Golden Visa

  Requirements for the issuance of GOLDEN VISA

  1. Granting of a license through the acquisition of real estate.

The requirements for the issuance of a permanent investor’s residence permit pursuant to Art. 20 B of Law 4251/2014 are the following:

1) The applicant must hold citizenship in a third country, i.e. a citizen of a state that is not a member of the EU.

2) The citizen in question must have legally entered Greece with any kind of entry visa, or legally reside in Greece, regardless of the status or type of residence permit, even if the residence permit he/she holds does not allow a change of purpose.

If the above does not apply, the prior issuance of a national entry visa is necessary for the acquisition of an investor’s residence permit under article 20 B of Law 4251/2014. The permit can be issued both in case the process of purchasing the property has already been completed and in case the process of purchasing the property has not started or has not been completed.

3) The citizen in question must have acquired full ownership, jurisdiction and possession of real estate in Greece.

The law does not discriminate, it applies to both commercial and residential property. However, spatial restrictions are imposed on the acquisition of real estate in a border area. Border areas are defined as the prefectures of Dodecanese, Evros, Thesprotia, Kastoria, Kilkis, Lesvos, Xanthi, Preveza, Rhodope, Samos, Florina, Chios, Thira, Skyros, the former provinces of Nevrokopi in the former prefecture of Drama, Pogoni and Konitsa in the prefecture of Ioannina, Almopia and Edessa in the prefecture of Pella and Sintiki in the prefecture of Serres. The lifting of the restrictions is granted by decision of the Minister of National Defence, following a request by the interested party, which must indicate, among other things, the purpose for which the property will be used.

The most common way of acquiring real estate is: – either by transfer for onerous reasons (e.g. sale) or by way of a gift (e.g. donation), either by inheritance (intestate or by will of an heir), – or by parental provision. It should be noted that if the heir is e.g. 15 years old, he/she can firstly apply for an investor’s residence permit under Art. 20 of Law 4251/2014 upon reaching the age of 18. In short, a minor may obtain:

(a) an independent residence permit for an investor of the age of 18 years; 20 B N 4251/2014 • either by transfer for an aggravating or charitable reason, where the age of majority is not a prerequisite • either by inheritance, where the age of majority is a prerequisite • or as a consequence of parental allowance, where the age of majority is a prerequisite; 20 B N 4251/2014 for the purpose of family reunification.

More specifically, family members have the choice:  – either to enter the country at the same time as the applicant from whom their residence rights originate (the dependant) –  or to enter the country at a later date. In any case, they must obtain the relevant entry visa and submit a separate application for an individual residence permit. The deadline for submitting an application is the expiry of the dependant’s residence permit.

The following shall be deemed to be members: a. The other spouse or partner with whom the third-country national has a cohabitation agreement in Greece, b. Unmarried joint children of spouses or partners under the age of 21 years, or unmarried children of the dependant or other spouse or partner under the age of 21 years, provided that the custody of one of the dependant’s children is legally vested in the dependent and of the other spouse’s or partner’s children in the dependent. After the 21st year, they can be granted a further three-year independent residence permit until the age of 24, on presentation of the previous residence permit for family reunification. After the age of 24, they may be renewed in accordance with the provisions of the immigration legislation, c. The direct ascendants of spouses or partners.

Furthermore, the citizen of a third country can acquire full ownership, jurisdiction and possession of immovable property in Greece through a Legal Entity based in Greece or in another EU member state, as long as the shares or corporate shares belong entirely to him.

Residence permit of investor of art. 20 B N 4251/2014 is also given to those who bought an agricultural parcel or plot and proceeded to erect a building. However, the law allows the issuance of the investor residence permit of art. 20 B N 4251/2014 and in the cases of entering into a long-term timeshare contract of N 1652/1986. The lease concerns tourist accommodation or a furnished tourist residence in a complex tourist accommodation of the apartment. 8, par. 2 Law 4002/2011. In particular, a timeshare contract is the contract by which, on the one hand, the lessor undertakes to grant annually to the lessee, and throughout the duration of the contract, the use of the tourist accommodation or the furnished tourist accommodation in a complex tourist accommodation and to provide him with related services for a period of time determined by the contract and, on the other hand, the lessee undertakes the obligation to pay the agreed rent. This contract can be concluded for a period of 1 to 60 years. Despite this, for the issuance of an investor residence permit of art. 20 B N 4251/2014, it is required to enter into a long-term lease contract, i.e. a ten-year contract, at least. It should also be clarified that tourist accommodation means hotel units and tourist facilities in general, which operate with a license from the EOT and have been subject to the provisions of the Law by decision of the General Secretary of the EOT. Complex tourist accommodation is defined as hotel accommodation built on grounds equal to or larger than 150,000 m2, and including five-star hotels, a special tourist infrastructure facility (such as thermal tourism facilities, golf course, tourist port, sports tourism training center, conference center, entertainment theme park, etc.) and tourist furnished residences. The percentage of furnished tourist homes that can be rented out on a long-term basis cannot exceed 30% of the total surface area of ​​the complex tourist accommodation.

