Greece Welcomes Investors For Golden Visa And Other Residency Programmes

Key advantages include:

• Lowest entry cost amongst the other alternative EU programmes.
• Initial procedure to be done remotely by Power of Attorney.
• Only one visit is required for the biometrics of the residence permit.
• Permanent residency is granted in just two months for three generations (main applicant and spouse, children up to 21 years and parents of main applicant and spouse).
• The most recent enhancement is that minors can be main applicants.
• For the Real Estate option, the main applicant may purchase several properties or one to make up the investment amount of €250,000, in any part of Greece apart from the regions described in the next paragraph.
• The investment amount was raised to €500,000 (only for one property) since 1 August 2023 for Central, North, and South Athens, Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini.
• Plots of Land are eligible.
• Property(ies) can be rented out.
• Fixed term deposit of €400,000 is easier and provides an easy way out and a capital guarantee. Can be easily converted to a property Golden Visa.
• No minimum residency/visit is requirement for renewal.
• Visa free travel to 27 EU countries.
• Eligibility for Greek Citizenship Application after seven years of residence.
• Main applicant can be the CEO of his company.

It is wise to directly employ a local lawyer for the due diligence of property purchase(s) and the opening of accounts, avoiding the all-inclusive offers of various promoters or agents. Currently, the real estate market is at the correct price entry level. At a recent parliamentary debate, the Prime Minister of Greece announced that he might consider raising the threshold to €800,000.

Financially Independent Persons (FIP) Visa

Those who can show a minimum monthly income of €2,000 are eligible for a two-year Residence Permit - the amount increases if family members are to be included in the application. There is a 180-day minimum stay requirement per calendar year. This programme is suitable for families who want their children to attend Greek or international schools.  

The Non-Dom Tax Regime

This regime provides the exhaustion of tax liability for any foreign-sourced income by paying an annual flat tax of €100,000, plus €20,000 for every accompanying dependant, regardless of the amount of income earned abroad, and with no obligation to declare any foreign income in Greece. and an exemption from any inheritance or donation tax for any property abroad. The Non-Dom tax regime benefits from the vast number of Double Taxation Agreements of Greece.

Family Offices

The Greek parliament approved a new law that sets the legal framework to secure transparency and provides incentives for Family offices to be set up in Greece. The government recently introduced a special visa for ‘digital nomads’, which would permit internationals engaged in remote jobs to work from Greece.

All the above procedures can be carried out remotely and only one visit to Greece is necessary for the biometrics.

Vardikos & Vardikos is a fully fledged Athens headquartered law firm, with offices in the Caribbean Islands of Dominica and St Lucia, providing inter alia Ship/Yacht Registration Services and is a Government Approved Service Provider for the respective Citizenship by Investment Programmes of both islands.

Christos Vardikos
Christos is an Athens based Attorney at Law and the Consul a.h. for the Commonwealth of Dominica in the Hellenic Republic. He manages the boutique law firm Vardikos & Vardikos with associated offices in Cyprus, and Dominica. The firm mainly represents foreign interests in Greece and internationally. In addition, he is an approved Government Authorized Agent/Service Provider for the Citizenship Program of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Vice President of the Consular Corps in Greece, and he assists the government with strategic consulting for investment-related residence and citizenship programs.