Greece joined the European Community in 1981 and is now a member of the European Union’s 17-member eurozone. The country suffered serious economic stagnation in the 1980s but began to experience remarkable economic growth in the 1990s, fuelled by heavy investment, entrepreneurship, trade, and EU aid. By the early 21st century, the Greeks have achieved a stable and prosperous nation, with a high standard of living. An influx of immigrants began in the late 1980s, transforming Greece, once an immigrant-sender, into an immigrant-receiving country.

Despite the current crisis, Greece remains an attractive investment location offering a wide array of opportunities that take advantage of the country’s location and unique competitive advantages. Greece is a natural gateway to more than 140 million consumers in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, a region with a GDP of almost 1 trillion euros. Being the hub of diverse emerging markets, Greece provides access to populations with a strong demand for consumer goods, infrastructure modernization, technology and innovation networks, energy, tourism development, and light manufacturing.

In the same time, Greek companies and banks have a strong foothold in the markets of neighboring states. Investors are discovering that Greece has a combination of characteristics that are unequaled in Europe. Greece is a leading global tourism destination, an emerging regional energy hub, and possesses highly educated and multilingual human capital.

Advantages of Greek Residence Permit:

• Visa-free entry to all the countries of the Schengen Agreement practically not limited in time.

• The whole family has the right to live in any country of the Schengen area during the period when the residence permit is valid.

• There is no need to stay in Greece for a certain period of time.

• The right to apply for citizenship after five years from the date of obtaining permanent residence.

• The right to register or purchase his own business.

• The right to educate his/her children in educational institutions of the Schengen countries.

• The right to obtain the permanent residence after five years from the date of obtaining residence permits.

Residence permit through by investment to real estate can be obtained by those third-country citizens who:

• Own real estate or have at their disposal the Engagement Agreement signed with a Realtor or Lawyer on the purchase of real estate (as the sole owner of a legal entity) in Greece, the cost of which is more than € 250,000 according to notaries act.

• Own rental commercial real estate of tourist purpose (as the sole owner of a legal entity) in Greece, and the Lease Agreement concluded not less than for 15 years;

• Did not have a criminal record in the past and are not included in the Greece Undesirable Persons Catalog.

THE FEATURES OF GREEK RESIDENCE PERMIT THROUGH INVESTMENT IN REAL ESTATE:

1. The minimum required amount of value of the property in € 250,000 can make the total cost of a few properties;

2. The minimum required value of real estate in € 250,000 can be realized with the value of real estate in € 150,000 due to the appraised value made by an independent Appraiser company;

3. The owned property can be rented;

4. For the successful extension of residence permit, it is not required to live in Greece.

Residence permit for financially independent persons can be obtained by those third-country citizens who:

• Have a stable income (from € 2,000 per month), which allows them to live in Greece not applying to the country’s social security system.

• Did not have a criminal record in the past and are not included in the Greece Undesirable Persons Catalog.

• A financially independent person has the right to be accompanied by family members (only the spouse and children under the age of 18 years are considered), who receive a residence permit as family members of the financially independent applicant.

The registration of this residence permit category can begin with:

• “D” visa registration at the nearest diplomatic embassy of Greece;

• The direct submission of the application for residence permit to the Immigration Department of Greece. The submission of an application and the obtaining of a residence permit can be made either by Greek Attorney basing on the Power of Attorney certified by a Notary and an Apostille, or directly by the Applicant. In order to obtain the residence permit of this category, the biometric data is provided personally by the Immigration Department.

In order to obtain “D” visa the following documents must be submitted:

• Valid travel passport or other travel documents with a valid visa that is recognized by Greece.

• Prerequisite: A passport must be valid for at least three months after visa expiring, have at least 2 blank pages and be published during the last decade.

• Certificate of no criminal record.

• Health certificate issued by a public or private medical institution that is recognized by the State of which the applicant is national, where it will be indicated that the applicant does not suffer from the disease dangerous to public health, according to the international standards of the World Health Organization, or other disease requiring quarantine to protect public health.

• The proof of having a monthly income of € 2,000 per month.