ATHENS – The New Democracy government has listed criteria for how wealthy foreigners can skip the line of those in the Diaspora who have to wait two years or more to get residency permits, which will require investments of at least 400,000 euros ($440,020.)
That would be for putting the money into Greek securities and companies and get them, and their families, a five-year permit to live in the country that comes with a valuable European Union passport allowing free travel within the 28-country bloc, said Kathimerini.
A time deposit at a Greek bank of at least that amount for at least 12 months with a fixed order for renewal gets them the Golden Visa, a program that in other countries has been used to launder money and for criminals to how their cash while getting residency, including Cyprus.
The new criteria include the investment of a minimum of 400,000 euros in state bonds of at least three years’ duration through a Greece-based bank, or the investment of a minimum of 400,000 euros in a mutual fund set up in Greece or abroad to invest exclusively in shares and bonds trading in Greece and with total assets of least 3 million euros ($3.3 million,) the report said.
Foreigners may also obtain the permit with an investment of 800,000 euros ($880,040) in stocks or corporate bonds in the Greek capital markets.
These new rules will apply along with the existing scheme that requires an investment of 250,000 euros ($275,013) in local real estate assets and as the government, hoping to lure even more foreign money, said it is planning to offer the rich who make Greece their residence for tax purposes to buy citizenship, not just a visa, even if they have never been to the country and have no ties of any kind.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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