The Greek temporary residency program for so-called Financially Independent Persons (“FIP”) provides residency in Greece and visa-free travel across the Schengen zone in Europe. Holders of the temporary residency in Greece have the right, but not the obligation, to buy property in Greece, start and manage a business, and send their children to Greek and European schools. This residence permit category can’t be considered as work permit and it does not authorize the visa holder to work in Greece or in other countries in the European Union. Candidates who are eligible to obtain this type of visa should be citizens of third countries (non-EU) who are economically independent persons who have sufficient financial resources from a fixed and steady annual income outside of Greece to cover their living expenses, that means without having any work or independent economic or investment activity in Greece.

Non-EU citizens, who are planning to live in Greece, must apply for the relevant visa from the Greek Consulate in their country of birth or residence before coming to Greece. Those who want to stay in Greece for a period over 90 days will need a Residence Permit issued by Greek authorities. The application for Residence permit should be made within the first 2 months after arriving in Greece and before the expiration of the visa.

The necessary documents to apply for Residence Permit in Greece:

1. Visa from a Greek Consulate or Embassy
2. Copy of passport
3. Two passport-sized photos
4. Medical insurance
5. Health certificate from a Greek public hospital, proving that there are no contagious diseases
6. Proof of local residence
7. Proof of sufficient financial means to live in Greece
8. Proof of payment of the required fee to the national tax office
9. Employment contract (if applicable)

All these documents listed should be in Greek, other official foreign documents, such as birth or marriage certificates, must be translated in Greek by the Greek Foreign Ministry’s Department of Translation, a lawyer or a certified translator.

The applications are reviewed by the Immigration Committee and the applicant is asked for an interview. Then the local Secretary-General decides whether or not to grant the permit to the applicant.

Once your application has been submitted, you will receive a blue paper as a confirmation that your application is being processed. This blue paper gives the applicant the right to continue staying in Greece until the final conclusion about the residence permit is issued. In this waiting period, the candidate can also go to home country and come back to Greece at any time.

Residency permits are initially valid for one year. After this period, it can be renewed if the renewal application is submitted two months before the expiration of the initial permit. After five years of continuous residence, you can apply for permanent residence for family members.

Greece offers residency by investment options to individuals who wish to purchase property or perform a strategic investment and contribute to the country’s economic development. The most attractive and profitable areas for investments in Greece are the ones in which Greece has competitive advantages under international standards, such as tourism and real estate, food and agriculture, renewable energy sources, technology and ICT, export-oriented manufacturing, environmental management, and life sciences.

The “Greece Golden Visa” permanent residency program enables applicants to live in Greece indefinitely without traveling restrictions and visa requirements across the EU. Permanent residency is granted based on the investment in Greece.

More specifically it grants a five year residency visa in return for an investment in real estate and is subject to renewal if the property investment is still retained and most importantly there is no necessity of living in Greece in order to keep and renew the visa, but citizenship can only be granted after seven years of citizenship. There is no minimum stay condition and children up to the age of 21 are included in the family application. The investor and his/her family will have free access to the Greek health system and also your children will be free to attend the Greek Educational institutions (schools, universities, etc.).

One advantage and reason why the Greek program is quite attractive is that the required investment amount scheme is the lowest scheme among the Southern European countries that have created their own investment-based real estate programs. Thus, a foreign investor may purchase multiple properties whose values combined makeup at least 250,000 Euros in order to meet the required investment amount. That/s what makes it the most affordable residency based on investment including the family members and granting free visa access to the Schengen Zone within 2 months of submitting an application.

Investment Options

• Purchase real estate property in mainland Greece or surrounding islands with a minimum value of €250,000,
• Sign a 10-year lease with minimum €250,000 for hotel or other tourist residences.
• Have purchased a property before 2013 currently worth €250,000 or more.
• Own Greece real estate of minimum value €250,000 acquired through donation or parental concession.
• Purchase land with intent to build, the provided value of land and construction contract is minimum €250,000.
• Summary of the Benefits of Greece Immigration Golden Visa Investor Program
• Greek residency for a property purchase of just €250,000.
• Live and work in Greece when maintaining a residence in another country.
• Access to Greek educational institutions
• Visa-free access to the Schengen area of EU countries
• Family members are included.
• Visa can be renewed every five years

Process for Obtaining Residence

Before applying for Greek residence, the applicant must first have a visa valid for entry into the country. The process for this first step is widely dependent upon the foreign national’s country of origin as nationals of EU countries and the United States have different entry visa requirements than other nations.

The application for foreign investors or property owners must contain three color photos of the investor, a copy of the investor’s passport, a health certificate from a Greek doctor certifying that the investor is free of communicable diseases and also a clear criminal record and medical insurance to cover any stay in Greece. The application must have a copy of the contract for the purchase of the property (or properties) that are valued at a minimum of 250,000 Euros or proof of the title transfer if the property has already been transferred to the investor, also a notarized statement confirming that the contract satisfies the requirements for investment-based residence in Greece.

