a spouse and 15% per child under the same 2024 decision. Nobody in the household may work, and the fee article names no separate family fee; ask before paying.
The Golden Visa takes the widest circle. Article 95(2), rewritten by law 5275/2026, covers a spouse or civil partner, unmarried children under 21, the direct ascendants of either partner, and adult children who lack legal capacity. Their permits end with the investor’s, and a child who turns 21 receives a standalone three-year permit; the fee article prices the comparable article 90(5) permit at €450. Decision 214926/2025 sets €2,000 for the investor’s permit and issues the family’s with it, but states no per-member fee.
Britons, before and after 2021
A Briton living in Greece before 31 December 2020 keeps the Withdrawal Agreement, and the police procedure extends it to listed family members, including children born or adopted later and family who were here before that date. The document costs €16, comes from the police in person or by post (outside Attica and Thessaloniki, the security departments), takes about 15 days and lasts five years, or ten with permanent residence. A Briton who moved later is a non-EU national whose family follows one of the routes above; the wider picture is in buying in Crete as a UK citizen after Brexit.
How local schools take in children without Greek is in schools in Crete for foreign families.
The honest downside
The routes are unequal, and the unequal part is the family. A non-EU resident waits two years with a spouse abroad and cannot bring parents at all, while a Golden Visa holder brings both sets on day one. Fees and even the right to work are stated differently by the Ministry, the law and the Commission. The income test moves with the minimum wage. And the house counts as a condition, never as a route.
Disclosure: Honest Crete does not sell or list property. Enquiries sent from this section go to a licensed estate agent, not to us; the full statement is below. Nothing in this article names a lawyer, an immigration consultant, an insurer, a translator, a developer or any other business; the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the Decentralised Administration of Crete, the Hellenic Police, the consulates and the European Commission are named as the public institutions they are.
Worth it if you settle which of the four routes your own status opens before anyone moves, and gather the marriage and birth certificates, apostilles and translations while the family is still abroad, which is where two of the routes require them to be. Skip it if the plan is to bring relatives on a visitor’s 90 days and sort it out later: the EU-family deadline fines late applicants, reunification is decided while the family waits abroad, and no route treats the house as a reason to stay.
Can my non-EU spouse live in Crete if I am an EU citizen?
Yes. Under Presidential Decree 106/2007 the non-EU spouse, children under 21 or dependent, and dependent parents of an EU citizen living in Greece have a right of residence. They apply for a residence card for family members of a Union citizen within three months of arrival, proving the relationship and the EU citizen's residence. The card is valid five years, and the decision is due within six months.
How much does the residence card for a non-EU family member of an EU citizen cost in Greece?
The Ministry of Migration and Asylum's page lists €16 for printing the card. The European Commission says such cards are often free and any fee may not exceed what nationals pay for an identity card. Not applying at all is costlier: PD 106/2007 sets a €150 fine, and after more than a year without applying no card is issued.
What are the requirements for family reunification in Greece?
Under article 84 of the Migration Code (law 5038/2023), the non-EU sponsor must have lived lawfully in Greece for two years on a permit that can lead to long-term residence. The sponsor needs adequate housing, full sickness insurance covering the family and stable income of at least a minimum-wage earner's annual net pay, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% per child. The family stays abroad while the file is examined.
Who counts as family for family reunification in Greece?
For a non-EU sponsor, the Migration Code counts a spouse aged at least 18, unmarried children under 18 of the couple or of either spouse with custody, and adult children who cannot look after themselves. Partners and parents are not on that list. The Golden Visa and the EU-citizen route are wider: both include parents, and the Golden Visa takes children up to 21.
Can a Golden Visa holder bring their parents to Greece?
Yes. Article 95 of the Migration Code, as amended by law 5275/2026, lets an investor-permit holder bring a spouse or civil partner, unmarried children under 21, the direct ascendants of either partner and adult dependent children who lack legal capacity. Their permits end with the investor's, and a child who turns 21 receives a standalone three-year permit.
Can a British citizen bring family to Crete after Brexit?
It depends on when the British citizen arrived. Those living in Greece before 31 December 2020 are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, and so are listed family members, including children born or adopted later; their residence document costs €16 from the police. A Briton who moved later is a non-EU national, and family follows that Briton's own permit: reunification, the Ι.8 sufficient-means permit or a Golden Visa.
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