Residence Services

RESIDENCE PERMITS FOR REAL ESTATE OWNERS IN GREECE

The government of Greece has recently introduced a procedure to obtain residence permits, which can be renewed every five years, for owners of real estate by third-country citizens, the value of which exceeds €250.000.

Why Greece?

• Free Travel to all 26 Schengen Countries

• The most cost efficient to acquire an EU Permanent Residence Permit,

• High level tourist services in a sunny and beautiful EU country.

• Competitive property sector with very attractive prices for the purchase of real estate.

Requirements and Qualifications to be met by the Main Applicant:

The following conditions must be fulfilled by the Applicant to receive a residence permit:

a) The real estate property must be owned by and be in possession of its owners.

b) In cases of joint ownership, where the value of the property is €250.000, the residence permit is only granted if the owners are spouses with undivided ownership of the property. In all other cases of joint ownership, the residence permit is only granted if the amount invested by each of the joint owners is at least €250.000.

c) If the owner has acquired the property through a legal entity, the applicant must own 100% of the company shares.

d) The residence permit is also granted in cases where the third country citizen is the owner, either directly or through a legal entity, of more than one real estate property with a combined value of at least €250.000.

Duration and Renewal of the Residence Permit

The residence permit issued by Greece is valid for 5 years.

The residence permit can be renewed. More specifically, the residence permits may be renewed for the same duration and for as many times as the applicant requests.

To renew the residence permit, the following conditions must be met:

a) The real estate property must remain in the full ownership of the applicant.

b) Absences from the country do not impede the renewal of the residence permit.

The resale of the real estate property, during the period when the residence permit is valid, to another third country citizen does not provide to the new owner the right to a residence permit.

Who can be considered as a family member of the man applicant:

1. Spouse; and

2. Children under 21 years.

Procedure and time frame:

The application, and all the documents provided should be in Greek with the exception of documents issued by foreign authorities.

The third country citizen, who has submitted an application and received the confirmation receipt described above, can reside legally in the country for the duration of the confirmation receipt (one year). The holder of the confirmation receipt is entitled to the benefits of the residence permit that they have applied for. Hence, they can proceed with any legal transaction regarding their investment and can transact with all the relevant authorities.

The permanent residency is issued approx. upon 4 months as from the date that all necessary documents are submitted to the Greek authorities.

The residence permit and long-term visas are valid as far as the free movement of the person in the Schengen area is concerned. Any citizen who holds a long-term visa (such as the residence permits for real estate owners) which has been issued by a member state and are valid for one year, are able to travel to other member states for up to 3 months within a  six month period, under the same conditions which apply to the holder of a residence permit, while they are also granted a right for multiple entries.

The residence permit does not provide access to any type of employment.

The family members that have been issued a residence permit for the same duration as the main applicant are similarly not granted access to the employment market.