In all of the above cases, the minimum value of the immovable property at the time of its acquisition, or the sum of the value of the purchase contract for the parcel of land at the time of its acquisition and the construction contract for the construction of the building, or the total contractual rent of the rents of hotel accommodation or tourist accommodation in tourist accommodation complexes is fixed at EUR 250 000, exclusive of VAT. By joint decision of the Ministers of Economy, Development and Investment and Immigration and Investment, the amount of such real estate may be adjusted and lists of areas of the territory, valid for at least five years, for which a differentiation in the amount of the investment may apply, may be drawn up, taking into account factors such as the development targeting, the tourist development, the geographical location, as well as the commercial or objective values of the properties located in these areas. The value of the property or the total contractual rent will be derived from the value of the property as stated in the contract or the lease, respectively. In cases where the notarial deeds of transfer or the lease contracts are subject to the payment of the estimated price, the amount of the value of the real estate or the total contractual rent will be determined from the corresponding legally transcribed notarial deed of payment and removal of the dissociative clause or the contracts lease, respectively. The amount of the value of the immovable property or the total contractual lease is paid in full in one lump sum until the application for a permanent investor permit is submitted. As an exception, however, it is possible, during the negotiation stage of the sale, for the prospective buyer to advance an amount corresponding to the value of the property and pay the remaining price until the application for a permanent residence permit is submitted.

The total price or rent shall be paid:

–  by two-line bank cheque to a payment account of the beneficiary held in a credit institution operating in Greece,

–  by credit transfer to a payment account of the payee held with a payment service provider operating in Greece,

–  through a POS set up by a payment service provider operating in Greece, by charging the buyer’s bank credit or debit card to a payee’s payment account held with a payment service provider operating in Greece. The recognition of the legality of payment via POS is one of the recent changes to the Golden Visa legislation, made in October with Law 4635/2019.

The Αnnulment Court, in its decision 2036/2019, ruled that the legislative choice of the means of payment of the price (i.e. without the provision of payment of the price via POS) was legal. The aforementioned payment methods may also be made by a spouse and/or relatives by blood or marriage up to the second degree of the buyer.

Interesting is the recent decision of the Council of State (Council of State 2036/2019), according to which if the contract of sale of a property shows that the payment of the price was not made in accordance with one of the ways provided exclusively by law, the third country citizen may at any time change the way of payment of the price, by making a corresponding correction to the original contract, in order to comply with the law. In other words, this correction can take place even after the application for a residence permit has been submitted, leaving room for circumvention. all details of the payment, including in particular (a) the identification details of the seller, the buyer and any third-party payer, (b) the payer’s billing and crediting payment accounts of the payee, (c) the method of payment of the agreed price or rent, (d) the buyer’s responsible declaration of marital relationship or kinship with any third party payer, (e) the existence of any condition subsequent (f) the use of the property in question by the seller for the issuance of a permanent residence permit for an investor must be declared by the parties responsible before the notary drawing up the contract and be indicated in it. The third-country national shall, when submitting the application for a permanent residence permit as an investor, submit a certificate from the notary drawing up the transfer deed or the lease agreement attesting to the above. It should be noted that we are only interested in the fair value if it is the amount stated in the contract that was paid for the sale or lease.

The right of residence shall be granted to all co-owners only if the amount invested by each of them amounts to EUR 250 000. Thus, for example, all 8 third-country nationals who jointly purchase a property with a purchase value of EUR 2,000,000 are entitled to an investor’s residence permit of art. 20 Β Ν 4251/2014 as long as each of them has invested EUR 250,000 [2,000,000 % 8 = 250,000]. The only exception is introduced for co-owners who are spouses or partners who have entered into a cohabitation agreement in Greece. In this case, an investor’s residence permit may be issued to art. 20 B N 4251/2014 for both, even if the total value of the property is EUR 250 000.

 

  1. Other Authorisation for an investment activity.

The conditions for issuing a residence permit for investment activity of art. 16 N. 4251/2014 are as follows:

1) the applicant is a national of a third country, i.e. a non-EU country.

