In many travel enthusiasts' hearts, visiting Greece has always been the ideal choice, and those who love the Mediterranean charm will certainly place Greece at the top of their list. The Greek property investment immigration is the most cost-effective immigration method in Europe and also the most convenient way to enter Europe.
Why do investors choose Greek real estate as their primary investment option in Europe?
Reason One
Greece is a member of the European Union and also a Schengen country, so obtaining permanent residency in Greece means opening the door to Western education, convenient travel, and cultural exchange in 26 developed Schengen countries. Investors can freely settle, study, travel, and live in any Schengen country.
The law stipulates that after approval, there are no strict requirements on the time investors must reside in Greece, which does not affect their life and work in the mainland. Since Greece does not have an immigration monitoring system, it has become one of the few EU countries that do not require investors to reside.
Reason Two
Since the debt crisis in 2009, Greek property prices have been severely impacted. To stimulate the housing market and promote investment immigration.
On April 9, 2013, the Greek Parliament passed a law: non-EU citizens can apply for a five-year Greek residence permit by purchasing property worth €250,000 or more in Greece.
After five years, as long as the property ownership is not sold, the owner can also apply for permanent residency in Greece. In June 2015, based on the positive impact of overseas investors on the Greek economy exceeding expectations, Greece supplemented and amended the immigration law, confirming that the visa for property owners could be directly upgraded to a permanent residence visa.
At the same time, the visa applicants are open to three generations, and the age limit for accompanying children has also been relaxed. This greatly increases the additional returns for investors in Greece, far exceeding those of other countries with similar investment amounts.
Reason Three
Since the end of 2015, European countries have successively raised investment thresholds or tightened the number of applicants. The UK investment immigration has doubled from £1 million to £2 million, Ireland has doubled from €500,000 to €1 million, and the Hungarian project is expected to close at the end of March 2017.
However, Greece still maintains the investment requirement of €250,000, and the total expenditure is less than 2 million RMB to complete all matters. Such a low investment threshold is rare among all immigration projects.
Reason Four
Many people believe that Greece, having been severely impacted by the European debt crisis, faces bankruptcy, making investment in such a country difficult to ensure safety. However, please note:
First, Greece is significantly different from Iceland, which was also rumored to be bankrupt. Iceland has scarce resources, a conservative approach to foreign relations, and a single and weak economic system, while Greece has a developed tourism industry and the government is very proactive in seeking external cooperation;
Second, the investment product in the Greek project is real estate with permanent ownership, not government bonds or other financial institution products. The real estate market is less affected by political factors, and the prices in the Greek real estate market have not experienced the same speculative behaviors as in the domestic market, such as urbanization development, excessive development by real estate developers, and speculation by investors. After the high prices fell due to the European debt crisis, the existing real estate market in Greece is basically stable and has low profit margins.
The High Added Value of Purchasing Property in Greece
The advantages of investment immigration to Greece for obtaining a Schengen Green Card are prominent. As Greece is one of the 26 Schengen member countries, holding a Greek passport allows free entry to most countries in the world.
It is worth noting that holding a Schengen Green Card provides significant convenience for visas to countries like the United States and Canada, but it is not visa-free. Only after acquiring the nationality of a Schengen country does one gain visa-free access to the United States and Canada; the Greek Green Card belongs to the EU Schengen countries, allowing free movement (including living, traveling, and working), and the entire EU Green Card system is incomparable in superiority to those of the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Compared to Green Card applications in other EU countries, Greece is the easiest and most affordable. Applicants who obtain a Greek Green Card can enjoy the same benefits as Greek citizens, a situation that exists in various European countries and is a concrete manifestation of high welfare and true equality in Europe.