Article 100 of Law 5038/2023 – The Golden Visa para. – (En)

Article 100 of Law 5038/2023

Investments in real estate (permanent investor residence permit) (residence permit “type B.5”)

(As in force on 8-3-2025)

1. By decision of the Secretary of the Decentralized Administration, a residence permit for five (5) years, with the possibility of renewal, is granted to a third-country citizen who:

a) Has legally entered the country with any entry visa or resides legally in the country, even if the residence title he holds does not allow a change of purpose.

b) Has, by full ownership and possession, real estate in Greece. In the case of undivided co-ownership of real estate, an acquisition value at least equal to that specified in par. 2, the right of residence is granted only if the co-owners are spouses or partners who have entered into a cohabitation agreement. Otherwise, the right of residence is granted only if the percentage of each co-owner is of a value at least equal to that specified in par. 2.

c) He has full ownership and possession of real estate in Greece, of an acquisition value at least equal to that specified in par. 2, through a legal entity with its registered office in Greece or another EU Member State, whose shares or corporate shares he holds in full.

d) He has entered into a long-term contract for complex tourist accommodation, in accordance with par. 2 of article 8 of law 4002/2011 (A’ 180) or a timeshare contract for tourist accommodation, in accordance with law 1652/1986 (A’ 167), of a value at least equal to that specified in par. 2.

e) He is an adult and has acquired, in full ownership and possession as an intestate or testamentary heir or as a result of parental benefit, real estate of an objective value at least equal to that specified in par. 2.

2.a) For the Region of Attica, the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki of the Region of Central Macedonia, the Regional Units of Mykonos and Thira of the Region of South Aegean and for the islands with a population, according to the last census, of over three thousand one hundred (3,100) inhabitants, the minimum acquisition value of the real estate at the time of its acquisition, as well as the total contractual lease of the contracts of par. d) of par. 1 are set at eight hundred thousand (800,000) euros. In the case of investment through the purchase of real estate in the areas of the first paragraph, this is carried out in a single property. Especially if it is a structured real estate or a property for which a building permit has been issued, a minimum area of ​​main spaces of one hundred and twenty (120) square meters is required. In the case of investment through the purchase of a percentage of undivided co-ownership of a property, the minimum value of the co-ownership percentage is set at eight hundred thousand (800,000) euros, subject to the terms of the previous paragraphs.

b) For the other areas of the country, the minimum acquisition value of the real estate at the time of its acquisition, as well as the total contractual lease of the contracts of paragraph d) of par. 1 are set at four hundred thousand (400,000) euros. In the case of investment through the purchase of real estate in the areas of the first paragraph, this is carried out in a single property. Especially if it is a structured real estate or a property for which a building permit has been issued, a minimum area of ​​main premises of one hundred and twenty (120) square meters is required. In the case of investment through the purchase of a percentage of undivided co-ownership of a property, the minimum value of the co-ownership percentage is set at four hundred thousand (400,000) euros, subject to the terms of the previous paragraphs.

c) Especially in cases of investment through the purchase of real estate and if its main premises are changed to a residence, the minimum acquisition value of this at the time of its acquisition is set at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euros. The terms of the first paragraph also apply in cases of investment through purchase in real estate consisting of an industrial building or part of an industrial building or within which an industrial building is located, exclusively if for at least the last five (5) years, no industry was established and in operation in it. The investment of the previous paragraphs is made in a single property and the change of use must be completed before the submission of the request for the granting of the permanent investor residence permit. In the cases of the previous paragraphs, the change may also be made by the seller. In the case of investment through purchase in a percentage of undivided co-ownership of a property, the minimum value of the co-ownership percentage is set at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euros, subject to the terms of the previous paragraphs.

d) Specifically in cases of investment through the purchase of real estate consisting of a listed building or part of a listed building to be restored or reconstructed or within which a listed building is located, the minimum acquisition value at the time of its acquisition is set at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euros. The investment of the first paragraph is made in a single property. In the case of investment through the purchase of a percentage of undivided co-ownership of a property, the minimum value of the co-ownership percentage is set at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euros, subject to the terms of the previous paragraphs. Transfer of the property in this case before its full restoration or total reconstruction is completed is invalid.

3. The minimum value of the real estate at the time of its acquisition, as well as the total contractual lease of the hotel accommodation or tourist residence leases hereunder, as evidenced by the notarial deeds of transfer and, in the event that they are subject to the payment of a creditable consideration, by the corresponding legally transcribed notarial deeds of repayment and removal of the dissolution clause, or the lease agreements, respectively, determined in accordance with par. 2, must have been paid in full before the submission of the request for the granting of the investor’s permanent residence permit.

4. Third-country nationals holding a permanent residence permit for investors may renew their residence permit for an equal period each time, provided that the real estate remains in their ownership and possession or the contracts of par. 1 remain in force and the other conditions herein are met. Exceptionally for the cases of third-country nationals holding a permanent residence permit for investors who have made an investment of par. d) of par. 2, an additional condition for the first renewal of their residence permit is the implementation of the full restoration of the elements of the real estate or their total reconstruction, regardless of the cause of the alteration or collapse or demolition of the buildings or parts thereof. Periods of absence from the country do not constitute an obstacle to the renewal of the residence permit.

5. The agreed price or lease is paid in full in the following ways:

a) by double-line bank check to a payment account of the beneficiary held at a credit institution operating in Greece,

b) by credit transfer, according to paragraph 24 of article 4 of law 4537/2018 (A’ 84), and

c) via POS installed by a payment service provider, operating in Greece, by debiting the buyer’s bank credit or debit card, to a payment account of the beneficiary held at a payment service provider, according to paragraph 11 of article 4 of law 4537/2018, operating in Greece. The above payment may also be made by the buyer’s spouse or relatives by blood or consanguinity up to the second degree. All the above provisions also cover payments that have taken place with the above payment methods from 1.1.2017 to the present. All specific details of the payment, including in particular the identification details of the seller, the buyer and any third party payer, the number of the payer’s payment accounts, his address, his official personal document number, the payer’s identification number or his date and place of birth, the payment method and the relevant payment accounts debited by the payer and credited by the beneficiary, as well as the buyer’s solemn declaration regarding the marital relationship or kinship with a third party payer, are declared and submitted responsibly by the contracting parties before the notary who drew up the contract and are recorded therein.

6. The third-country national, when submitting the application for the issuance of a permanent investor residence permit, shall submit a certificate from the notary who drew up the notarial deeds of transfer or the lease contracts referred to in point d) of paragraph 1, which confirms the details of the contracting parties, the details of the property, the method of payment of the agreed price or lease and all the specific details of the payment, in accordance with the provisions of this article, the existence of any rescission clause, as well as whether the specific property has been used by the seller for the issuance of a permanent investor residence permit. In cases of acquisition due to transfer, a copy of the investor’s real estate information declaration (E9) shall be submitted.

7. Third-country nationals, owners of real estate, are provided with the possibility of renting them out.

7A. Real estate acquired in full ownership and possession by third-country nationals for the initial granting or renewal of an investor residence permit is prohibited from being rented out short-term in the context of the sharing economy, as well as from being subleased. In addition, real estate acquired in full ownership and possession by third-country nationals for the initial granting or renewal of an investor permanent residence permit under the terms of paragraph c) of paragraph 2, may not be used as a registered office or branch of a business. In case of non-compliance with the provisions of the first and second paragraphs, the residence permit is revoked and an independent administrative fine of fifty thousand (50,000) euros is imposed on the owners and/or owners of the real estate. In case of non-compliance with the condition of the second paragraph of par. 4, an independent administrative fine of one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) euros shall be imposed on the owners and/or holders of the property. In the event that a contract for the transfer of property is concluded despite the prohibition of par. d) of par. 2, the residence permit shall be revoked and an independent administrative fine of one hundred and fifty thousand (150,000) euros shall be imposed on the owners and/or holders of the property. The fines herein constitute public revenue and shall be collected in accordance with the Public Revenue Collection Code (Law 4978/2022, A’ 190).

8. The resale of the real estate during the validity of the residence permit to another third-country national shall entitle the new buyer to a residence permit with simultaneous revocation of the seller’s residence permit.

9. Residence permits granted under this article do not establish a right of access to any form of work.

10. The residence permit shall be issued within two (2) months from the receipt of all the elements of the file by the issuing authority.

11. In the event of a contract for the sale of real estate at any price, the seller, a third-country national, must provide a certificate from the locally competent Aliens and Immigration Service of the Decentralized Administration, regarding whether the specific real estate has been used for the issuance of a permanent residence permit for an investor. The above applies mutatis mutandis in the case of the sale of real estate by a legal entity, the shares or corporate shares of which are wholly owned by a third-country national, in accordance with paragraph c) of paragraph 1.