In 2013, Greece opened its doors to outside investors by granting a golden visa to those who purchased a detached property for the sum of 250,000 euros.
Yes, it is a relatively low amount in which at that time it was possible to purchase a private house on a private beach with a huge private area. Today, of course, the situation is a little different and the prices, almost 10 years after the start of the gold visa transformation, look much more "western".
This visa matter attracted to Greece a great many investors from outside the European bloc who in fact both invested in yielding real estate with a significant return horizon and also allowed them to stay in Greece and Europe for a long period of time without restriction.
Today, with the exit of the Greek economy from the crisis and the removal of the supervision of the European Commonwealth of Nations, Greece takes a new position and changes the rules of the game.
As of December 2023, the Greek government decided to raise the threshold for obtaining a gold visa from 250,000 euros to 500,000 euros.
The change that may bring with it the investment threshold for obtaining a gold visa will be reflected mainly in the type of investors who will enter Real Estate investments in Greece on the one hand and on the other hand, the Greek government hopes that by raising the threshold more citizens will be able to afford a purchase at reasonable and attainable prices.
The Prime Minister of Greece, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who officially announced the change on September 10, 2022, has not yet announced when the change will take effect, but the estimates speak of the end of December 2022.
Following the announcement, quite a few questions arise, the first and most important of which is:
If I have a gold visa for a previous investment, will it be possible to renew it or will it expire at the end of the five-year period?
The second one is no less important and significant than it:
If I purchased a property these days for an amount exceeding 250,000 euros, which currently entitles me to a gold visa, but the contract will be signed and terminated after the policy change, will I be entitled to receive a gold visa or did I miss it?
There are other important questions about which there is still a fog that will slowly clear up.
What questions do you have regarding a gold visa in Greece?
Write your question in the comments and we will compile everything for another post later, which will shed more light on the expected changes following Mitsotakis' statement.
We will continue to follow and update.
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