Greece Residency Permit by Investment
Greece Golden Visa Program offers residence permits to non-EU country citizens who wish to acquire a residency in Greece by making an investment furthering Greece’s economic growth. A Greek residence permit does not require you to reside in Greece for any specific period of time and allows free movement in any EU country by the provisions of the European Union.
Investment Options
Greece Residency by investment allows investors to acquire residency in Greece through several investment pathways leading to permanent residence permit and eventually to a Greek Citizenship. Residence permits must be renewed every 5 years and citizenship can be acquired after 7 years provided you meet all other relevant requirements at the time of application.
The Golden Visa program in Greece started in 2013 and has seen many changes ever since. The current eligibility criteria consist of several different investment paths:
1. Investment in Real Estate with restrictions on size and area – Purchasing commercial real-estates and converting them into residential properties or purchasing run-down historical, industrial and listed buildings and restoring them which must be retained and maintained for a minimum period of 5 years.
2. Investment in Real Estate regardless of area and size – Minimum investment of €400,000 for a property with a minimum size of 120sqm or an investment of €800,000 in a property which can be purchased in Athens and other popular islands with more than 3,100 residents.
3. Investment in a Greek Bank or Credit Institution – One-time investment in a fixed deposit of a minimum €500,000, this also provides you a return of 1.2% on your investment, however you need to maintain the investment in order for your residency to continue.
4. Investment in Limited Companies – One-time investment of €500,000 in any of the below:
– a. Real estate company that invests ONLY in Greece
– b. Purchase shares in a mutual fund investment company in Greece
– c. Purchase of shares or bonds that raises capital in a limited company in order to trade on the Greek markets
5. Investment in Government Bonds – purchase of government bonds with a value of minimum €500,000 from a Greek bank with a minimum holding period of 3 years
6. Investment in Greek trading markets – mutual fund investment in Greece of any other EU nation with a minimum value of €350,000 as shares, bonds and stocks, including government bonds that trades wholly in Greece.
Eligibility for Greece Residence Permits
- You must be over 18 years old
- You must not have any previous criminal record in the country you are a citizen of and other countries you have lived in
- You must invest a minimum amount of EUR400,000 plus the applicable taxes in Greece
- You must not pose a threat to the country
- You must not have violated visa rules previously in Schengen countries
- You must provide health insurance obtained from a company operating in Greece
10,497,595
Population Growth: 1.95%
29,500 USD
GDP (per capita)
GDP (purchasing power parity)
314 billion USD
175
Visa free countries
CAPITAL
Athens
LOCATION
Located on the Southern tip of Balkan Peninsula, Greece shares borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east.
TOTAL AREA
131,957s km2
AGE DEMOGRAPHICS
0–14 years: 13.87%, 15–64 years 63.31%, 65 years and over 22.82%
LANGUAGE
Greek
RELIGIONS
93% Christianity, 4% No Religion, 2% Islam and 1% others
GOVERNMENT TYPE
Unitary Parliamentary Republic
CURRENCY
Euro (€) (EUR)
EXCHANGE RATE
$1 = .90 EUR
GDP (PPP)
$430.125 billion, $41,188 Per Capita
TIME ZONE
UTC+2:00 (EET)