WHAT IS THE GOLDEN VISA PROGRAM?
– The Greece Golden Visa is a residency-by-investment program that allows non-EU citizens to obtain Greek residency by investing in real estate or other assets in Greece.
This visa allows its owner to live in Greece and travel across the Schengen region, without any other visa. The right to live in Greece comes with public healthcare and education benefits as well.
The Greek Golden Visa Program grants a five-year residence permit in exchange for as low as a €400,000 real estate investment in Greece, depending on the region of the investment.
Also, the family members can be included in this residency program (spouse, children under the age of 21, parents and parents-in law.).
You may renew your Golden Visa residence permit every five (5) years. You must fulfill the required conditions to be able to renew at the end of each five years.
You can maintain the Golden Visa for as long as you have ownership of the Real Estate property.
This program doesn’t require the investor to live there. However, if you wish to apply for citizenship, then there are some requirements that must be met, such as: live there for seven years, be a tax resident in Greece during this period, enter and pass a Greek Language test, have a genuine interest or connection to Greece and the Greek culture etc.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT:
According to law 5100/2024, the Greek government introduced some changes regarding the Golden Visa Program, such as the dual-zone system for real estate transactions. The new rule is effective as of April 2024, with some further exceptions.
There are two different investment tiers. The minimum investment requirements depend on the geographic zone where the real estate property is.
More specifically:
1) 800.000 EUR: This is a real estate investment in the areas of Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and the islands, which have a population of more than 3.100 residences.
2) 400.000 EUR: This is a real estate investment in all the other regions of Greece. The main goal here is to encourage investment in a wider range of areas and not only the most famous ones.
The two-tier investment threshold encourages exploration of properties beyond high-demand areas. It potentially spotlights regions of Greece that offer significant cultural and economic value.
3) 250.000 EUR: This is a real estate investment in all the regions of Greece. The only requirement for this category is that it is for buildings that today have different uses at the Urban Planning and are converted into residences before the appliance for the Golden Visa.
These are the three main categories.
Categories 1 and 2 have a same requirement: The investment can is to be made in a single property of at least 120 square meters.
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CHANGES AFTER THE RECENT LAW 5100/2024:
After the above change of law, will previous or current applicants be affected?
Current applicants
If you have already applied for Greece Golden Visa, your case is under review. So, your application will not be impacted by the new changes to the Greek Golden Visa program.
Previous applicants
Furthermore, the program adjustments will not have retroactive effects. The investments made under the previous regulations will proceed as planned.
Therefore, the efforts of the previous applicants and their financial commitments will be secured as they have already embarked on the Greek Golden Visa process.
New applicants
For the new applicants to be benefited by the previous law, there are the following requirements:
The investment is to be completed by December 31, 2024, with the previous regulations that was in force until the new law.
But notice that one of the following must take place:
i. either an advance payment of ten percent (10%) on the purchase price
ii. either payment of the agreed price
iii. or signature of a notarized preliminary agreement or signature of a private agreement of a certain date and relevant proof of credit from the buyer’s bank in terms of sending the amount of the advance payment to the seller’s account until on August 31, 2024.
If the purchase of the property is not completed for any reason, you can complete the investment in another or other properties under the previous conditions that were in force, and in any case no later than April 30, 2025.
Some important details that should be noted:
🔎Is it possible to rent the real estate property to third parties?
-Investors who own real estate have the right to rent their property, but not as a sublease or a short-term lease, such as an Airbnb.
🔎Do I need to travel to Greece to apply for a Golden Visa or Can I apply remotely?
-Thanks to a change made in the Greek Golden Visa program on December 23rd, 2020, you can now make a remote application for Greek Golden Visa program. You need to provide your law firm in Greece with a Power of Attorney (PoA) to be able to do this.
Of course you can also visit Greece to have a full control of your investment, if you apply and obtain an entry visa.
🔎How long does the process take?
-The Greece Golden Visa typically takes 3 to 5 months to process, but the exact timeline may vary depending on various factors.
🔎 If I obtain the Greek Golden Visa and become a resident, do I have to pay taxes there?
-You must pay taxes only on the income you receive in Greece, thanks to the double taxation treaty. Of course, if you spend most of the year there, you become a tax resident in Greece and must pay taxes. Keep in mind that being a tax resident is a requirement to apply for citizenship.
🔎Can any mortgage exist in the real estate property?
No, the real estate property should be free of mortgages, so it can not be purchased via loan through a Bank.
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The following documents are about each individual person who wants to issue GOLDEN VISA:
1. A passport or any other travel document recognized by the competent Greek authorities meeting the following criteria: a) its validity exceeds by at least three months the intended date of departure from the territory of the Enhanced Schengen Cooperation Member – States or, in case of more than one visits, after the last intended date of departure from the territory of the Member – States; b) it has at least two blank pages c) it has been issued within the previous decade.
2. Medical certificate by a recognized public or private institution, proving that the applicant doesn’t suffer from a disease capable of being dangerous to the public health according to the international standards of the World Health Organization and the EU acquis, as well as other infectious, contagious, or parasitic diseases, which require measures to be taken to protect public health.
3. Evidence, such as bank, social security, pension statements proving that the applicant has the necessary annual income of 2.000 Euros/month (additional funds, 20% for a spouse, 15% for each child).
4. Certificate by a private insurance company that the applicant has applied to a medical insurer for full coverage of his medical care and expenses during his staying in Greece. Insurance contracts that are signed outside of Greece, provided that they explicitly mention that they cover the interested party for the duration of their stay in Greece.
5. Certificate of criminal record of the applicant by the competent authorities of the country of origin.
6. Family status certificate and if there are any children, the birth certificate for each child.
7. Identity card (ID card).
8. Any document that proves the home address of the applicant.
9. Any document that proves the occupation of the applicant.
10. 4 recent colored photos, suitable for passport, printed, and in digital form in a CD (JPEG 2000).
11. A processing fee must be paid and obtained through the “e-Paravolo” platform.
In some cases, the authorities may request additional documentation.
Note that the documents 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 must be translated and stamped with APOSTILE.
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