2) The citizen in question has either entered Greece legally on a national visa D, or is legally residing in Greece, irrespective of the status or type of residence permit (either on a permanent residence permit, on an entry visa, on a residence permit issued by another EU Member State (in this case the Schengen rules for temporary residence in a Member State apply), or on a long-term resident’s residence permit issued by another EU Member State).

(3) The citizen in question is engaged in investment activity in Greece. Depending on the chosen investment activity, the art. 16 N. 4251/2014 provides three distinct cases of granting a residence permit for investment activity. For more details:

→ Granting of a five-year residence permit for investment activity under No 16, p. A N 4251/2014 No restrictions on the sector of activity or location of the investment project. The only condition is that the investment activity in question should have a positive impact on national development and the economy. This vague legal concept is specified by the Foreign Capital Directorate of the Ministry of Development and Investment, which proceeds, inter alia, to the characterisation of the investment. The factors taken into account in assessing the impact on national development and the economy are job creation, the exploitation of domestic resources and the establishment of domestic production, export orientation, innovation and the adoption of new technology. This activity may be carried out through the construction of new facilities (greenfield investments) or through the acquisition, restructuring or expansion of existing activities (brownfield investments). The investment activity shall be carried out:

– by a foreign natural person to whom the relevant residence permit is finally granted

– by a foreign natural person already legally residing in Greece and holding a residence permit for the purpose of independent economic or investment activity

–  by a foreign legal person

– by a resident legal person already legally operating in Greece, in the context of new investments

In the latter two cases, depending on the amount of the investment, they may obtain a residence permit for investment activity, based on art. 16 par. A N. 4251/2014, up to three foreign Natural Persons, who are shareholders or executives of the above Legal Entities. The Law 4251/2014 (in article 136, paragraph 2) provides special legislative authorization (article 43, paragraph 2, subparagraph b) to the Ministers of Migration Policy, Economy and Development and Foreign Affairs for the issuance of a decree specifying the required minimum amount of the investment. In fact, the Joint Ministerial Decision (ΚΥΑ) 53969/2014 stipulates that the minimum amount of the investment to be made must be at least 250,000 euros.

→ Granting of a ten-year residence permit for investment activity under Art. 16, para.Β Ν 4251/2014. This category concerns strategic investments. Such investments are investments which, due to their strategic importance for the national or local economy, can bring about quantitative and qualitative results of significant intensity for the increase of employment, the productive reconstruction and the enhancement of the natural and cultural environment of the country in accordance with the principles of socially just, inclusive, balanced and sustainable development and in accordance with the National Development Strategy (NDS) with the main characteristics of extroversion, innovation, competitiveness and competitiveness. More specifically, strategic investments can be distinguished as follows:

  1. a) Strategic Investments I, which creates in a sustainable manner at least 120 new annual employment units, with a total budget of more than EUR 100.000.000.
  2. b) Strategic investments II, which create in a sustainable manner 100 new annual employment units and have a total budget of more than EUR 40.000.000. In particular, investments in the industrial sector must create at least 75 new annual work units in a sustainable manner and have a total budget of more than EUR 30 000 000.
  3. c) Emblematic investments, which relate to:

(aa) investments carried out by distinguished legal entities of international repute ranking among the top in their sector at global or European level, including, in particular, those promoting the green economy and the low energy and environmental footprint economy. No threshold is set for the creation of new annual work units or the total investment budget.

(bb) investments in the industrial sector which create in a sustainable manner at least 200 new annual employment units with a total budget of more than EUR 200.000.000.

(d) Strategic fast-track licensing investments, which must create in a sustainable manner at least 30 new annual employment units and have a total budget of more than EUR 20.000.000.

  1. e) Strategic investments that are automatically included, such as investments under Law 3389/2005 that have been approved by the Interministerial Public-Private Partnerships Committee and have been included in the European Fund for Strategic Investments and investments under Art. 8 of Law 4271/2014 on European Energy Projects of Common Interest.

Depending on the category in which the investment will be placed, it may, upon request, receive, respectively, location incentives, tax incentives, fast-track licensing incentives and incentives to support the costs of strategic investments for the realization of such investments.

