Greece Golden Visa

Greece issues permanent residency rights to foreign to investors based on real estate investment or property purchase in Greece. As of 2018, Greece has become one of them most popular and cheapest golden visa schemes in Europe. The Greek government announced it may expand the scheme by introducing government bond and bank deposit options for €400,000

The Immigration and Social Integration Code (Law 4251/2014, Government Gazette 1, no 80) contains provisions that facilitate the stay of third-country investors, whose investments are characterized as strategic investments, via the provision of extended stay time limits for the representatives of investment bodies and their partners.

Benefits

100% Real estate investment in Greece
Immigrate to Europe with family.
Travel freely within Schengen area
Immediate permanent residency in Greece
No language tests, no business experience, no medical tests.
Greece has still lowest property prices in Europe
Citizenship after 7 years
No minimum residence requirements

New Changes 2023

Greece golden visa investments in real estate will increase to 500,000 euros from Aug 1, 2023. The 250,000 euros will still be available for investors who will deposit 10% of the property’s value by 30.04.2023 and complete the purchase by 31.12.2023. After this date the minimum investment will double to 500,000€ in particular areas Regional Units of Northern, Central and Southern Athens, in the Municipality of Vari – Voula – Vouliagmeni, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini.

Minimum Investment

Greece offers golden visa to investors based on investment activity in Greece. Greece has diversified golden visa program into several investment categories besides real estate. To qualify for the Greek golden visa, there are several routes:

Real Estate: €250,000 euro property investment in Greece (5 year permit)
Strategic Investment: €250,000 euro in investment activity with executives added (10 year permit)
Securities and Bank Deposit: €400,000 euro (term deposit for one year in Greek bank institutions)
Greek Treasury bonds – €400,000 (held for 3 years)
Shares and Corporate bonds – €800,000 (traded in Greek stock markets)
Capital contribution – €400,000 in greek businesses
Legal entities – €800,000 (securities or bank deposit) or €1.6 million (treasury or corporate bonds)

You will receive permanent residence permit (PR) valid for 5 years and then renewable after then. No requirement to live in Greece. The processing time is about 1 month.

Update: Greece has implemented new changes to golden visa scheme exempting personal visit requirement

Golden Visa Fees

For the minimum of EUR 250,000 investment, the total costs are:

Approximately 6.4% (16,000€) for transfer tax, legal fees, land registry and notaries
EUR 2,000 for the Golden VISA stamps for every person that will apply for the visa with the holder
if you want the house to be furnished (for Airbnb rentals), additional EUR 10,000 for furniture etc.
Background check of the property in the competent land registry office: 250 Euros plus VAT 24%
Handling all the necessary procedures for signing the contract of the property purchase: 1.000 Euros plus VAT 24%
Applying for a residence permit: 300 Euros plus VAT 24% for every person.

Total costs: In general one should expect additional costs 8%-10% of the total EUR 250,000 investment

Multiple properties can be purchased totaling EUR 250K investment.

Download

Enterprise Greece Brochure – Download pdf

Lowest Property Prices

Greece has the lowest property prices in Europe EUR 1500/sq.m, compared to other countries in Europe. This also means you can get more than 150 sq.m of apartments for the 250,000 euro golden visa investment in Greece.

1. Real Estate

In order to obtain a residence permit for real estate owners, the following preconditions must be fulfilled:

The real estate property must be owned by and be in possession of its owners.
In cases of joint ownership, where the value of the property is €250.000, the residence permit is only granted if the owners are spouses with undivided ownership of the property. In all other cases of joint ownership, the residence permit is only granted if the amount invested by each of the joint owners is at least €250.000.
If the owner has acquired the property through a legal entity, the applicant must own 100% of the company shares.
The residence permit is also granted in cases where the third country citizen is the owner, either directly or through a legal entity, of more than one real estate property with a combined value of at least €250.000.
In cases where the applicant wants to enter the country with a type D visa, the documented intention to own property should be supported by documentation which prove the financial capacity (e.g., certificate of an A-class certified bank, or other recognised financial institution), which certify the existence of bank accounts or other mobile assets, such as bonds or shares, which can cover the cost of the investment of at least €250.000, and which certify the intention of the applicant to purchase the property (contract with a law firm or with a real estate office).
In the case of third country citizens who have signed a lease of at least 10 years for hotel accommodations or furnished tourist residences in integrated tourist resorts, provided the minimum value of the lease is €250.000, the contract must require a single payment of the lease for the equivalent of the ten year leasing of the property. In all cases outlined above, the value of the real estate property will be determined based on the value of the property, or the lease, indicated in the contract of purchase. The value of the property, according to law 4146/2013, is the amount stated explicitly on the contract which has been submitted for the purchase of the real estate property. The objective, or assessed, value of the property is not relevant, unless it corresponds to the amount which was, according to the contract, paid for the sale of the property

2. Strategic Investment

Investor applying for a residence permit under this program should contribute to the investment with an amount of at least €250,000, available through own funds.

In addition, the number of permits for executives allowed for each investment project depends on the amount of the total investor contribution.

Finally, the total number of residence permits allowed for an investment project cannot exceed 10 residence permits for investors and executives).

Bitcoin

We accept Bitcoin for real estate in Greece for Golden visa purpose.

Greek Citizenship

After 7 years of living in Greece. You have to pass the Greek language test. You can become a full EU citizen naturalizing in Greece,

Greek Passport

Greece has one of the powerful european passports in the world with visa free access to 183 countries. Greece has Visa Waiver Program (VWP) with United States, Canada, United Kingdom.

Residence Permit

In order to obtain a residence permit for owners of real estate, an entry Visa is necessary. For this purpose, the third country citizen is required to have been awarded either a Visa type D or a Visa type C (Schengen). If the foreign citizen needs a long period for research or after the acquisition wishes to stay in Greece for an extended period of time, a type D national visa is more appropriate. In any case, the application for a residence permit must be submitted before the expiration of the visa.

The duration of the residence permit is 5 years and it can be renewed for another 5 years each time, provided that the applicant still owns the property. Also, the members of the investor’s family have the potential to request individual residence permits. For this purpose, they must submit separate applications and their own permit expires at the same date that the investor’s permit expires.

The submission of the application for the issuance of the residence permit, the submission of additional documentation, the receipt of the residence permit or of a rejection, or any additional documentation from the relevant file, can be done either in person by the third country citizen, or through a proxy. This means that third country citizens who have never entered Greece are not allowed to submit an application for a residence permit via a proxy. The applicant is allowed to enter the country, to assign their representation to a lawyer, either with a proof of authenticity of their signature issued by a police authority or with a notarized power of attorney, and then depart from the country and not be present during the submission of the application for a residence permit and/or the granting of the relevant permit. The authorities receiving the application will issue a confirmation that the application has been submitted, provided that all the necessary documentation has been submitted with the application. This confirmation is valid for one year. The third country citizen, who has submitted an application and received the confirmation receipt described above, can reside legally in the country for the duration of the confirmation receipt. Once the authority of Aliens and Immigration of the Decentralised Authority has verified that the application fulfils all necessary conditions and, in accordance with the decision of the Secretary General of the Decentralised Administration, they will issue a five-year residence permit.

Greek Golden Visa Law

Moreover, it is given the possibility of granting residence permits to third country nationals and to the members of their families, who proceed to the purchase of real estate property in Greece, the value of the one exceeds 250,000 Euro.

Permanent residence permit of the investor (Article 20)

1. By decision of the Secretary General of the Decentralized Administration, residence permit for five years, subject to renewal, is granted to a third country national who:

has legally entered the country with any type of visa or legally resides in the country, even if the type of residence permit that he possesses, does not permit change of purpose.
has personally the full ownership, possession and peaceful enjoyment of real estate property in Greece. In the case of jointly owned property, worth 250,000 euro, the right of residence is granted only if the owners of the property are spouses with indivisible shares in the property. In all other cases of joint ownership, the right of residence is granted only if the joint ownership rate of each joint owner is worth 250,000 euro.
has the full ownership, possession and peaceful enjoyment of real estate property in Greece via a legal entity, whose shares are fully owned by him.
has concluded an agreement for at least ten years lease of hotel accommodation or furnished tourist residences in tourist accommodation complexes, pursuant to the Article 8 par. 2 of the Law 4002/2011 (Government Gazette 1, no 180).
has concluded a time sharing agreement pursuant to the provisions of the Law 1652/1986 “Time sharing agreement and related issues” (Government Gazette 1, no 167), as in force.