The application must be submitted to Greece’s Aliens and Immigration of the Decentralized Authority agency. If the agency Secretary supports the application, the investor and family will get the residence permit.

The above process usually takes approximately 40 days from the time of investment until the Residency Permit is issued. Prior to applying for a residence permit, the property investment in Greece has to be implemented.

ADVANTAGES OF PERMANENT RESIDENCY IN GREECE

1. Living in Greece

Once granted, the Permanent Residency Permit includes the whole family: the main applicant and spouse, their parents and children under 21 years of age. All of them will have free access to the Greek health system, free to attend to the Greek Educational organizations (schools, universities, etc.). there is no requirement to live in Greece prior to or during the Golden Visa residency application, or even after residency has been granted.

2. Free Travel

Visa-free travel across the EU without traveling restrictions and visa requirements.

3. Fast Application Processing

All applications are evaluated by the Greek government within approximately two months from the date of filing. The applicant’s presence is not required, the application can be filed on their behalf.

4. Favorable Tax Structure

There are not any tax implications unless you reside in the country for over 183 days during the year.

Foreign workers, especially those who are non-EU citizens are required to have the proper visas and work permits in Greece.

Requirements for citizens of EU-EEA

If the applicant is a citizen from an EU-EEA member state, things are rather simple, all they need is their passport or ID to reside and work in Greece without any restriction. After spending a full three months (90 days) in Greece you should obtain a Certificate of Registration from the Aliens bureau. In order to obtain the Certificate, the applicant needs to just visit the local police station and ask whether they have a foreigner’s department, if not they can point you towards the direction of the closest police station that has one. This Certificate is free of any charges and does not expire. To get it, you’ll need to provide the following:

• An application form from the police station
• A copy of your passport or ID.
• 4 standard passport photos.
• Proof that you have medical insurance or private health insurance.
• If you are an employing a certificate from your employer or proof of other sufficient financial resources.
• If you’re retired, a letter from your pension provider that states the annual income (translated in Greek).

Some evidence that you have a local residence (a rental agreement, documents of property ownership documents or a statement from the person who’s signing the property deed).

After five years of living in Greece, you can get a Permanent Residence Certificate, which doesn’t expire either.

For now EU-EEA citizens

If you’re not coming from an EU-EEA country, the process will be much more complicated. Once you have received your visa to travel to Greece and have successfully joined the country, you will need to apply for a residence/work permit. There are various types of permits, so read below to find what applies to your case.

A National Work visa

This is an Entry type of visa, which suggests you’ll have to have it issued before your arrival to the country alongside the entry visa if you plan to stay in Greece for more than 90 days. To get it, you’ll need to have and present a job offer from a Greek company or from a company in your home country with a Greek branch that you’re going to be transferred to. The documents generally required for a National Work visa are a valid passport, your contract (or offer) of employment, some proof of medical insurance and a clear criminal background check, but for more details, you will need to contact your local Greek embassy or consulate.

This process can prolong up to a year. One possible way of obtaining this type of visa is to enter the country on a tourist visa, find a job and an employer who tends to sponsor your work visa and permit and then, once you and your potential employer have met, after being interviewed you are sure you got the job, you need to return to your home country in order to issue a work visa. Your potential employer has to complete the paperwork, submit it to the Office of Manpower and the Ministry of Interior Affairs, justify why you should be hired instead of a Greek national or other EU citizen, and then put up a deposit of several months’ salary. Once everything above is done and the process is completed, the official work invitation letter and contract should be sent from Greece to the Greek embassy/consulate in the applicant’s country of residence, which will invite you to interview with them before approving the visa.

As it is seen above, this option of work visa obtainment involves several steps and requires a fairly long time, besides it is really hard to find and get an employer ready to do all that stuff as it is much easier for them to hire candidates already in Greece taking also into account that the employer has to show an annual profit of a certain amount of his/her private business or company.

Get your own working permit

If you don’t have any sponsors, you have to get it by yourself. Within 30 days of your arrival in the country, you must apply in person for a residence/work permit at the local Municipal Office. It’s very important to start the process early on because the process is lengthy and may take a few months so if your visa expires before your application papers go through, you’ll be required to leave the country and start the process from the beginning. To obtain your permit, you need to present, in Greek, the following documents:

• Your Entry Visa.
• Your passport and its copy and two passport photos.
• A certificate of medical insurance.
• A health certificate from a state hospital stating that you don’t have any communicable diseases.
• Some proof that you have a local residence address whether it is a rental contract or something else.
• Some proof that you can support yourself financially, be it job or other resources
• A tax number (AFM) from the local tax office and proof that you paid the required fee.
• From the nearest Social Security Institute (IKA) office or the Citizens Service Office (KEP) a social security number (AMKA)