Greek investment immigration laws set for key reforms

By Uglobal Staff

A new bill has been presented in the Greek parliament to amend the country's investment immigration laws, proposing several key reforms as well as making provisions to accommodate the digital nomad visa trend.

The bill, which was proposed in the parliament on Aug. 25, contains a host of immigration related updates.

"These improvements will attract more and more investors who have a lot of options of investments in order to get their permanent residence permits," said Greek Immigration consultant Vicky Veli, who is the owner of the Athens-based law firm VV Legal.

The bill specifically calls for amending the law concerning residence permits obtained via investment in securities or bank deposit. It calls for allowing applicants of the golden visa residence permit to be able to transfer foreign funds into Greece via the accounts of their spouses or blood relatives up to the second degree such as parents in law and siblings.

It also proposes that golden visa residence permit holders should be allowed to liquidate their initial investment to avail another investment product or property, provided the new investment is done within two months after this liquidation.

The amendment also would allow golden visa applicants to invest in up to three investment categories in total, a step which would enable diversification of one's investment portfolio. So, in theory, this would allow one to go for three different term deposits in three different banks as long as the total meets the golden visa minimum investment threshold of 400,000 euros.

ACCOMODATING DIGITAL NOMADS

The bill also proposes a separate amendment to provide for a special two-year long digital nomad visa for foreign applicants.

Successful applicants would need to prove that they have been working for a non-Greek employer for the last 12 months and have a valid work contract, fixed or indefinite, that covers the entire period for which the visa stays valid.

The minimum monthly income threshold has been proposed to be fixed at 3,500 euros per month; those with spouses would need to earn 20% on top of that while for each child they would need to show additional 15% of earnings.

Neither the applicants nor their dependents would be allowed to work for any Greek employer during their stay on this visa.

The bill is currently under discussion in the Greek Parliament and once approved the new law would be published in the Greek government's gazette in the coming days.

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