Golden Visa Greece Program: Limited Price Hike and Key Updates
When Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a price hike for Golden Visa Greece Program few months back, many may have pondered whether the program would maintain its status as the most attractive residency by investment program in the world.
The vague announcement, coupled with a peculiar lack of details, made people believe that the Greek Golden Visa would jump from being one of the most affordable options in Europe to one of the most expensive. Fast forward to January 2023, and all those fears have dissipated.
The fact remains that the vast majority of Greece’s regions will continue to operate under the €250,000 property valuation. This means that there remains an abundance of high-potential, high-yield investment areas open to Golden Visa applicants, thus ensuring the Greek Golden Visa maintains its glamor in full flow.
Moreover, the Greek Government has introduced a grace period, allowing investors to qualify through a €250,000 investment in one of the areas undergoing a price hike if they make a 10% deposit before the 31st of July and complete their purchase and application before the end of the 31st of December, 2023. This regulation gives investors interested in owning property within certain areas of Athens, Thessaloniki, Santorini, or Mykonos to conduct their business.
It is important to note that the financial products and business establishment investment options did not undergo any changes, and remain at their current price points of €400,000 and €250,000, respectively.
However, the news about the limited price hike has overshadowed some significant steps the Greek Government has taken to ensure the Golden Visa remains exceptionally attractive; and we will highlight them in detail.
Funding Options for the Greek Golden Visa
An essential aspect the Golden Visa boasts that is regularly underestimated is its high tolerance for funding applicants.
Golden Visa applicants can acquire funding from blood relatives up to the second degree. They can transfer the investment amounts from their relatives’ bank accounts to the investor’s Greek bank account and then to the seller’s or the developer’s bank account.
Since the Golden Visa allows the addition of three generations of family members (main applicant, spouse, dependent children, parents and parents in law), allowing blood relatives to sponsor each other makes the program more viable and beneficial for family-oriented investors.
Greek banks will conduct their internal due diligence regarding the transfer, but the Government does not implement the tiring due diligence process other countries do on funders for their CIP applicants . This regulation provides the Golden Visa with even more flexibility while maintaining its streamlined process and quick turnover time.
But wait, there’s more.
Moreover, investors can also acquire funding from foreign banks, as it still constitutes FDI and Greek banks will have an easier task confirming the source of funds . Both funding from relatives from foreign banks (as a loan) is acceptable in terms of taxation and the Greek Golden Visa Law. The amounts must be transferred from the investor’s foreign bank account to his Greek bank account
By allowing funding of investors, the Greek Golden Visa evolves from an excellent global mobility solution to a robust tool to hedge against inflation through precise financial planning and investment.
Limited Price Increase: Specific Areas Affected
Through its new regulations, the Greek Government has limited the minimum investment increase to just four jurisdictions:
Affected Areas in Athens
North, Central, and South Sector of Athens: These regions will see the increase in the required investment amount for Golden Visa eligibility.
Areas in Thessaloniki and Attica
Municipality of Vari – Voula – Vouliagmeni in Attica: Another area where the price adjustment will apply.
Municipality of Thessaloniki in Macedonia: This is also impacted by the price increase.
While these four areas will be subject to the increased investment thresholds, the vast majority of Greece’s regions will continue to operate under the €250,000 property valuation. This ensures that investors have access to various high-potential, high-yield investment areas without being affected by the price hike.
Greek Golden Visa applications went digital on the 16th of November, 2022. Applicants can apply online through their lawyers via a governmental portal, making the entire process much easier and less time-consuming.
In addition to the limited price increase in specific areas, applying for a Greek Golden Visa has become remarkably easier for applicants.
Remote Application Process
Applicants can now complete the entire process remotely, except for submitting biometrics at the final stage. This change makes the application process much more convenient compared to other residency programs.
No Appointments and Online Submission
Unlike the Schengen Visa application, which requires appointments and in-person visits, applicants can submit their Greek Golden Visa application entirely online. This flexibility saves time, removes the need for appointments, and allows applicants to manage everything from the comfort of their own home.
Immediate Temporary Residence Certificate
Once applicants submit their application, they will immediately receive a Temporary Residence Certificate. This certificate allows them to live and work in Greece while waiting for the final approval of their Golden Visa.
Another regulation amendment allows applicants to submit their application through a proxy (someone to apply on their behalf) through a Power of Attorney (POA).
Applicants can also apply for a Greek Tax Number, open a Greek bank account, acquire properties, elaborate business plans, and conduct intangible investment implementation remotely through a well-placed POA.
Applicants can draw up and sign a POA before any Greek Consular authority or eligible, competent foreign authority. A notary bearing the Notation of The Hague can also conduct the required activities, making it much simpler for applicants hailing from Hague Convention nations such as Turkey or India.
The Greek Government has taken significant steps to make the Golden Visa process as seamless as possible, and at the moment, it has the simplest residency by investment procedure not just in Europe, but the globe.
About Golden Visa Greece
The founders of Golden Visa Greece specifically designed the firm to become the top-tier investment advisory and investment facilitator in Greece.
Our mission is to facilitate international investments in Greece, simplify complicated processes, and ensure sustainable & profitable investments.
We are able to do this through our veteran team of professionals and our data-driven approach. We rely on numbers, analytics, and core internal knowledge of the Greek investment environment.
Our firm acts as a one-stop shop for investors, combining the immigration and investment components while doing justice to both. We understand how important the investment element of the Golden Visa is to our investors, and we always deliver outstanding value for money in a notoriously expansive real estate market.
To know more about the Greek Golden Visa and how you can access all it has to offer through a shrewd investment that fits your objectives, budget, needs, and desires, contact us today through our website. https://www.goldenvisa-greece.com/contact/
