When the announcement came from the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, that the Spanish government would study measures to put an end to the Golden Visa (GV), some media outlets pointed out that, with this scenario, investors would redirect their interest to countries like Italy or Greece.
It is estimated that Spain receives around 550 million euros in foreign investment in real estate. Resources that would now go to the Hellenic country, for example.
However, it should be noted that Greece is also reforming its residency by investment program.
Recall that in February 2024, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated before Parliament that there would be «a significant increase in the threshold for golden visa investments.» That is, the low initial amount of €250,000, one of the main attractions of the Greek Golden Visa, would end. No further details were provided at the time.
But just last month, the new rules governing residency by investment were announced, as reported by the local outlet Ecopress.
As expected, the new minimum investment amount in real estate is €800,000, but limited to certain areas, specifically the Attica region (which includes the capital, Athens), the Regional Units of Thessaloniki (Greece’s second city), Mykonos, and Santorini, as well as on islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants.
Similarly, the minimum amount to invest in real estate in the rest of the Greek country has been set at €400,000. A new detail is that the investment must be made in a single property, of at least 120 square meters, and not in several small properties.
Was the minimum amount of €250,000 completely eliminated? No: it is maintained in two situations. One of them is if the investment is made for the purpose of restoring a historical building or property.
The other situation is if it involves acquiring a property for industrial or commercial use – offices, shops, hotels, warehouses – to convert it exclusively into housing.
Such conversion must be made before applying for residency, which can be renewed for the same period as before, five years, as long as the property remains owned by the person.
In the case of investment in a historic property, it will be necessary for restoration work to be completed before applying for residency renewal.
Other restrictions added relate to limitations on short-term leases, regarding platforms like Airbnb. This is because, as the Portafolio outlet indicates, there is a shortage of properties for long-term rentals. Those who fail to comply with these regulations will have to pay a fine and also lose legal residency in the country.
Greek authorities stated that there will be a transition period for those already in the process of applying for their Golden Visa or planning to make their investment before September 30, 2024. These investors will be able to complete their transactions under the same rules until December 31 of this year; in certain circumstances, the deadline could be extended until the end of April 2025.
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