After several months of speculation, we must confirm that there have been some significant changes made to the eligibility criteria for the golden visa Greece.  This week the Ministry of Finance officially announced the new eligibility criteria for a golden visa Greece and the minimum investment required in Halkidiki real estate will be raised from 250,000€ to 400,000€. 

Our region is quite fortunate however to be a part of the mainland because an even higher threshold of 800,000€ will apply to Santorini, Mykonos, the popular islands with populations over 3100 inhabitants such as Crete and Corfu along with the metropolitan areas of Attica, (most of Athens capital city) and Thessaloniki. 

A couple of new parameters have also been introduced such as the real estate investment must be a single property with a minimum size of 120m2 (in other words you can’t buy separate apartments anymore to exceed the threshold) and most outrageously it will be forbidden to rent the property on the short-term letting market.  It doesn’t however seem to stipulate whether longer-term rental is permissible…

Are there any exceptions to the new rules?

There are just 2 circumstances, where the current lower 250,000€ limit will remain regardless of the location and size of the building, which is for commercial premises to be converted into residential properties and listed buildings in need of restoration, requiring further investment to renovate, and this must be completed within the 5 year period of residency to be able to renew the golden visa Greece. 

Furthermore, with regards to commercial properties the change of use must be completed prior to the residency application and the building cannot be registered as a company office otherwise the golden visa Greece will be revoked and there will be a substantial fine. 

In general we see this as positive news because it will help improve our surroundings and hopefully reduce the number of ugly derelict buildings and unused shops.

The reason why it’s become necessary to raise the minimum investment is to address a serious housing problem that has supposedly arisen because of third country nationals buying up property to gain a golden visa Greece and converting them into short-stay rentals, which has led to a sharp increase in property prices especially in tourist areas and a lack of affordable long-term rental accommodation for local people to live.

When will the new thresholds be implemented?

These changes will come into effect by the end of the month once it is made into law, however there is a short transitionary period and small window of opportunity for investors over the next 6 months to apply for a golden visa Greece under the current criteria i.e. 250,000€ in Halkidiki real estate if they sign a pre-contract and pay a 10% deposit by 31st August 2024 and complete the transaction by the end of the year.  In case that the purchase fails to happen, the buyer is allowed until the end of April 2025 to buy another property under the same conditions.

If you were planning to apply for residency through the golden visa Greece program, there is now a very limited period that you can invest as little as 250,000€ in Halkidiki real estate and take advantage of the benefits, with fewer restrictions.  Please feel free to reach out to us for our suggestions on the most suitable properties in our portfolio that qualify under the current criteria for a golden visa Greece.  Once you decide on a property we can also introduce you to a lawyer who specializes in golden visa Greece applications to start the process in parallel.