On Wednesday, Greek lawmakers passed a new immigration code that postpones the start of the transition period for golden visa applications from April 30, as previously reported, to July 31 this year.
The Code extends the transition period for applying for golden visas by three months, giving investors more time to apply under the old price terms. They will have until July 31 to decide on a property in Greece for the purchase and conclude a preliminary contract of sale with a payment of at least 10% of the price of the property. This is necessary if they want to have time to get a “golden visa” according to the old rules, i.e. for investments in real estate from € 250,000. From August 1, this figure will double.
Recall that in September 2022, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that he was doubling the minimum requirements for investment in real estate under the Golden Visa program from €250,000 to €500,000. In December, details appeared that the doubling of the entry threshold would affect only 36 key municipalities of Greece. Then the government set a transitional period for investors until April 30, 2023, so that they could buy real estate and apply for a residence permit under the same conditions.
Now this period is being extended, which instantly caused a surge in the number of applications from investors who were in a hurry to have time to buy real estate at the same price requirements. Statistics show that over the past six months, the authorities received 4133 applications from property buyers, but managed to process and approve only 1505, writes Imdaily. Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarakis commented on the adoption of the bill:
“Today we complete the ministry’s legislative work by establishing effective procedures to deal with immigration issues, taking into account the needs of the Greek economy and society, acting as a deterrent to illegal immigration, and at the same time institutionalizing effective legal routes to go where we as a country want” .
Among the 36 municipalities in which the minimum requirements will increase, 28 are in Athens, 6 in Thessaloniki, 2 in Mykonos and Santorini.
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