Golden Visa threshold to be raised
The gov’t is likely going to increase the minimum amount of realty investment required
The government is going to increase the 250,000-euro threshold for realty investment with the aim of obtaining a five-year residence permit, known as a Golden Visa, in the near future, with the aim on the one hand to contain demand and on the other to “deflate” the sale and rental prices of real estate.
The government is reportedly considering various scenarios, but they seem to have settled on increasing the minimum amount of €250,000 to a higher level. Notably, property sales have increased in areas such as Piraeus, where the threshold for granting a residence permit through the Golden Visa program has remained at €250,000, as well as Rhodes, Halkidiki and Crete.
The minimum amount has doubled to €500,000 in the center of Athens, in the northern and southern suburbs, and on specific islands in the Cyclades.
As Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakis told a conference last week regarding the Golden Visa program, “measures to limit it will be applied, the limits will be increased to make more substantial investments, but there will be an exemption for listed properties, for which a lower minimum threshold will apply in order to direct funds to a property class that is particularly in need of them.”
According to foreign analysts of the investment immigration sector, such as Astons, in the UK, the Greek program remains one of the most attractive across Europe, since it has the lowest threshold for foreign investors – i.e. €250,000. Although the properties located in the most attractive parts of Attica are now excluded from this level, such as in central Athens and the northern and southern suburbs (where the threshold has doubled), there are still significant areas to which foreign investors are already heading.
Based on data from the Ministry of Immigration Policy, between January and November 2023, permits granted to investors from Great Britain increased by 77.8% to 370 (from 208), while those to Israelis increased by 77.6 % to 183 (from 103).
