The Government of Greece offers ‘Golden visa’ to third country citizens who own real estate property in Greece, either personally or through a legal entity, provided the minimum value of the property is €250.000 or the same in investment projects.
Greece offers golden visa under three investment options, according to Enterprise Greece.
- Real estate: Permanent residence permit valid for 5 years issued to third country nationals and their families who buy a property valued atleast 250,000 euros in Greece.
- Investment activity: Permanent residence permit valid for 5 years for investment activity of any type (greenfield, brovvnfield ) of at least 250,000 euros and the investment must have positive impact on the greek economy (tourism, energy, logistics, agriculture, real estate, life sciences and culture).
- Strategic investment: Permanent residence permit valid for 10 years with total investment exceeding €100 million
The Greek Observer reported “Enterprise Greece said that according to data collected by April 30, 2017, a total of 1,684 visas have been offered to third country citizens, of which
- 701 were Chinese
- 357 Russians,
- 84 Egyptians,
- 81 Turks,
- 78 from Lebanon,
- 79 from Ukraine,
- 53 from Iraq,
- 45 from Syria,
- 37 from Jordan and
- 16 from Saudi Arabia.
Chinese, Russians lead the golden visa program in Greece.
Greece issued 3421 residence permits in 2016 compared to 2203 permits in 2015.
Golden visa programs running in Europe attract thousands of wealthy individuals investing in european real estate markets.
Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Latvia are other countries beside greece offering golden visas in Europe.
Greece (€250,000), Cyprus (€300,000), Malta(€275,000), Latvia (€250,000) have the lowest ‘Golden visa’ investment requirement in Europe besides Portugal and Spain requiring €500,000 euro investment.
A summary of investments poured into golden visa programs in Europe.
- Portugal golden visa program investment reached €3 billion euros in 2017,
- Spain’s golden visa scheme brought excess of €2 billion euros,
- Cyprus golden visa program received €4 billion in investments,
- Malta generated over €1 billion through IIP.
Source/References:
- http://www.aso.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Alt%C4%B1n-Vize-Program%C4%B1-Sunumu.pdf
- http://www.enterprisegreece.gov.gr/files/Pdf/guides/guide_eng.pdf
- http://www.ekathimerini.com/219122/article/ekathimerini/business/comparatively-few-golden-visas-issued
- http://thegreekobserver.com/greece/article/10893/chinese-russians-lead-golden-visa-program/
