Real Estate Investment for Greece Residency

The Immigration and Social Integration Code of Greece (Law 4251/2014, Government Gazette 1, no 80) gives the possibility of granting residency permits to foreign nationals and to the members of their families, who proceed to purchase of real estate property in Greece of a value exceeding €250,000. By decision of the Secretary General of the Decentralized Administration, residency permit for five years, subject to renewal, is granted to a foreign national.

The above permit may be renewed for an equal duration, each time, provided that the real estate property remains in the ownership and possession of the third-country national. Periods of absence from the country shall not disrupt the renewal of the residence permit.

Family members:

Foreign nationals may be accompanied by family members to whom, at their request, an individual residency permit is issued that expires together with the residence permit of the sponsor.

Family members are:

• The spouse
• The lineal descendants of  either spouse, who are under 21 years old
• The lineal ascendants of the spouses

Provision of timeframe:

Under normal circumstances, permanent residency shall be issued by the authorities within two months from the submission of all documents

Notice:

The residence permits do not establish the right of access to any form of employment.

Business Investors for Greece Residency

The law also provides a chance of receiving the permanent residency card by business investment activities. In the context of this program, the meaning of business investment activity can be separated into three categories:

• The construction of new facilities (greenfield investments)
• Business acquisitions
• Expansion of an existing business activity (brownfield investments)

Beneficiaries of the program:

Depending on criterions described by the law, this program provides the chance for people listed below to receive a permanent residency card, which can be renewed every five years:

1. Non-EU/EEA citizens who are investors,
2. Non-EU/EEA citizens who are executives of the investment,
3. Family members of investors

• Spouse
• Their unmarried children up to the age of 21
• The first degree ascendants of the spouses

As long as the investment activity has positive impact on the Greek economy, there is no restriction on the sector of the investment and the location.

The investors must commit to invest at least €250.000 to be eligible for applying for the permanent residency card. The table below summarizes the number of executives allowed by the size of the Business Investment Activity: