New rush for Greek golden visas as the minimum investment threshold is increasing to500,000 euros.

The "Golden Visa" program in Greece is one of the most popular in Europe. Starting from January2023, Greece will increase the minimum property value required to obtain a "Golden Visa," one of the most popular programs of its kind for wealthy foreigners wishing to acquire residency in Europe, from €250,000 to €500,000 ($532,000). The new minimum value will apply to properties in the northern part of the country, central and southern sectors of Athens in the Attica region, the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, and the Municipality of Thessaloniki. The previous minimum value of €250,000 will remain for the rest of the country. The "Residence by Investment" or "Golden Visa" scheme allows third-country citizens to obtain residency in Greece through investment in real estate and adherence to specific conditions.

The decision made by parliament at the end of December was motivated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' statement that investors were buying Greek real estate, especially in Athens and other popular destinations, displacing Greeks and causing rent prices to rise. Mitsotakis added that the new amendments aim to make property more accessible to Greek citizens. Foreigners who have already obtained permanent residency through investments can renew it if they can prove that they still own or hold property. The golden visa is issued within two months of application and additional supporting documents. For those who have already applied and are in the process of purchasing in areas where the investment threshold has changed, the deadline is December31,2023.

The demand for Greek "Golden Visas" is rapidly increasing: the volume of foreign investments in real estate amounted to €414.4 million in the second quarter of2022, which is67% more than in the same period of2021. According to the newspaper Ekathimerini, a third of all real estate transactions in Greece in recent years were made specifically to obtain a "Golden Visa".

Despite strong opposition from the European Commission to the "Golden Visa" programs, Greece has been particularly open to foreign investment in exchange for visas in recent years, and it is expected that 2022 will be a record year for foreign property purchases. International real estate investments in the first half of 2022 increased by more than 60% compared to the previous year, allowing analysts to predict a new record in 2022.

Golden visas provide wealthy individuals with the opportunity to "buy" the right of residence - sometimes without even having to actually live in the country. This serves as a "golden" opportunity to invest in Europe and obtain accelerated residency privileges. A golden visa allows the principal investor and his or her family (if included) to live, work, study and receive medical services in the country. Many such visas are a simplified path to citizenship. While such programs are offered by various European Union member states, they are often criticized by EU officials for opening the door to illegal activities, including money laundering and corruption. The European Commission calls on member states implementing such programs to discontinue them as soon as possible because of the risk of criminal activity and the threat to the security, transparency and values on which the European Union is founded.