ATHENS – Greece has started implementing the changes to its Golden Visa under which the cost of the visa has been doubled.
The changes announced earlier have taken effect and the cost of a Greek golden visa has doubled from €250,000 to €500,000 in the most popular areas of the country.
The increased cost had to be charged from May this year but was delayed; the government had finalized to increase the investment threshold for residency last year
The announcement to increase the cost of Golden Visa prompted billionaires from across the world and especially from America and China to invest in the country, a factor that delayed the implementation of increased charges.
Greece introduced its golden visa program in 2014 through which it granted a five-year residence permit that could be renewed to third-country nationals purchasing real estate worth at least €250,000.
Statistics by the Immigration and Asylum Ministry show that the golden visa program attracted nearly €1 billion to the Greek economy in the first five months of 2023 partly because Portugal discontinued its own residence-by-investment scheme and Greece postponed the threshold increase for some months.
Reports in local media suggest that the announcement of new measures triggered a backlog of more than 5,500 visa-by-investment applications as investors tried to acquire residency before the cost is doubled.
Though Greece jacked up the visa cost, European Union still stresses the complete discontinuation of the golden visa scheme and has been intensifying the pressure on member countries to scrap all such programs.
For countries in the E.U., the Golden Visa scheme also means gaining access to many of the benefits of being a resident of the zone — including free movement between the countries and free access to Schengen zone countries.
Meanwhile, Transparency International has also called for the end of golden visa programs, stressing that it is not about genuine investment or migration but about serving corrupt interests.
The Golden Visa schemes are also seen with disdain as experts say they are the root cause of serious housing crises – a reason cited by Portugal for discontinuing its Golden Visa program.
In Portugal’s case, the Golden Visa has been discontinued for real estate investment but still holds for foreign investors who want to develop a project. Under Greece’s new increased investment-for-visa scheme, third-country nationals are allowed to purchase only one property for the set amount.
It bears mentioning that the new minimum value at the time of purchase will apply to a single property in the northern section of the country, the central and south sectors of Athens in the Attica Region, the islands of Mykonos and Santorini and the Municipality of Thessaloniki while the previous minimum value of €250,000 will be maintained for the rest of the country, Forbes reported.