2. The minimum value of the real estate property, as well as the contractual consideration of hotel accommodation or tourist residences leases of this Article, is determined at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euro and must have been paid in full upon the signing of the contract.

3. Το third country nationals, real estate property owners, the possibility of leasing that property is granted.

4. The above third-country national may be accompanied by the members of his family to whom, at their request, an individual residence permit is issued, that expires together with the residence permit of the sponsor.
Family members shall mean:
(a) the spouse
(b) the lineal descendants of the spouses or either spouse, who are under 21 years old.
“c. the lineal ascendants of the spouses. ”

5. The above permit may be renewed for an equal duration, each time, provided that the real estate property remains in the ownership and possession of the third-country national or the agreements of paragraph 1 of this remain in force and all other requirements, provided by law, are fulfilled. Periods of absence from the country shall not disrupt the renewal of the residence permit.
“The resale of the real estate property during the period of validity of the residence permit, to another third-country national shall provide the right to the granting of residence permit to the new buyer with simultaneous withdrawal of the vendor’s residence permit.”

6. The residence permits, being granted pursuant to the paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article, do not establish the right of access to any form of employment.

7. The residence permit shall be issued within two months from the submission of all the documents of the file to the issuing authority.

Our Services

We offer full hand holding service to our clients from start to finish including property buy/sell service, property rentals, airport pickup when applying for the program.

FAQs

Summary

How much it costs to get golden visa in Greece?

As per Golden visa rules, you have to buy a property for €250,000 or more. Please expect property registration and legal costs and government fee.

What makes Greece golden visa program so popular?

Greece is a warm country, visited by millions of tourists every year. The golden visa program offers permanent residency rights in the schengen area, plus the property prices lowest in Europe making it very attractive to foreign investors.

How much time to get Greek passport?

The Golden visa program offers path to Greek citizenship and passport after 7 years of living. You will also need to take Greek language test and civic test.

Are there any other investment routes besides real estate?

Yes, Greece recently introduced Bank deposit and Government securities options for 400,000€ investments. There is also €250,000 strategic investment path for capital investors.

Can i invest in commercial properties or hotels for golden visa?

Yes you can meeting the 250,000€ minimum. You can invest in hotels, resorts and commercial properties.

Please see more detailed FAQ here.

1. Can i visit or stay in Schengen states from Greece?

Certainly, you can spend upto 90 days in 6 month period in ANY schengen country. You can also visit EU /Non-EU member states such as Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Cyprus etc with visa free regime. Please check visa requirements for Third country nationals who are residence permit holders.

2. Can i purchase real estate jointly?

The residence permit is only granted if the amount invested by each of the joint owners is at least €250.000

In cases of joint ownership, where the value of the property is €250.000, the residence permit is granted if the owners are spouses or partners with a cohabitation agreement in Greece, with undivided ownership of the property.

Can i purchase real estate through legal entity?

The applicant must own 100% of the company shares, if the property is acquired through legal entity.

3. How long is the residence permit issued for?

You can get either C schengen visa (short term 90 day validity) and D visa (long term visa) after making property investment in Greece. If you are outside Greece, you must apply for C/D visa at the Greek consulate, else at migration office in Greece.

Under the GV scheme, the following are validity of permanent residence permits with unlimited extensions

Real estate – 5 years
Strategic investment – 10 year

The validity of residence permits issued to family members are tied to the investors permit.

4. Can i rent or lease hotels/resorts to apply for golden visa?

Yes, if you have signed a lease of at least 10 years for hotels or tourist resorts, provided the minimum value of the lease is €250.000, the contract must require a single payment of the lease for the equivalent of the ten year leasing of the property.

5. I have purchased a property in Greece before 2013? Do i qualify for golden visa?

Third country citizens who either reside legally, with a residence permit, in Greece, or wish to enter and reside in the country, and who have full ownership and possession of real estate property in Greece, which they have purchased before the enactment of law 4146/2013, provided that they had purchased the real estate property for a minimum of €250,000 or the current objective value of their real estate property is at a minimum of €250,000;

6. Can EU/EEA citizens apply?

7. Can i include family members?

Yes, investors can apply residence permits for family members under the following rules:

The spouse,
The other spouse or partner with whom a third-country national has a cohabitation agreement in Greece, – Their unmarried children up to the age of 21,
The unmarried children of the dependant or his / her spouse up to the age of 21, provided that the right of custody has been legally granted to the sponsor for his/her children and to the other spouse for the children thereof,
The first-degree ascendants of the spouses.

