The Greek government, in order to improve and supplement the current resident permit scheme for third-country nationals investing in Greece, voted a legal amendment that extends the scope of the existing scheme by adding intangible investments to investment activities for which a permanent resident permit may be issued to third-country nationals. Joint ministerial decisions of the ministers of migration policy, economy and development and, where appropriate, foreign affairs, deal in particular with issues of application of the above provisions were issued the previous week and now this alternative route for Golden Visa is active. The minimum amount for this option is set to 400,000 euros and the procedure is different from the property option, but not for sure faster.
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How could investing in the new investment routes of the Greek Golden Visa program help accelerate the adjudication of my application?
I have been considering investing in the Greek Golden Visa program for some time. Last week I learned that new investment vehicles have been added to the program. I am wondering if the adjudication of my application could be faster if I invest in stocks and bonds, which, I assume, has fewer applicants than the real estate investment route.
Answers
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Normally, because the law is new, the process won't be faster than the property purchase option.
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The real estate investment route for the Golden Visa is faster than the new investment routes. In the case of the real estate investment, the resident permit can be received in approximately three months time from the date of the purchase of the property. With the new investment vehicle, it can take longer (about 2 months to obtain the visa plus the time needed for the processing of the residence permit.) Moreover, in the case of the new investment vehicle permit, the investor must at the beginning of each year provide new certificates about the retention of the investment. Such annual certificates are not required for the real estate Golden Visa holders, even though the investor must continue owning the property.
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For the time being, the real estate investment route is the well known and faster option, as there are no time-consuming estimations involved as in the brand new investment routes.
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The reasons might be different, but the authorities checking the documents are the same. So there won't be any time difference really.
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Please keep in mind that although this route is new, the process and processing time are the same as with the real estate option.