All about the Greek Residency Program
It is absolutely essential to enter legally for the first time.
To visit Greece, you will need to issue a Schengen visa from the Greek embassy in your country.
To issue an investor’s visa you will need to show enough funds to cover the minimum investment amount of 250,000 Euros.
If you travel from IRAQ you must apply in Baghdad. You will be required to visit Ankara or Istanbul for the interview.
If you travel from AFGHANISTAN you must apply in Islamabad (Pakistan).
SYRIAN citizens that reside in Syria have to apply to the Greek embassy in Beirut (Lebanon).
- Who will pay for your visit?
- Are you married? If yes, what does your spouse do? For how long have been married?
- Do you have any children? If yes, how old are they, what do they do and where are they?
- Do you have any close family or friends in the Schengen area.? If yes, when did you meet the last time?
- Where do you stay?
- What is your educational qualification?
- How will you travel from one place to another?
- How do you guarantee me that you will come back?
- Which company do you work for?
- What does your company do?
- What is your profession?
- What is your role in the company?
- How many years of total experience you have?
- For how long are you employed with your current employer?
- For how long were you employed with your previous employer?
- Could you please show me your company profile and tax returns?
- How many employees are there in your company?
- Explain your current project to me.
It usually takes about a week. But it depends on how busy the consulate is so it is better to apply for a visa at least one month in advance
To open a Bank account the documents are:
a. Passport
b. Power of Attorney in Greece
c.Original Permanent Residence Registration* with English Translation with Stamp and signature.
d. Certificate of Employment with a statement about the position, the annual
income in Euros, full address of the company with stamp and signature of the
company.
e. Bank Statement
f. Copy of the ID Card
g. Greek Mobile Number
*Hukou book for Chinese applicants
All the above documents should be certified from the Greek Embassy in
Country of origin.
The proof of purchase for the property or the lease contract, and health insurance that will cover your medical expenses if needed. These two are the necessary documents needed. You may obtain the insurance coverage in Greece from a local company.
Specifically:
a. 4 pictures size 4×6 (better have them in Greece)
b. A CD with the file of the picture saved as jpg format
c. Government fees paid
d. Private medical insurance
e. Purchase contract and registration
f. Copy of the entire passport.
Per the law, family members of non-EU/EEA citizens entering the country are:
a) The spouse and their unmarried children up to the age of 21
b) the unmarried children of the dependent or his / her spouse up to the age of 21, provided that the right of custody has been legally granted to the sponsor for his/her children and to the other spouse for the children thereof
c) The first-degree ascendants of the spouses
These family members are granted residence permits for family reunification which does not include access to employment.
The appropriate documentation is required for all investors (individuals and legal entities) participating in the financing of the project (not only for the individuals applying for a residence permit), proving their ability to pay their own funds.
Each investor who participates in the financing of the project with a number of his own funds of at least €250,000 is entitled to a residence permit. So, if the investors participate equally with the above amount (i.e. each one by €2,000,000/8 = €250,000), all of them are entitled to a residence permit (provided that the total number of permits for investors and executives does not exceed 10).
However, if one investor participates more than the others, investors participating with own funds of less than €250,000 cannot be granted a residence permit under this program.
According to legislation, for investments (investors’ contribution) from €1,000,001-€3,000,000, 2 residence permits may be issued for executives (provided that the total number of permits for investors and executives does not exceed 10). Therefore, even if residence permits are granted to all eight investors, residence permits can also be issued to 2 executives since the total number (8+2) does not exceed 10.
In cases when the business activity is transferred/terminated, the non-EU/EEA citizen loses the right to reside in Greece based on this residence permit.
Yes. Holders of a residence permit can travel to other Member States for up to three months within a six-month period according to Schengen Borders Code.
You may travel with your passport and the residency permit to all countries that are part of the European Union and belong to the Schengen Area:
Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Czech Republic and Finland.
You may also travel to these Non-EU countries that belong to the Schengen Area: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Please note that after the residence permit has been issued, you may also travel to any Schengen country directly from your country. You do not need to go through Greece first.
Yes, it is possible to buy up to two (2) properties, commercial or residential, provided that their combined value is equal to or greater than €250.000.
Yes, under the specific regulations of the Ministry of Transport which apply to non-EU/EEA citizens.
This title allows its holder to access long-term residence status, which is a qualification required for naturalization.
For a person to obtain a residence permit of a long-term resident, the conditions of Articles 89 and 90 of Law 4251/2014 must be cumulatively met.
After seven years of continuous residency, the permit holders may apply for Greek citizenship.
[law No. 4332/2015, Greek Government Gazette Number 76 A’, July 2015]
For the citizenship eligibility there are certain criteria to be met :
– Knowledge of Greek language. Knowledge of Greek history and elements of civilization.
– The applicant must live in Greece for most of the time before the application.
With the approval of the application the investor receives:
– Greek – European Union passport
– Voting rights
This is part of our services. We handle all the necessary paperwork on behalf of the applicant:
– The application process for the initial residence permit,
– the submission of any additional required documentation
– and finally, the collection of the receipt of the residence permit.
The residency permit is permanent.
The permit is renewed every five years indefinitely. The only criterion is property ownership.
Children who reach the 21 year of age,are considered adults and cannot be part of the group family permit. The law allows them to extend their permit for 3 more years and have access to the employment market.
The residence permit holders have access to Public Education, in the same way as Greek citizens.
There is a variety of state and private schools and Universities with a multilingual syllabus.
They have also access to the Greek public health system.
Residence permit holders and their family members must also have private insurance policies that cover their healthcare and medical care expenses.
Currently, family members do not include unmarried partners.
Ministry of Migration Policy is examining the possibility of reviewing the current legal framework to facilitate the admission of unmarried partners under certain conditions (civic partnership, durable relationship).
The holders of a residence permit have access to the exercise of investment activity (as legal representative, president, board member or chief executive officer), while the executives of the investment have access to dependent employment for the needs of the investment.
The family members of the investor are not granted access to the labor market, while the family members of the executives have the same access to the labor market as the sponsor.
If this happens, either in their country of origin or in Greece, this leads to the revocation of the residence permit at once.