After housing shortage: Greece tightens rules for ‘golden visas’

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In sought-after areas such as the capital region of Attica but also Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 inhabitants, the investment amount now amounts to 800,000 euros, while in other regions at least 400,000 euros is due.

The real estate area for potential investors was also increased to a minimum of 120 square meters. Anyone who wants to convert industrially used buildings into living space must now invest at least 250,000 euros. This also applies to investing in historic buildings.

The measures are part of the government’s housing policy, according to Minister Kostis Hatzidakis of Economy and Finance. In collaboration with the private sector, this is intended to “guarantee affordable and quality housing for all citizens,” the minister explains. At the same time, investments must continue, albeit “under more balanced conditions”.

Criticism of the move came from the Greek Association of Joint Stock Companies and Entrepreneurship. “The impact on investments (…) will be dramatic,” the association wrote in a letter to Hatzidakis and Development Minister Kostas Skrekas. It is “very questionable whether the government’s objectives of reducing house prices and increasing the supply of long-term rental housing can be achieved.”

Golden visas are passports and residence visas for the exceptionally wealthy. The issuing countries try to woo these wealthy people in the hope that they will bring money into the country through real estate purchases or investments. Athens introduced the program in 2014 in the wake of the financial crisis. At that time, real estate prices fell and the construction industry came to a standstill. According to the Bank of Greece, rents have risen by 20 percent since 2018, significantly reducing household purchasing power.

According to the Ministry of Migration, the ‘Golden Visa’ program recorded record demand in 2023 with 10,214 applications for acquisition or renewal. Last year, 5,701 visas were issued for a total investment of one billion euros.

According to the Association for Joint Stock Companies and Entrepreneurship, about 20,000 permanent residence permits have been granted to real estate investors so far, most of them from Turkey, Israel and China.

(SDA)

Source: Blick