Greece has officially decided to raise the investment requirement for its Golden Visa program. The minimum investment requirement in popular regions and some islands now is €800,000.
Greece has also introduced restrictions on short-term rentals for properties obtained through the Golden Visa Program.
Greece has officially decided to tighten its Golden Visa Program rules, increasing the minimum investment requirement that a foreigner needs to make in Greece in order to be granted a residence permit.
Presenting the changes to the Golden Visa Program, the Minister of Finance of Greece, Kostis Hatzidakis, said that the country wants to address the housing crisis, and the same stressed that several new rules will now start applying, SchengenVisaInfo reports.
As Ekathimerini explains, the Minister has officially confirmed that in popular regions as well as in islands that have more than 3,100 inhabitants, the minimum investment requirement will increase to €800,00.
Parts of the country in which third-country nationals will need to invest €800,000 to secure a Greek residence permit include Attica, Mykonos, Santorini, and Thessaloniki, among many others.
As for the other areas, the Minister confirmed that the minimum investment requirement is €400,000.
This means that varying investment thresholds will be tailored to the specific needs of each area, with them falling within a range of €400,000 to €800,000 depending on the areas’ housing demands and population size.
In addition to the investment requirement, foreigners are also required to purchase a property that has no less than 120 square meters.
While the investment requirement has officially been decided, it has been noted that in certain cases, a lower investment will be required.
For instance, the threshold for buildings that have industrial use but have turned into houses will be €250,000, Ekathimerini notes.
Greece attracts a high number of investments through its Golden Visa Program. Data show that the scheme brought more than 4.3 million to the country during the 2021-2023 period.
