Greece: How do recent legal changes affect the Golden Visa?
Greece's residency by investment program It is one of the most popular in EuropeAnd it has remained among the top choices for the last four years. Why?
One of the reasons for its popularity in the past has been that the investment required in real estate was relatively low compared to other countries: €250.000.
During 2023, an increase in this amount was decreed for some places: in islands such as Santorini and Mykonos, or the Metropolitan Area of Thessaloniki (the second most populated city in Greece), the investment started at €500.000.
Once this stage was completed, the applicant could apply for permanent residency within 1 to 2 months. However, converting residency into citizenship is a long, 7-year process. This program is considered more attractive to investors interested in European residency, rather than citizenship. Thus, applications were submitted over 7000 Golden Visa applications for Greece during the 2023.
But this will undoubtedly be affected by a series of recent legal changes in Greece.
In February, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Parliament that an increase in the minimum investment amount was being considered for some islands and urban areas of the country.
“What we are discussing with the Finance Minister, and I believe we will be able to announce something very soon, is a significant new increase in the threshold for golden visa investments,” Mitsotakis said in remarks reported by the Reuters agency.
And although he did not reveal the areas, it was mentioned that the new minimum would be 800.000 euros.
So far, no definitive date has been given for when this increase would take effect, nor where it would be applied.
The local environment Kathimerini However, it points out that the Government's strategy seems to aim to establish three different "investment thresholds," based on the popularity of certain areas among foreign investors.
Accordingly, in the central, northern, and southern sectors of Attica—the administrative region that includes, among other areas, the Athens metropolitan area—where the minimum investment threshold is €500.000, another increase to €800.000 is likely. The same would apply to Santorini, Mykonos, and Thessaloniki.
According to the same source, while certain sectors where the limit is 250 euros would remain unchanged, in others where there is greater demand from foreign investors, the minimum threshold could rise to 400.000 euros or even 500.000 euros.
Authorities are expected to grant a period of a few months to definitively implement the changes.
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