9/15/2023
In the first 5 months of 2023, Greece earned nearly a billion euros through the “Golden Visa” program. Against the backdrop of announced changes in the rules for obtaining Greek residence permits for investments at the beginning of the year, there was a colossal surge in the number of applications for property purchases in the country for obtaining a residence permit—3900 applications compared to 1444 during the same period in 2022, which makes undoubtedly a quite big difference.
Greece’s “Golden Visa” is a state program that allows citizens of non-European Union countries to obtain a residence permit for their entire family through investments. Temporary residence permits were issued for investments in Greece starting from the price of 250,000 euros until August 2023. The conditions were quite favorable—buying multiple properties within the specified amount was allowed, with no regional restrictions.
Over the course of 12 months—from May 2022 to May 2023—out of 8351 applications, 35% received approval from the authorities, while others are awaiting approval. Nevertheless, the opportunity to invest money in a country that is demonstrating economic growth and is ready to offer residency with the possibility of naturalization in the future continues to attract investors from non-European countries.
Within the program, foreigners concluded real estate deals worth more than 975 million euros in just the first 5 months, whereas in the previous year, the figure for the same period was around 361 million euros. Experts attribute the more than 170% increase in these figures to two key reasons: the closure of a similar program in Portugal and the doubling of the minimum investment required for the “Golden Visa” when purchasing property in certain regions of the country.
The conditions for obtaining the “Golden Visa” in Greece changed on August 1st– What are the current circumstances to obtain one
Let’s see more analytically what are the exact conditions regarding the obtail of Golden Visa:
The implementation of changes to the “Golden Visa” program was originally planned for May. Initially, starting from May 1st, the authorities had announced an increase in the minimum required investment amount, but they later allowed those who were “late” to still make transactions under the old conditions until the end of July. It’s important to note that participation only requires initiating a transaction and contributing at least a portion of the amount.
Starting from August 1, 2023, the minimum investment was doubled from 250,000 to 500,000 euros in the following regions of the country:
Importantly, while in other regions, you could meet the 250,000-euro investment requirement by purchasing multiple properties, the 500,000 euro minimum is set for a single real estate property.
The program for obtaining a residence permit in Greece through investments is considered an accessible way to move to Europe in many countries. Additionally, among investors, there are many for whom obtaining Greek residency in a comfortable, good climate with clean beaches is not the primary goal but rather an added advantage for purchasing apartments for rental in a popular tourist destination, which seems to always have people who want to rent and live there apart from any bad political or economic circumstances.
Therefore, shifting focus towards less-developed areas of Greece will help attract not only apartment buyers but also tourists, thanks to the simplified access to rental properties and the simultaneous development of infrastructure as residential complexes are being built.
So, it is for sure a win-win situation both for the investors and the country itself!