Golden Visa Greece – Residency by Investment Program

Greece is part of the EU

Launched in July 2013 to encourage investment, The Golden Visa program in Greece offers residency without citizenship. Investors and their families gain the right to reside in Greece, although there is no obligation to do so. This will afford you the freedom to travel visa-free throughout the EU Schengen area.

About Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a nation renowned for two things, its ancient civilisation and its enthralling unique landscapes. Greece is one of the most historic countries there is, with continuous inhabitation since around 270,000 BC. Greece is considered the birthplace of western civilisation, democracy, western philosophy/literature and political science

Located in Southern Europe, Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This makes it a prime location for investors with a global business mindset. Being in the Mediterranean, it benefits from mild winters and hot, dry summers. With an advanced high-income economy, Greece offers its residents a high quality of life and a very high standard of living.

Greece Golden Visa Program

Besides its cultural significance and summer sunshine making it a prime tourist location, Greece warmly welcomes investors seeking business opportunities. Because of this, Greece’s Golden Visa Program can see investors issued with a residency permit in as little as two months.

The key benefits of the Greece Golden Visa Program:

• Visa-free and unlimited travel to all Schengen area countries.
• Ability to reside in Greece throughout terms of residence.
• Access to the same public health and education as Greek Citizens.
• Possibility of applying for citizenship after 7 years of residence.
• Easy application procedures.
• The lowest minimum investment amount in Europe.
• Subject to obeying the law, investors can renew their residence permits as often as they wish.
• Investors can bring along their parents or spouse’s parents.
• It is not necessary to live in the country in order to retain and renew the investor visa.
• No minimum stay requirement.
• Investors can bring their spouse, children below 21 years of age and up to age 28 if they are enrolled in a Greek university, parents and parents of the spouse.

Main Terms and Conditions

• Applicants must be 18 or over and able to provide proof that they have no criminal record
• Must possess valid passport
• Must declare origin of the funds for investment
• Must be free of sanctions

Investment requirements

Size of investment

€250,000 (+ 24% VAT if applicable) investment in real estate

Duration of investment

The visa is granted for five years and renewed every five years if the property investment is retained.

Residents can live in the country until they sell the property.

Government Fees

€25,000-€50,000 depending on size of the investment and number of applicants

What is residency?

When you become a Resident of a country, you are permitted to live in that country within the terms of your visa. As a resident (and not a citizen), you are not entitled to a passport because you are not a citizen of that country.

Residency is usually not permanent (unlike Citizenship which always is), at least the first residency is granted, and so in most cases your Residency visa will need reviewing and/or renewing at various stages.

For more info on the concepts of citizenship, residency and golden visa read here.

Next step

At Shorex Capital, we will handle all aspects of your application and investment requirements. We work with several property developers and are totally independent.

To find out more about obtaning the Golden Visa Greece, please contact us, we will be happy to assist you:

Inna Iranyi, t +44 20 7482 8102, inna@shorexcapital.com (English, Russian)

Ilona Iranyi, t +44 20 7482 8123, ilona@shorexcapital.com (English, Russian)

Philippe Gelin, t +44 20 7482 8118, pg@shorexcapital.com (English, French)