More Reasons Not To Invest In Greece’s Golden Visa Program

29.03.2024 - 16:35 / forbes.com

The tide is turning among Europe’s golden visa programs.

A wave of more restrictive policies, more expensive minimum thresholds, and outright eliminations of programs has swept across the Continent in recent months.

Ireland eliminated its Immigrant Investor Programme in 2023.

Portugal made the real estate investment option of its golden visa program—previously Europe’s most popular—more restrictive and expensive before eventually abolishing it (also last year).

Greece is one of the latest countries to follow suit. After weeks of vague statements and speculation about changes to its highly coveted golden visa program, the Ministry of Finance confirmed the new policies on March 21.

The main takeaway is that the minimum thresholds for real estate investment have gone up. Specifically, they have increased from 500,000 to 800,000 euros for homes in Greece’s most popular and populated zones and from 250,000 to 400,000 euros everywhere else.

A handful of lower-cost real estate investment options remains available. If you buy a property that has been converted from commercial to residential or buy and restore a listed building, the minimum threshold remains at 250,000 euros.

These changes take effect on March 31, but the government is providing a transition period that lasts until September 30. If you pay a 10% deposit on property in Greece before September 30, you can qualify for a golden visa under the current, less-expensive thresholds.

Does this mean that you should rush over to Greece and put down a deposit on a home in the next six months if you’re interested in living there?

Not in my opinion.

A Greek golden visa investment only makes sense in a handful of specific cases (if you’re from a country that does not enjoy visa-free travel to the EU or if you’re looking to gain residency without becoming a tax resident in Greece).

If you’re just interested in property investment in Greece, you don’t need to use its golden visa program. You can buy the property that best suits your objectives or has the most investment potential, free of the location and price restrictions that the golden visa program imposes.

If you’re interested in gaining residency in Greece, there are simpler, more affordable alternatives, such as the Financially Independent Persons Visa (a “self-sufficiency” visa) and the digital nomad visa.

What if you’re interested in gaining citizenship in Greece?

I recently wrote about one of my readers at Live And Invest Overseas who was seeking a Greek golden visa to gain the ability to live in any Schengen country.

She believed that the golden visa program would grant her this ability. She was mistaken, however, because a Greek golden visa would only grant her EU residency.

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