Greece Golden Visa Price Set to Rise
On Saturday 10th September, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece attended the 86th International Exhibition of Thessaloniki, where he delivered his annual speech, discussing an array of national topics and the government’s plans and agenda for the coming year.
One major announcement was that the Government intends to double the minimum investment threshold for Greece’s Golden Visa programme. In his speech, the Prime Minister declared: ”In order to increase the available real estate for Greeks, we are now increasing the investment limit for granting a Golden Visa license from 250,000 to 500,000 euros”.
It is understood that this decision has been made to help free up more affordable housing for Greek nationals who are currently struggling to get onto the property ladder due to Greece’s rapid economic growth and the rise of real estate values. The Greek Government also pledged various funding initiatives to support young Greek couples and families who have struggled to buy property, and for those wanting to renovate properties.
It is unclear at this stage when the price rise for the Greek Golden Visa programme will take effect, but several local sources in Greece expect it could be early 2023.
The Greek Golden Visa programme takes an average of 3-6 months to process, so if you are looking to proceed at the current investment level of €250,000, it is advisable to act now. Alternatively, if next year’s price increase will take you over your investment budget, Portugal’s Golden Visa programme which starts at €280,000, could be a more feasible alternative for you.
To stay up to date with programme news, please subscribe to our mailing list.
***UPDATE*** Nov 2022
Further details have since come to light suggesting that the price rise will only be applicable to certain areas of Greece. Taking a similar stance to Portugal and the changes they made to their Golden Visa programme in January 2022, several government officials have implied that the price rise will only apply to certain regions of Greece, mainly in the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki. It has also been speculated by some that there may be a six month grace period from January 2023, to enable those who have already started the investment process at the lower level, time to complete the application. We are still waiting on an official notice to be released, detailing the exact changes and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
