The Immigration and Social Integration Code (Law 4251/2014, Government Gazette 1, no 80) contains provisions that facilitate the stay of third-country investors, whose investments are characterized as strategic investments, via the provision of extended stay time limits for the representatives of investment bodies and their partners.
Moreover, it allows the granting of residence permits to third country nationals and to members of their families, who purchase real estate property in Greece, the value of which exceeds € 250,000.
Specifically:
A. “Permanent residence permit of the investor.” (Article 20)
1. By decision of the Secretary General of the Decentralized Administration, residence permit for five years, subject to renewal, is granted to a third country national who:
(a) has legally entered the country with any type of visa or legally resides in the country, even if the type of residence permit that he possesses does not permit change of purpose.
(b) has personally the full ownership, possession and peaceful enjoyment of real estate property in Greece. In the case of jointly owned property, worth 250,000 euro, the right of residence is granted only if the owners of the property are spouses with indivisible shares in the property. In all other cases of joint ownership, the right of residence is granted only if the joint ownership rate of each joint owner is worth 250,000 euro.
(c) has the full ownership, possession and peaceful enjoyment of real estate property in Greece via a legal entity, whose shares are fully owned by him.
(d) has concluded an agreement for at least a ten year lease of hotel accommodation or furnished tourist residences in tourist accommodation complexes, pursuant to Article 8 par. 2 of Law 4002/2011 (Government Gazette 1, no 180).
(e) has concluded a time sharing agreement pursuant to the provisions of Law 1652/1986 “Time sharing agreement and related issues” (Government Gazette 1, no 167), which is in force.
2. The minimum value of the real estate property, as well as the contractual consideration of hotel accommodation or tourist residences leases of this Article, is determined at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euro and must have been paid in full upon the signing of the contract.
“ The consideration is paid by a crossed bank cheque to a bank account of the beneficiary, held in a credit institution operating in Greece or with a credit transfer, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4, par. 24 (Official Government Gazette Α΄ 84) to a beneficiary’s bank account held in a payment service provider, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4 par. 11 operating in Greece”.
By joint decision of the Ministers for the Interior and Finance, the value of the above real estate property may be adjusted and shall result from the property value stated in the contracts or from the lease agreements.
3. Το third country nationals, real estate property owners, the possibility of leasing that property is granted.
4. The above third-country national may be accompanied by the members of his family to whom, at their request, an individual residence permit is issued, that expires together with the residence permit of the sponsor.
Family members shall mean:
a. Spouses
b. the other spouse or partner with whom a third-country national has a cohabitation agreement in Greece
c. The direct unmarried descendants of the spouses, who are under the age of 21
d. the direct unmarried descendants of the supporter or of the other spouse/partner , provided that their custody has been legally entrusted to the sponsor (for his/her children) and to the other partner (for his/her children), under 21 years of age
e. the direct relatives of the spouses in the ascending line.
5. The above permit may be renewed for an equal duration, each time, provided that the real estate property remains in the ownership and possession of the third-country national or the agreements of paragraph 1 of this remain in force and all other requirements, provided by law, are fulfilled. Periods of absence from the country shall not disrupt the renewal of the residence permit.
The resale of the real estate property during the period of validity of the residence permit, to another third-country national shall provide the right to the granting of residence permit to the new buyer with simultaneous withdrawal of the vendor’s residence permit.