Greece clarifies rules for the Golden Visa Program

A joint ministerial decision (46440/19/2019) has been published in the national Gazette (4155/12.11.19) clarifying the documents, procedures and all relevant issues in regards to the granting of entry visa and residence permit in Greece through equity investments, bonds or bank deposits. The new act details the provisions of the Greek Law 4605/2019 (Art. 42) which allows for the acquisition of a Greek residence permit through eight alternative options that are now available to third-country nationals, either natural persons or legal entities.

More specifically, a third-country citizen must invest into the following items in order to obtain the Greek “Golden Visa”:

  1. A capital injection of at least EUR 400,000 into a company which has its registered office or establishment in Greece (excluding portfolio of investment companies and real estate investment companies) for the acquisition of shares in share capital increase or bond issuance when issuing a bond loan;
  2. A capital injection of at least EUR 400,000 into a Real Estate Investment Company (AEAPP), which aims to invest exclusively in Greece, in order to acquire shares in an increase of its share capital;
  3. A capital contribution of at least EUR 400,000 to a Venture Capital Company for the acquisition of shares or a Venture Capital Fund for the acquisition of shares, provided that the aforementioned Alternative Investment Organizations (AIFs) aim to invest exclusively in companies with either HQ or establishment in Greece;
  4. Purchase of Greek government bonds with an acquisition value of at least EUR 400,000 euros and a residual maturity of at least 3 years at the time of purchase through a credit institution located in Greece, which will also act as a custodian;
  5. Time deposit of at least EUR 400,000 to a domestic credit institution of at least one year duration with a standing renewal order;
  6. Purchase of shares, corporate bonds or bonds of the Greek government at a minimum value of of EUR 800,000, which are listed for trading or are traded in regulated markets or multilateral trading mechanisms operating in Greece;
  7. Purchase of at least EUR 400,000 worth of equity shares in an equity fund and is intended to invest exclusively in Greek government securities, corporate bonds and / or bonds that are listed for trading or are traded in regulated markets or multilateral trading mechanisms operating in Greece;
  8. Purchase of at least EUR 400,000 worth of shares or shares in an Alternative Investment Firm (AIF), which is incorporated in Greece or in another EU Member State and is intended to invest exclusively in real estate in Greece.

It should be noted that the minimum investment value for the purchase of property is set at EUR 250,000.

In case of investment by a legal entity, the entry and residence of third-country nationals is permitted as follows:

(a) for an investment of at least EUR 400,000, carried out by a domestic legal person, a third-country national who holds all shares in the said company must be allowed to enter and reside in Greece; the shareholding must be proven by the legal form and/or the type of the corporate shares;
(b) for investments made by a foreign legal entity, up to three third-country nationals, who are shareholders or executives of that third-country company, may enter and reside in Greece. The maximum number of permits depends on the amount of the investment made by the legal person:

  • An investment of at least EUR 800,000 allows for one permit; EUR 1.6 million two permits; and EUR 2.4 million 3 permits.
  • This amount shall be increased to EUR 1.6 million, EUR 3.2 million and EUR 4.8 million for 1, 2 or 3 permits respectively in the case of the purchase of shares, corporate bonds or even government bonds, which are traded or traded in regulated markets or multilateral trading mechanisms.

Given the attractiveness of the program as well as the wide range of investment options, we advise interested investors to get in touch with our team of experts and explore their opportunities for obtaining a Greek residence permit.

Kostas Sakkas, Chief Accountant, Eurofast Athens
kostas.sakkas@eurofast.eu

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