Residence Permits

Depending on the specific case, the following documentation may need to be submitted in addition to the above:

1. Residence permits for third country citizens who own and possess, either wholly or jointly, property in Greece.

• A contract of purchase stating that “the contract of sell and purchase of the property is not subject to conditions or exemptions, the total price amounts to ….. which has been paid in full with a crossed bank cheque to a bank account of the beneficiary, held in a credit institution operating in Greece or with a credit transfer, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4, par. 24 (Official Government Gazette Α΄ 84) to a beneficiary’s bank account held in a payment service provider, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4 par. 11 operating in Greece.
• Proof of transfer of the contract by the competent Land Registry and a certificate issued by the Land Registry or national cadastre agency attesting to the non-existence of any encumbrance.

2. Residence permits for third country citizens who own property in Greece through a legal entity, where the applicant owns all shares

• A contract of purchase stating that “the contract of sell and purchase of the property is not subject to conditions or exemptions, the total price amounts to ….. which has been paid in full with a crossed bank cheque to a bank account of the beneficiary, held in a credit institution operating in Greece or with a credit transfer, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4, par. 24 (Official Government Gazette Α΄ 84) to a beneficiary’s bank account held in a payment service provider, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4 par. 11 operating in Greece.
• Proof of transcription of the contract by the competent Land Registry and a certificate issued by the Land Registry or national cadastre agency attesting to the non-existence of any encumbrance.

3. Residence permits for third country citizens who have a lease – for a minimum of 10 years – for hotel accommodations or furnished tourist residences in integrated tourist resorts

• Notarised copy of the lease for the hotel accommodations or furnished tourist residences in integrated tourist resorts, which demonstrates a single payment of €250.000 and includes a mention of the granting of the relevant operation licence by GNTO (Greek National Tourism Organisation)

4. Residence permits for third country citizens who have purchased real estate property in Greece before Law 4146/2013 came into effect:

• If the payment submitted before Law 4146/2013 came into effect is smaller than two hundred and fifty thousand euro (250,000) but the current objective (assessed) value of the real estate property exceeds or is equal to this amount, a certification by a notary must be included in the documents that are submitted, stating: “From the verification of the contract with number .for the purchase of real estate proper- ty, it can be concluded that the full payment of the cost of the real estate property has been completed, it no longer has any conditions, exemptions or deadlines, and the objective (assessed) value of the real estate property as it stands today is equiv- alent to the amount of …..”.
• In this case it is also necessary to submit the contract of purchase for the real es- tate property or properties, the value of which is at minimum €250,000, proof of title transfer from the Land Registry where the relevant contract has been trans- ferred and a certificate issued by the Land Registry or national cadastre agency attesting to the non-existence of any encumbrance.

5. Residence permits for third country citizens who purchase plots of land or acreage and erect a building. The following additional documents must be submitted:
6. contract for the purchase of the plot of land or acreage, and
7. contract with the construction company for the erection/restoration of the residence, which has been submitted to the tax office according to the law

• building permit in the name of the applicant

1. invoices by the contractors and the corresponding proofs of payment.
2. Residence permits for third country citizens who have signed a timeshare agreement (lease) based on the provisions of Law 1652/1986, for hotel units and generally tourist facilities operating under the permission of the Hellenic Tourism Organization (EOT). The following additional documents must be submitted:
3. Timeshare contract for a minimum period of five years which should state the corresponding price per year;
4. Proof of transfer registration issued by the competent Land Registry;

• A certificate issued by the National Tourism Organisation (EOT) that it has been informed of the conclusion of the particular timeshare contract.

7. Residence permits for family members of the third country citizen

• Recent family status certificate from foreign authorities which certifies the family relationship.

Step 3: Submitting the documents

Αccording to Ministerial Decision n. 9907/3-4-2019 (Official Government Gazette Β’1106), the application for the residence permit can be submitted to any one-stop service of the Aliens and Immigration Department at the Decentralised Authorities in Greece.

Step 4: Procedures until the final issuing of the permit Upon arrival

A third country citizen who intends –and has the necessary supporting documentation– to own real estate property or to lease hotel accommodations or furnished tourist residences and has entered the country legally, is required to complete the required actions to apply for the residence permit before the expiry of the entry visa. In this case, the prospective applicant is able to undertake legal acts and transactions

with the competent authorities, using their entry visa.

Application process

Since February 20, 2017, the new procedure for granting non EU-EEC nationals residence permits in Greece was launched, pursuant to Regulation (EC) 380/2008, under which all EU Member States will issue an electronic residence permit, which will replace the sticker, typically affixed in a valid passport.

 (a) If the investor submits his application in person or accompanied by his attorney, will be called to submit, on top of the application and the related specific documents required by the law (joint ministerial decision 31399/2018 – Category C 3.2.), the following:

• 4 printed digital passport photos, also stored in digital form(CD)
• A sample of his digital signature
• A fee of 16 euro, which covers the cost of supply, printing and secure handling of the e-card, paid through the “e-paravolo” online payments platform
• Completion of the fingerprinting process (for two fingers)

(b) If the application is filed by an appointed attorney, in the absence of the interested investor, then written notification will be given for the applicant to define a specific date for submitting his biometric data, required for the issue of the residence permit, in consultation with his attorney, so that this date is convenient for the applicant.

If the applicant’s travel arrangements change and thus cannot attend the biometrics appointment, then he should promptly inform the competent authority through his attorney so as a new date for the appointment is fixed. In any case, since the applications must be handled quickly and should not remain pending for a long time, the attendance of the applicant for submitting his biometric data should be completed within six months from the time of application and in any case before the lapse of 1 year.

One of the major advantages enjoyed by holders of permanent investor residence permit, is that following their initial entry into Greece, they have no other obligation to stay in the country for any length of time, without affecting in any way their residence permit. Therefore as the investor, after signing the property purchase contract or even after filing the application for his investor permanent residence permit, may depart from Greece it is necessary to instruct the relevant department, where his application was filed, about the attorney through whom communication between the department and the permit holder will be carried out, whenever necessary.

Documentation check

The authorities receiving the application will issue a confirmation that the application has been submitted, provided that all the necessary documentation has been submit- ted with the application. This confirmation is valid for one year and it constitutes an evidencing document until the residence permit is issued.

Application processing timeframe

The owner of the real estate property is not affected by the duration of the processing of their application, from the moment the application is submitted to the relevant au- thorities until the issuing of a decision by the Secretary General of the Decentralised Authority regarding their residence permit. After the application has been submitted, the applicant receives a receipt confirming the submission of the application, which is valid for one year. The time required to process the application depends on the authority where it has been submitted yet it may not exceed two months after all the necessary documents have reached the competent authority.

Provisions during the application processing period

The third country citizen, who has submitted an application and received the confirmation receipt described above, can reside legally in the country for the duration of the confirma- tion receipt (one year). The holder of the confirmation receipt is entitled to the benefits of the residence permit that they have applied for. Hence, they can proceed with any legal transaction regarding their investment and can transact with all the relevant authorities.

Issuing of the decision

Once the authority of Aliens and Immigration of the Decentralised Authority has verified that the application fulfils all necessary conditions and, in accordance with the decision of the Secretary General of the Decentralised Administration, they will issue a five-year residence permit.