These family members are granted residence permits for family reunification.

Unmarried partners do not qualify for residence permits under Greece golden visa scheme.

8. Can i buy land and build a house?

Yes you will qualify for residence permit if, you can plot of land and proceed to erecting a building, provided that the cumulative value of the land purchase and the contract with the construction company is at minimum €250,000.

9. Can i invest in commercial properties?

Yes, you are allowed to invest in any commercial real estate under the scheme.

10. Is mortgages and renting of property allowed?

Yes, you can also rent it out through Airbnb

11. What rights i get with Greek residence permit?

All investors and their family members are entitled to equal rights under Greek law, including access to health care and education.

12. Is documents submitted need to be in Greek language?

The documents that are required for the application for a residence permit must be submitted in Greek, except for the documents issued by foreign authorities, which need to be certified with Apostille, or consular certificate or a lawyer who is a member of Bar association.

13. What is the Golden visa application fee?

The Application fee is €2000 for residence permits of up to a five year duration for real estate owners . For family members the fee amounts to €150 per person. Minor children (under 18 years old) are exempted from this fee.

There is also €16 euro fee to issue residence permit per card.

14. Can i naturalize for Greek citizenship?

The Golden visa scheme do not provide expedited path for citizenship . You can naturlaize, if you meet the following conditions.

Above 18 years old
No criminal record
Spent 7 years of uninterrupted legal residence in Greece.

Naturalization fee is € 700

Greece allows its citizens to hold foreign citizenship in addition to their Greek citizenship (dual national)

14. Does VAT apply for buying properties?

No. The 24% VAT is exempted by new government for upto 3 years.

15. What will happen if i sell my property?

You can sell your property anytime. If you decide to sell the property you can transfer residence permit rights to the new buyer. Residence permit is granted to the new buyer along with a simultaneous revocation of the seller’s residence permit.

16. How many investors can get residence permits through buying a residential or commercial property for €1m?

Since the minimum requirement is €250,000 EUR, for an investment of €1 million euros, a total of 4 investors and their family members can obtain residence permits.

17. How does Strategic Investment work?

Greece aims to attract foreign direct investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, tourism, agriculture and other sectors through flexible and fast administrative procedures. There are no restrictions regarding the sector of activity or the location of the investment project. The requirement that must be met by the investment is to have positive impact on national development and the economy.

You must invest atleast €250,000 from your own funds. The more you invest above €300,000, you can add executives or corporate staff for residence permits.

Lets say if you invest €1m in Greek business, you can add 2 executives (and their family) for residence permits. For an investment of €40m and above you can add 10 executives which is the maximum limit.

18. Can i work under golden visa scheme?

Investors and corporate executives under strategic investment have access to labour market. Property investors and all family members do not have access to work.

19. Where should i submit the documents for residence permits?

Applications for the granting and renewal of residence permits are submitted directly to the municipality or the relevant authority of the Aliens and Immigration of the Decentralised Authority in the applicant’s place of residence.

20. What is the processing time?

Anywhere between 3-4 months

21. Are there any restrictions on foreigners buying real estate?

Foreigners cannot buy properties in these Greek border regions. Border regions are defined the prefectures of the

Dodecanese, Evros, Thesprotia, Kastoria, Kilkis, Lesvos, Xanthi, Preveza, Rodopi, Samos, Florina, Chios, and the islands of Thera and Skyros,
Former regions of Nevrokipi in the former prefecture of Drama;
Pagoniou and Konitsas in the prefecture of Ioannina; Almopia and Edessa in the prefecture of Pella; and Sintiki in the prefecture of Serres.

Individual or legal entities, which are affected by the restrictions above, can request the lifting of the ban for the border regions, along with their application, which should clearly state the intended use for the property. The decision to lift the ban is made by the Minister of Defence, following the submission of an application.