The Greek government, from March 31, increased the minimum amount that citizens of non-EU countries must invest in real estate to obtain a five-year residence permit in the republic (“golden visa”). This was reported by Bloomberg with a link to a statement by the country's Ministry of Finance.
According to the statement of the department, the minimum cost of real estate in the capital region, in Mykonos, to obtain a “Golden Visa” Thessaloniki and Santorini, as well as on islands with a population of more than 3.1 thousand people, according to the new rules will be €800 thousand, in the rest of the country – €400 thousand (compared to €500 thousand and €250 thousand previously ). The area of the object must be at least 120 square meters. m.
The government explained this by saying that investors under this program will now rent more expensive housing that does not compete with the average apartment or house purchased by a Greek family.
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The “Golden Visa” can be extended for the same five-year terms as long as the property remains in the ownership of the third-country citizen who bought it, the Greek Ministry of Finance clarifies.< /p>
The purchased property can be rented out. Moreover, if the object is residential or converted into residential premises, then it cannot be used as the head office or office of a branch of the company. In this case, a fine of €50 thousand will be imposed, and the residence permit will be revoked.