More time for Golden Visas
Deadline for the threshold of 250,000 euros has been extended up to the end of July
Investors from countries outside the EU will have three more months to secure deals to acquire properties at the current lower price limit of 250,000 euros, thereby securing the coveted residence permit (Golden Visa), but also the property of their choice in terms of location, before the minimum cost rises to €500,000.
In the recent law on the new immigration code of the Immigration Policy Ministry, published in the Government Gazette a few days ago, a provision is provided which stipulates that the time frame for signing a preliminary agreement (or even a final sale contract) at the existing price of €250,000 is extended from April 30, which was the deadline until now, to July 31.
Until then, interested investors will be able to proceed with agreements to acquire properties in the center of Athens or its southern or northern suburbs with a lower investment limit of €250,000. From August 1 onward, and as long as no new extension is granted, those who wish to obtain a residence permit and at the same time want to acquire a property in the above areas (as well as on Mykonos, Santorini and in the Municipality of Thessaloniki) will have to invest at least €500,000. Those who have signed pre-agreements by July 31 will have until the end of 2023 to proceed with the signing of the definitive purchase and sale contracts and to apply for the issuance of a residence permit for themselves and their family members.
In this context, there is a frenzy of buying and selling in the market, as investors try to beat the relevant deadlines. This situation essentially started last September, shortly after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke at the Thessaloniki International Fair about doubling the investment limit for the granting of a residence permit.
“It was already apparent at the end of September, when it became clear that the threshold for investors would change, that there was significant increase in buying interest, which peaked after the liberalization of travel for Chinese investors, from the end of 2022 onward,” Alexandros Risvas, head of the Risvas & Associates law firm, told Kathimerini.