 

→ Granting a residence permit for investment activity under Art. 16, para. C of Law 4251/2014. This category concerns specific forms of investment activity. Specifically, it concerns:

  1. Capital contribution of at least 400,000 euros to a company, which has its registered office or establishment in Greece, for the acquisition of shares in a share capital increase or bonds in the issuance of a bond loan, which are listed for trading on the Greek stock exchange. The realization and retention of the investment is certified by a certificate issued by the investment intermediary company of Art. 4 Law 4514/2018. An investment firm is defined as any legal entity whose normal business activity is the provision of one or more investment services to third parties or the performance of one or more investment activities on a professional basis. An investment firm is also defined as any natural person who has been granted a relevant authorisation by another Member State in accordance with Directive 2014/65/EU.
  2.  Capital contribution of at least 400,000 euros to a Real Estate Investment Company (REIT) that aims to invest exclusively in Greece for the acquisition of shares in order to increase its share capital. During the initial stage and until the listing of the REIT, the realization of the investment and its retention shall be certified by certificates issued by the company. After the listing of the HCMC on the Greek stock exchange, the realization and retention of the investment shall be certified by a certificate issued by the investment intermediary company under Art. 4 Law 4514/2018.
  3. Capital contribution of at least 400,000 euros to Alternative Investment Institutions and, in particular, to a Venture Capital Company (VCEC) of Art. 5 of Law 2367/1995 for the acquisition of shares or to a Mutual Fund of Business Participations (MEF) of Art. 7 of Law 2992/2002 for the acquisition of shares, provided that the above mentioned organizations have the purpose of investing exclusively in companies with their registered office and/or establishment in Greece. In the latter case, the investor is required to open a single bank account with a credit institution, which is the depositary of the AIF, for the sole purpose of depositing funds returned to it by the AIF. The investor may make withdrawals from that account, provided that the sum of the remaining balance is at least equal to the amount initially invested for which the residence permit has been granted. More specifically, the sole purpose of the HCCs (Business Participation Capital Companies) operating in accordance with the provisions of Law 2367/1995, as amended by article 2 of Law 4141/2013, is to participate in the capital of companies which are based: (a) in Greece or in another member-state of the European Union or (b) in a third country, if the companies are active in production or the provision of services in Greece. The company is established in accordance with the provisions of the Codification Law 2190/1920 and its articles of association must indicate its exclusive purpose, in accordance with Law 4141/2013. A closed-end mutual fund of business holdings (MCF) is a group of assets consisting of tangible or intangible securities, company shares and cash. It is governed by the provisions of Law 2992/2002 as amended by Article 1 of Law 4141/2013 and its exclusive purpose is the participation in the capital of companies which are based: (a) in Greece or in another Member State of the European Union or (b) in a third country, if they are active in the production or provision of services in Greece. The duration of the A.K.E.S. cannot be longer than twenty (20) years. For the investment with capital contribution in an EGTC, during the initial stage and until the listing of the EGTC on the For the investment with a capital contribution in an AIF, the realization and retention of the investment is certified by certificates issued by the manager of the AIF for the investor’s participation and the credit institution for the movements of the accounts.Greek stock exchange, the realization and retention of the investment is certified by certificates issued by the company. After the listing of the EGTC on the stock exchange, the realization and retention of the investment shall be certified by a certificate issued by the investment intermediary company under Art. 4 Ν 4514/2018. For the investment with a capital contribution in an AIF, the realization and retention of the investment is certified by certificates issued by the manager of the AIF for the investor’s participation and the credit institution for the movements of the accounts.
  4. Purchase of Greek Government bonds with an acquisition value of at least 400,000 euros and a remaining maturity of at least three years at the time of purchase, through a credit institution established in Greece, which is also its custodian. It should be stressed that it refers to the acquisition value of the bonds and not to their nominal value. The realization and retention of the investment is certified by certificates issued by the credit institution.
  5. A term deposit of at least 400,000 euros in a domestic credit institution with a minimum annual maturity, with a standing order for renewal. The realization and retention of the investment shall be evidenced by certificates issued by the credit institution. This is an interesting situation, as it is clear that the prospective investor retains his capital in full and can withdraw it with a simple declaration.
  6. Purchase of shares, corporate bonds and/or bonds of the Greek Government, which are admitted to trading or traded in regulated markets or multilateral trading facilities operating in Greece, with an acquisition value of at least 800,000 euros. The investor is required to maintain a unique and exclusive account with a credit institution in Greece for investment and subsequent portfolio management transactions and not to disburse any amount from the liquidation of the securities, except for reinvestment in securities, so that the average annual balance of the above account does not exceed 20% of the amount of the initial investment. The realization and retention of the investment is certified by a certificate issued by the investment intermediary company of Art. 4 of Law 4514/2018, or the credit institution, with its registered office or branch in Greece, which maintains the operator’s account for the movement of the portfolio.
