Greece’s non-dom regime is drawing wealthy Londoners to the Athens Riviera, where luxury apartment blocks are replacing old seaside villas, according to the Financial Times.
The FT report by Greece correspondent Eleni Varvitsioti opens with hedge fund billionaire Chris Rokos. He is swapping London for Athens, where he plans to open an office, after reportedly paying £330 million in UK tax last year.
Since 2020, Greece has rolled out a series of tax incentives for new residents. Under the non-dom regime, qualifying arrivals pay a flat €100,000 a year on foreign income, but they must invest at least €500,000 in the country.
Foreign retirees, by comparison, can pay a flat 7% on foreign income for up to 15 years. Relocating workers get a 50% exemption on Greek income, according to the tax authority’s guide.
Read more: What €1 Million Buys You In Attica Luxury Property Market
A constant flow of applicants
This summer, the government also cut the tax rate on carried interest for relocating fund managers from 15% to 5%, alongside the non-dom regime. However, their Greek operations must spend at least €3 million a year in the country.
Since its launch, the non-dom regime has attracted about 500 applications, half from outside Europe, according to finance ministry data. About 1,500 retirees and some 10,000 workers have applied under the other schemes.
“It is not 10 people who spend a lot of money,” Vassilis Karatzas, an adviser to the finance minister, told the FT. The goal, he said, is an “ecosystem” that is new to Greece.
Chryssa Miliou, the ministry’s general secretary for tax policy, described “a constant flow of people”.
At Greece Sotheby’s International Realty, non-dom buyers made up nearly a third of transaction volumes in 2025, up from almost none in 2023. More than half of them held UK passports, president Savvas Savvaidis said.
Villas give way on the Riviera
The change is most visible in Glyfada, Voula and Vouliagmeni. There, low-rise villas and gardens are giving way to apartment blocks with sea views, pools and round-the-clock security.
Still, prices remain low by Riviera standards. Athens coastal homes sell for €6,000 to €10,000 per square metre, Knight Frank told the FT. By comparison, prime central London costs €26,000 and Monaco €54,000.
“If they wanted the lights of Monte Carlo, they would go to Monte Carlo,” Savvaidis said.
Glyfada local Eleni Papadopoulou, however, has collected nearly 700 photos of the area’s vanishing villas. Many buyers eye the nearby Ellinikon development on the old airport site. Some newcomers treat the non-dom regime as a five-year experiment rather than a permanent move.
Source: Financial Times
