Greece’s exquisite natural beauty combined with its unique history and culture make it a a premier option for third country citizens that wish to invest in the Golden Visa programme and thus acquire residence status in Greece, or become a citizen of the EU.
This article describes the changes that came with the new provisions of Law 5100 / 2024 regarding the Golden Visa programme. Strong incentives are still offered to foreign investors to buy other categories of properties or property in other areas of Greece, in order to benefit from a lower threshold of investment, which in some cases remains 400,000 euros and in others falls to 250,000 euros under the specific conditions laid down in the law.
In case you buy an undivided percentage of a co-owned real estate, the value of this percentage must be 800,000 euros.
In all cases above, the funds must be invested in one property only. In other words, you will not be able to buy more than one properties in order to «reach» the threshold for the investment (e.g. buy two plots of land for an overall price of 400,000€).
If the property is a building or if it comes with a building permit, the main residence must be at least 120m².
If more than one people make the investment, each person’s percentage must be equal to the minimum amounts referred to above, unless the co-owners are spouses or parties to a civil partnership.
Threshold of 250,000 Euros – Change of Use/Listed Buildings
In case of an investment in a commercial property that will be converted into a residence, the minimum selling price at the time of the purchase of the real estate must be two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euros.
These provisions remain the same in cases of investment in a real estate that is or is part of an industrial building or that includes an industrial building, provided that this building did not house an existing industry in the last five (5) years.
The building must be converted for residential use before the buyer files the application for a permanent residence, but the change of use can also be carried out by the seller.
The threshold of 250,000€ remains also in cases of investment in a listed building intended for restoration or reconstruction, whether the property includes part of it or the whole of it.
The property may not be transferred until the full restoration or reconstruction of the building; otherwise, the transfer will be considered ineffective.
If more than one people make the investment, each person’s percentage must be equal to the minimum amounts referred to above, unless the co-owners are spouses or parties to a civil partnership.
In all three categories of investment, i.e. the thresholds of 800,000€, 400,000€ and 250,000€, investors have the right to use the property they acquired in Greece for long-term rental. However, they are not allowed to use the property acquired under the Golden Visa programme: for short-term rental, in the context of sharing economy or rent and use them as offices or branches of an enterprise, considering that they have been converted from commercial to residential use, thus have become a principal residence. Non-compliance with these restrictions incurs respective fines, while the residence permit may be revoked as applicable.
Summing-up, we must stress the fact that issuing a Golden Visa is a complex procedure. Every investor must be particularly cautious, both in the stage of negotiating the purchase of a real estate, and in the stage of filing the application for a Golden Visa, considering that there are many issues regarding the interpretation of that Programme, which need particular legal attention and must be handled by a legal expert experienced in the real estate market.
ΑΝΝΑ Α. KORAKI & ASSOCIATES law firm, having twenty years of experience in the area of Real Estate, is one of the top-ranking Law Firms in the area of buying/selling property, with a strong presence in real estate transactions with investors from the US, Russia, Israel, Australia, Cyprus etc. The law firm can represent investors and private individuals effectively and swiftly across all stages of buying, selling, managing and leasing real estates.
Moreover, the law firm can assure that any legal setbacks that may arise during the process will be overcome, as its legal department is constantly up-to-date when it comes to issues of interpretation arising from the application of the Golden Visa provisions.
Finally, thanks to the fact that the law firm has been co-operating with the largest real estate brokers in the country, we can recommend opportunities tailored to your goals and business plans.
