The ability to move freely throughout much of modern Europe without visas and bureaucratic restrictions is provided either by citizenship or residence in one of the countries of the European Union. Unfortunately, in today’s world there are fewer and fewer opportunities to obtain a residence card of an EU state for investments in the economy.
One of these few programs is the “Golden Visa Greece”, which has been running since 2013. After spending only €250,000 to buy real estate, you will get a Greek residence permit. The immigration status of a foreign investor can be extended an unlimited number of times, and if the residence card was made to move to Greece, the next logical step is to obtain an indefinite residence permit and European citizenship.
Investing in real estate in Greece will allow you to become a resident of the EU country for as little as €250,000, excluding additional fees.
The process of applying for a Golden Visa in Greece is streamlined and is not complicated by complicated bureaucratic procedures, even if you need to buy local real estate. With the help of Imperial & Legal’s lawyers, a turnkey Greek residence permit will take no more than 4 months.
The Greek immigration program is convenient because there are minimal requirements for new residents. To be able to extend your visa, you will not need to move to Europe or stay in the homeland of Aristotle and Socrates for a long time.
Essentially you can invest in Greek real estate just to be able to travel seamlessly through Schengen jurisdictions, without changing your place of residence.
The participant of the investment program in Greece has the possibility to obtain a European residence permit not only for himself, but also for his immediate family members: spouses, partners, unmarried financially dependent children under the age of 21, as well as dependent parents.
Due to investment activity, real estate in the Hellenic Republic is steadily increasing in value, even those properties that are located in remote parts of the country. Therefore, you will get significantly more money than you spent when you sell your Greek real estate.
If the real estate property is purchased only for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit in Greece, without plans to relocate, you will be able to rent out your Greek property. The average rental income is about 5% per annum in euros. The proceeds from this will cover all your expenses for the maintenance of your property many times over.
The Greek Resident Card issued to a foreign investor is valid for a maximum of 5 years. But you can always extend your residence card for the same period of time if you remain a Greek property owner. In other words, your residence permit in Greece will be extended because you fulfil the main condition of the investment program.
If the investment is in a residential property, or to put it simply, if you are not only buying a house or apartment for visa-free travel to Europe, but also plan to settle in Greece, after 5 years you will have the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. And 7 years of permanent residence on Greek soil combined with a high level of your integration into the local society opens the way to Greek citizenship.
Our story would be incomplete if we did not tell you about the opportunities of this wonderful country for those investors who are planning to immigrate to Europe:
Modern Greece is a prosperous European country with a good climate, as well as high safety standards, quality medical care and good education.
Since Greece is a full member of all significant integration processes in Europe, the holder of a residence card does not need to obtain a visa for travel within the Schengen area.
Entrepreneurs value Greece for its unique business opportunities, which include tax incentives, state support, a developed financial sector of the economy and access to solvent EU markets.
Significant tax benefits for foreigners with Greek residency status are another strong argument in favour of participating in the investment program.
Buying real estate in Greece opens the way to obtaining a European residence permit for you and your family. This status entitles you to free movement in the Schengen area, residence in the country and profitable investments. Imperial & Legal experts will help you at every stage – from choosing a property to obtaining a residence permit, providing legal support and professional advice for a comfortable move and successful investment in the EU.
Depending on the category to which a foreign tax resident classifies himself, he may use the following optimization tools:
A wealthy foreign investor is not considered a Greek domicile for the first 15 years of his residence, so he can pay a fixed amount of tax on all his foreign income, which leaves €100,000 per year.
Those who call themselves digital nomads, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs and salaried employees in Greek companies can get a 50% discount on their income tax for the first 7 years of their residence in Greece.
Foreign pensioners as well as financially independent persons can benefit from a preferential regime in Greece and pay only 7% tax on their income abroad in Greece.
The Hellenic Republic is part of the Schengen area. It should be recalled that within the Schengen area citizens of different European countries cross state borders without visas and passport control.
Holders of the Greek Resident Card can travel freely within the territory of 29 countries. This number includes almost the entire European Union – 25 countries, except for Cyprus and Ireland, as well as several independent jurisdictions, including Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.
With a Greek investment residence permit you will not only visit most of modern Europe without any visas and additional permits. The total time of your stay without registration in other Schengen jurisdictions within six months can be up to 90 days.
If you need more opportunities for traveling, after 7 years of residence you can apply for Greek citizenship. The Greek passport ranks 6th in international rankings, as its holders can visit 189 countries around the world without prior bureaucratic red tape.
The Greek government uses the investment program as an effective tool to improve life in the country. Depending on the “investment zone” your real estate purchase costs will be:
€250,000 – funds are only allocated to specific properties. There is no connection to the area and location of the property to be purchased. As a rule, it is a question of converting commercial real estate into residential real estate or acquiring buildings for restoration from a list approved by the authorities.
€400,000 – the entire amount is allocated for the purchase of a single property in Greece, which must not be smaller than 120 square meters. Often such properties are located in rural areas or in sparsely populated regions of the country.
€800,000 or more will be required to invest in real estate located in developed and well-populated areas of the Hellenic Republic. These include Athens, Thessaloniki, Attica, Santorini, Mykonos and Greek islands with a population of more than 3,100 people.
If buying real estate does not suit you, there are several other investment mechanisms for obtaining a residence permit in Greece.
The maturity of government bonds purchased as an investment must be at least 3 years from the date of purchase.
The whole procedure of obtaining the status of a resident of Greece for the purchase of real estate is conditionally divided into 7 steps:
It will be much easier for an investor to obtain a residence permit in Greece if he/she applies for legal support from the very beginning.
At the first consultation, which can be held either directly at Imperial & Legal’s London office or remotely via video link, we carefully consider all your circumstances and wishes to draw up the optimal algorithm for obtaining a Greek residence card.
As a rule, a service agreement is also concluded with our client at the first consultation. For this purpose, you only need to send our lawyers a minimum set of copies of documents.
Together with our specialist you consider all available real estate options in Greece at the time of your application to invest in the most suitable property for your needs.
At the search stage, the applicant decides how he/she will view and buy Greek real estate – personally or trust our lawyers in these matters.
In the first case, we help you to apply for a visitor’s visa and organize a viewing of your preferred properties in Greece. If you are not planning a trip abroad, we prepare a power of attorney and become your reliable legal representatives.
Once you have decided on a property option, our lawyers contact the seller’s representatives in Greece so that you can finalize the purchase.
We thoroughly review the purchase agreement so that you can sign the final version, transfer funds, pay associated fees, and thereby realize the investment.
Although this item comes after investing, in fact, both the preparation of the documentation package and health insurance start in parallel with the search and purchase of real estate in Greece.
Once the preparation has been successfully completed, Imperial & Legal will submit the completed residence permit application with accompanying documents, including proof of investment, to the Greek immigration authorities. As the entire process has been carried out with the reliable legal support of Imperial & Legal lawyers, the likelihood of being rejected is extremely low.
If the applicant applies for a visa in Greece, while waiting for the decision of the authorities, which often takes 2-3 months, he can be provided with a document that allows him to legally stay in the country.
If the investor applies for a Greek residence permit remotely, he/she will be granted a 12-month permit to enter and stay in Greece once the application is approved.
The Resident Card contains the biometric data of the immigrant. Our employee organizes your trip to Greece so that the immigration authorities take your photo and fingerprints.
Once your biometrics have been taken, the Greek authorities take a pause of up to 2 months for the production of your residence card. The procedure for obtaining an investment residence permit is considered to be successfully completed when you are issued a biometric card.
“The Greek Golden Visa is issued for a period of 5 years. The investor has the possibility to extend his residence card for the same period if he still owns real estate in the country.
Under the new rules, if you bought a house for restoration for the minimum €250,000, all restoration work on the property must have been successfully completed by the time you apply to extend your immigration status.
The package of documents required for visa extension will be the same as in the case of the first application to the immigration service. Taking into account the timeframe for processing applications in the Hellenic Republic, our attorneys recommend investors to apply for an extension in advance – at least 2 months before the date when your visa will cease to be valid.
If you have been a permanent resident of Greece for the last 5 years, have mastered the Greek language at an intermediate level (B1 category according to the European classification) and are willing to pass a written test on the knowledge of the local culture, you will be able to obtain an indefinite residence permit.
The Greek immigration authorities require that the applicant for a residence permit does not leave the country for more than 6 consecutive months, and the total time of his/her stay outside Greece should not be more than 10 months in the 5 years preceding the application. After 7 years of residence in the Hellenic Republic, the foreign investor is able to apply for European citizenship.
Imperial & Legal’s lawyers has successfully solved the problems of participants of the Greek investment program: from extending the current immigration status to obtaining an indefinite residence permit and an EU passport.
The Republic’s immigration program for foreign investors, also known as the Greek Golden Visa program, grants long-term immigration status to wealthy foreigners and their families for significant investments in the national economy.
The program provides for a wide range of investment options, including the purchase or long-term lease of real estate, the opening of term deposit accounts in the country’s banking institutions, investments in operating Greek companies, the purchase of shares in mutual funds, as well as investment in government bonds.
The amount of investment required to obtain a residence permit in Greece starts at €250,000. This minimum is required for the purchase of special Greek real estate:
commercial buildings that an investor must convert into residential real estate before applying for a Golden Visa;
buildings from a list approved by the Greek government to be restored at the buyer’s expense.
This €250,000 does not include the investor’s attorney’s fees and the transaction and visa fees associated with the transaction.
The fee that the owner of Greek real estate in the process of applying for an investment residence permit is €2,000.
If the investor is applying for a Greek residence permit for his family members, the additional cost is €150 for each person over 18 years of age. No fee is payable for minor children.
Add to your expenses the cost of issuing a biometric resident card. In Greece, the cost is €16 per card.
Currently, the applicant should be prepared that the process of obtaining a Greek residence permit will take 3-4 months from the time of consultation with a law firm to the receipt of the residence card.
Imperial & Legal lawyers do everything to ensure that the preparatory stage takes as little time as possible for the applicant, and that all the documents required for the “Golden Visa of Greece” are executed correctly!
Firstly, the Greek residence permit for investment is granted only to citizens of non-European Union countries.
Secondly, participants in the Greek investment program must have a good reputation. Applicants provide a certificate from the police stating that they have no criminal convictions. It is not favoured if the investor has previously violated the immigration laws of Greece or EU jurisdictions.
Thirdly, the applicant must have enough money at his disposal to be able to buy a property in the Hellenic Republic at an appropriate price and to pay the additional costs.
Typically, immigration attorneys will prepare a package of documents for a case-by-case basis, focusing on the investor‘s circumstances.
Here’s a basic minimum of the applicant’s documents:
a complete copy of the passport, including all pages;
birth certificate, with the full names of his/her parents, with an apostilized translation into Greek;
four recent color photographs of the applicant and a copy of the photo file on a CD;
paid receipt for the registration fee;
health insurance;
greek real estate purchase agreement;
a document confirming registration of the sale and purchase agreement with the Land Registry;
a certificate issued by the Land Registry or the National Cadastral Agency confirming the absence of any encumbrances on the acquired object;
notarized copy of the certificate of the conclusion of the sale and purchase agreement.
If you are acting through your legal representative, a notarized copy of a power of attorney signed by you authorizing the representative to apply for a visa on your behalf should be added to the list.
You do not need to be in the Hellenic Republic permanently to keep your Golden Visa extended.
The only condition is to maintain the investment and fulfil the requirements of the immigration authorities. As long as the investment in the Greek economy remains unchanged, a bona fide investor can extend his residence permit an unlimited number of times.
Yes, there is such an opportunity. Foreign investors can go through a significant part of the procedures for obtaining a Greek residence permit without leaving their home country.
For example, some clients of Imperial & Legal prefer to act through our employees who acton the basis of a power of attorney. You can sign and certify the relevant document at your nearest Greek consulate.
With the help of an intermediary, an impressive list of tasks is successfully accomplished – from registering with the tax office to acquiring investment assets and applying for a visa.
If the documents provided by the program participant do not raise any additional questions for the Greek authorities, the applicant and his dependents will be granted a temporary residence permit valid for 12 months.
The investor should take advantage of this opportunity and visit the Hellenic Republic with his family to be fingerprinted and photographed for a biometric resident card, which will be ready in 2 months at the latest.
You have the right to do whatever you want with your property. However, if you sell the real estate property that you purchased as an investment for a Greek residence permit, you will not have the right to continue to be a resident of Greece. Your buyer, on the other hand, will have a unique opportunity to obtain a Golden Visa, provided, of course, that he meets all the other requirements of the immigration authorities.
Unfortunately, foreign investors who have moved to the Hellenic Republic do not have this option. You will need a different category of long-term visa if you wish to be employed in Greece.
Our licensed immigration experts at Imperial & Legal will guide you through the process and explain all the benefits of the program. Contact us for a consultation and take the first step toward securing your residency in Portugal.
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