  7. Purchase of units with an acquisition value of at least 400,000 euros in a mutual fund, which is established in Greece or in another country and which has the purpose of investing exclusively in shares, corporate bonds traded on regulated markets or multilateral trading facilities operating in Greece, provided that: aa. The assets of the mutual fund amount to at least three million euros, bb. The fund and its manager are licensed by the authority supervising the capital market of the country in which it is domiciled, which for countries outside the EU is required to be a member of the International Association of Capital Market Commissioners and to have concluded a bilateral information exchange agreement with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission. In this case, a single and exclusive account shall be maintained with a credit institution established in Greece for the movement of funds relating to the realization of the investments and the collection of the amounts arising from their exploitation or realization. When transferring the amounts to be invested to the above account, the manager of the AIF shall declare to the credit institution the details of the unitholders and the units associated with them. No amount shall be disbursed from this account and the manager shall be obliged to invest the funds in transferable securities so that the average annual balance of the account does not exceed 20% of the nominal value of the units of the fund. Withdrawal of the amount from this account is permitted solely for the purpose of making an investment in accordance with the objective of the fund, covering management expenses and distributing dividends to unit-holders or redeeming units, provided that for third country citizens the unit-holder has provided the manager with a document from the competent authority for the holding of the investment confirming that it has been informed of the imminent liquidation of the investment. The realization and retention of the investment by the unit-holders and the fund are certified by the annual report of the fund, as well as by certificates issued by the manager of the fund for the participation of a third country citizen in the fund, by the investment company under Art. 4 of Law 4514/2018, or the credit institution with its registered office or branch in Greece, which maintains an operator’s account for the movement of the fund’s portfolio, and by the credit institution.
  8. Purchase of units or shares with an acquisition value of at least 400,000 euros in an AIF, which is established in Greece or in another EU member state and which aims to invest exclusively in real estate in Greece, provided that a) the alternative investment funds (AIF’s) assets amount to at least 3,000,000 euros and b) the AIF and its manager are licensed by the authority supervising the capital market of the country in which it is established. With this provision, therefore, apart from the AIF AKES closed type Venture Capital, EKES (Venture Capital Companies) (case c), and the AEEAP(Real Estate Investment Companies) (case b), which, as we analyzed a little while ago, is given the possibility of contributing capital of at least 400,000 euros, it is allowed to purchase units of 400,000 euros in the remaining AIFs, and specifically in Joint Stock Companies Management of Alternative Investment Organizations and Joint Stock Companies Portfolio Investments. For these AIFs, a single and exclusive account shall be kept with a credit institution established in Greece for the movement of funds relating to the realization of investments and the collection of amounts arising from their exploitation or realization. When transferring the amounts to be invested to the above account, the AIFM shall declare to the credit institution the details of the unitholders and the units associated with them. No amount shall be disbursed from this account and the manager shall invest the funds in real estate in Greece so that the average annual balance of the account does not exceed 20% of the nominal value of the units of the AIF. Withdrawal of an amount from the account shall be allowed solely for the purpose of making an investment in accordance with the purpose of the AIF, covering management expenses and distributing dividends to unitholders or redeeming units, provided that for third country citizens the unitholder has provided the manager with a document from the competent authority for the imminent liquidation of the investment. The realization and retention of the investment by the unit-holders and the AIF shall be certified by a report of its manager, accompanied by a report of chartered accountants on the activity of the AIF, as well as certificates issued by the manager of the AIF on the participation of the third country national in the AIF, and by the credit institution. The above investment activities are carried out exclusively by a Legal Entity, whether of domestic or foreign origin. Although the law does not explicitly require it, it does, however, indirectly introduce the requirement of investing a larger amount in the case of legal entities of foreign origin, in order to activate the possibility of granting a residence permit to up to three third-country nationals who are shareholders or executives of such entities. Thus, instead of the investment by a legal entity of national origin of, for example, EUR 400,000 in an annual term deposit in a national bank, with a fixed renewal mandate, where only one residence permit will be granted, the law requires the investment of EUR 800,000 by a legal entity of foreign origin for the granting of one residence permit, or EUR 1,600,000 for the granting of two residence permits, or EUR 2,400,000 for the granting of three residence permits.

In order for a third country citizen to do business, the residence permit granted or applied for must allow the exercise of independent economic/business or investment activity, in accordance with the legislation in force in each case.

 

GOLDEN VISA renewal

The residence permit of the investor under Art. 20 B of Law 4152/2014 and for investment activities of art. 16 of Law 4152/2014 has a permanent character and lasts for life. However, it must be renewed every five years in order to allow the competent authorities to check whether the conditions for its issuance are still met.

Recall of GOLDEN VISA

The revocation of the investor’s residence permit under Art. 20 B of Law 4251/2014 and for investment activities of art. 16 of Law 4251/2014:

1.Due to the expiry of the condition for granting the permit.

2.Due to non-disclosure of changes or non-submission of an annual report.

  1. For reasons of public interest