Approvals rise while processing times plummet. After a terrible 2020, the Greek Golden Visa is back in business. “The future looks bright,” says Panos Rozakis.
Despite a flurry of program-enhancing policy changes, the Greek golden visa’s performance in 2020 was lackluster compared to Portugal’s. Why?
Many bought qualifying homes in 2019 and were awaiting approvals. Now, they’re out EUR 250,000 and unable to enter Greece.
The government is heeding the advice of practitioners and speeding up golden visa processing. Their zeal, unfortunately, isn’t matched by local authorities.
In practice, the changes enable investors to pay for the property from abroad, rather than by first opening a Greek bank account, without excess risk.
Immigration offices in the capital region are turning away applications due to a lack of capacity. Fortunately, regional offices are picking up the slack.
Greek property just got a whole lot cheaper. The new government has declared it will not collect VAT on real estate investments for the next three years.
Mahmoudi maintains that Portugal has the world’s best golden visa. In response, Rozakis lists the reasons why that is not the case.
