Greece Introduces Three-Tiered Real Estate Price Zones for Its Golden Visa Program

As part of efforts to better manage the housing crisis, authorities in Greece recently announced that the minimum investment requirement for the Golden Visa Program would increasereaching €800,000 in some cases.

The changes were confirmed through a statement by the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

According to local media reports, the new prices will come in three levels and within days, or more specifically:

• Zone A: €800,000
• Zone B: €400,000 – 500,000
• Zone C: €250,000

Zone A is expected to include central, southern, and northern parts of Attica, as well as the capital region and central Thessaloniki and the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, according to an IMI report. The same notes that Zone A could potentially include Crete, the Cyclades, and the Dodecanese islands.

At the same time, Zone B will be reserved for territories where the €250,000 minimum requirement applies but which have experienced price pressure since last year’s price increase. This zone is likely to include Piraeus, Athens’ western suburbs and northern and eastern suburbs like Gerakas, Ekali and Markopoulo, among others.

According to IMI Daily, Zone C will be kept for municipalities where wealthy internationals have low interest in buying properties.

Earlier this month, Greece’s PM noted that the minimum investment for third-country nationals to acquire Golden Visas could surge to €800,000 for real estate investments in some parts of the country.

Announcing the increase, Mitsotakis stressed that the €250,000 threshold will remain for areas with no residential pressure.

What we are discussing with the finance minister is a further increase in the threshold for golden visa investments, and it will concern all areas where rents are high. It can go to €800,000 euros.

The plans to increase the investor visa threshold for the Golden Visa Program were introduced earlier this month by Greece’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Kostis Hadjidakis.

Greece’s Golden Visa Program gives internationals the opportunity to acquire residency provided they meet the needed conditions and invest financially in this territory.

Among the most famous options to acquire residency through the Residency by Investment Program is buying properties.

However, Greece is currently dealing with a housing shortage. Therefore, Greece’s Minister of Economy and Finance stressed that the new changes aim to reduce the increasing prices of buying and renting properties.

The Hellenic Republic increased the minimum amount of investment required for the program from € 250,000 to €500,000 in some parts of the country.