FAQ
Yes, you have the right to rent your property immediately after the acquisition and enjoy income from the rent. However, you are not allowed to exploit your property through the Short-Term rental platforms.
No, your investment is required to be directed towards 1 property.
No, your investment is tied to your residency. Selling, means cancelling the residency.
Your Visa remains valid for 5 years, and you can renew indefinitely every 5 years, as long as you maintain your investment. During renewal you must pay again the state fees per person.
The Greek Golden Visa framework dictates the following payment methods:
1. Wire funds from their Personal bank account, wherever in the world that is, as long as the main applicant is Holder or Co-holder of the account. Mediums/Exchange Offices or Virtual institutions are not supported (ie. Monese, Wise, Paypal, Venmo, Crypto etc.)
2. Wire funds from a Personal bank account belonging to a first or second degree of kinship member
3. Open a bank account in Greece. This will require either the client to visit Greece, or provide a PoA in advance, for the proxy lawyer to open the bank account.
Russian, Belarussian, and Iranian banks are sanctioned by EU Banks/Swift service at the moment.
Transfers are not possible.
If the applicant does not have all the funds or no funds at all, the purchase can also be financed from 1st or 2nd degree of kinship members.
The kinship must be evidenced by relevant family certificates.
No, there is absolutely no requirement for you to visit or remain for a certain period in Greece. You are only needed to visit once for your biometrics submission, from there on you are free to neneve set foot again.
You can visit all EU and Schengen countries according to the 90/180 Schengen rule without any additional travel documentation. Just your Passport and Residency card will suffice.
Your total stay in the Schengen area must be no more than 90 days in every 180 days. It does not matter how many countries you visit. The 180-day period keeps ‘rolling’. To work out if your stay is within the 90 day limit, use the following steps. Check the date you plan to leave the Schengen area on your next trip.
According to Greek Golden Visa Program family members that may benefit from the same investment include:
– Spouse/partner with whom the investor is married or has concluded a civil partnership contract in Greece.
– Children who are under 21 years old when the original application is submitted and until they can benefit from the program, till their 24th birthday.
– Parents and in-laws of the main investor (wife’s / husband’s parents).
In no case does the investor residence permit (Golden Visa) provide access to any type of employment.
However, employment according to the Law, does not include the exercise of economic activity in the capacity of a shareholder, a Chief Executive Officer, or a Board Member.
Yes, there is annual property TAX, and Rental Income Tax (if you decide to rent your property).
There is a uniform real estate property tax called ENFIA. It is charged annually to both natural and legal entities who own properties in Greece. When you buy a new property, it is advisable to check the comparable properties around its region. You can pay your ENFIA as a lump sum or you can pay it in five monthly installments between September and January. The tax base of ENFIA is the objective property value on January 1st of each year. Tax authorities assess this. There are two different tax amounts regarding ENFIA.
When you rent your property out, you’ll need to pay tax on the rental income. For individuals, there are progressive tax rates, depending on the gains from the rent. You can see the rates below.
-Up to a rental amount of €12,000: 15%
-Between €12,001 and €35,000: 35%
-More than €35,001: 45%
Absolutely. If you’re in Athens, we’d be happy to give you a private tour of selected completed projects, depending on availability.
Yes. We work with an established network of legal and immigration professionals who specialize in Golden Visa applications and real estate law. We coordinate the entire process on your behalf for speed, transparency, and compliance.
Vitruvius Development is a Greek development company with an international outlook. Our work is not mass-produced, we take on as many projects as we can personally oversee with care. Our goal is not just to sell property, but to shape the next version of city living in Greece.
No, under no circumstances can you finance from a Greek Bank the purchase estate, if you are to use this property for your Golden Visa application.
If you have a loan from a non-greek bank you are more than welcome to use those funds.
At no point in time, can you mortgage/use as collateral – the property you have purchased for the Greek Golden Visa.
Lots of developers will accept installments. HOWEVER, be aware that the Golden Visa application can only be submitted as soon as you have acquired the deed in your name-100% freehold rights- and that is possible only when the property has been paid off in full.
Also, consider the risk of using a lengthy timeline of installments, as the Greek Golden Visa program has undergone 2 drastic revisions within a span of 2-3 years, with limited transition periods for the individuals that had engaged with a deposit.
Therefore, a lengthy installment plan is not advised. Look at the bigger picture.
In a nutshell, the real estate options in Greece fall within 3 brackets.
Bracket A – Budget of 250 – 399k
Conversion properties or listed/heritage buildings with obligatory restoration within the first 5 years of purchase.
Bracket B – Budget of 400 – 799k
Any type of Residential property, with minimum living surface of 120sq.m. – geographically restricted to Central Greece, Province of Greece, Peloponnese, North of Greece and islands with less than 3100 registered inhabitants.
Bracket C – Budget of 800k and above
Any type of Residential property, with minimum living surface of 120sq.m. – geographically applicable to Athens/Attica, Thessaloniki, and the islands with more than 3100 registered inhabitants.
Conversion projects aka ‘Change of Use’ are usually existing buildings, or buildings that were permitted (without being completed) by the respective Town Planning Authorities, with any scope apart from Residential Buildings. (ie. Office Spaces, Commercial, health facilities/premises, Light Industry/Craft buildings, Malls, Factories, School/Educational premises etc.) that are revised upon relevant implementation study by a certified Civil Engineer/Architect to be turned into Residential, without expanding the envelope of the building.
An application for a new permit to change use and layouts of floorplans, is submitted to the respective authorities, and upon approval, a new permit is issued, certifying the Conversion (Change of use.)
Properties that are already built, ie. Second hand market, or properties that are currently under construction or off plan which have been approved for building with Residential use by the respective Town Planning Authorities.