Golden Visa Minimum Value Rises In Parts Of Greece

Golden Visa Minimum Value Rises In Parts Of Greece By Christos ILIOPOULOS* Athens, 22 December 2022 The Golden Visa programs in many countries are quite popular, since they allow non – citizens to obtain the much – wanted residence permit, if the applicant obtains property of a minimum value in one of these countries. It is eight years now that Greece has its own golden visa law, which requires the purchase of a property of minimum value of 250,000 Euros as its basic condition, in order the citizen of a third country (meaning non – European Union) to obtain residence permit in Greece for five years. The permit covers members of the family of the applicant, i.e. dependent children up to the age of 21 and parents of the property owner. Spouses can jointly buy the same property and both obtain the residence permit, which can be renewed after its expiration, provided the applicant retains the ownership of the property at the time of the renewal. The permit does not allow (initially) the applicant to work in Greece and the time spent in Greece by the owner of the permit does not lead to the acquisition of the Greek citizenship. There are conditions and requirements, depending on the facts of each case and the goals of each applicant. The Greek government has recently confirmed that the September announcement by the Prime Minister now takes effect and the minimum value to apply for the golden visa of 250,000 Euros rises to 500,000 Euros, but only in specific areas of Greece. These areas are the center of Athens and its southern and northern suburbs, the center of Thessaloniki and the two islands, Mykonos and Santorini. In those areas the minimum value of assets to be obtained so the third country (Non – EU) applicant can obtain the five – year residence permit (without the right to work in Greece) goes to 500,000 Euros. If however, the interested person has already located the property in Greece and has started the process of its acquisition, the new law will allow for a transitional period until the end of April 2023, within which the buyer must have paid the deposit to purchase the property and must have signed the pre-contract with the seller. The final closing of the purchase must take place by the end of 2023. So, even in the affected areas of Athens (center, southern and northern suburbs), Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini, buyers can still find and buy properties of a minimum value of 250,000 Euros in order to obtain the golden visa, as long as they pay the deposit by end of April 2023 and they close the purchase until end of 2023. In all other parts of Greece the minimum amount of 250,000 Euros remains intact. The new law has not yet been in force and details on the implementation of the changes are to be specified in the next weeks. *Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr