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BCN-35
GREECE-ECONOMY-INVESTMENT
Greece to extend ‘golden visa’ scheme to lure more investors
ATHENS, July 20, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Greece on Thursday said it will extend
its “golden visa” programme to include those investing a minimum of 400,000
euros in the country.
In return, recipients will get five-year Greek residency permits which
also allow non-European Union citizens to travel freely throughout the bloc.
The scheme was previously reserved for those investing at least 250,000
euros ($290,000) in real estate in Greece.
The law will be voted in a few months, a source in the ministry of
migration policy told AFP, confirming a report in the Kathimerini newspaper.
The aim is to “attract investors to help in the (economic) revival and
respond to market demand,” the source said.
The plan was launched in 2013 to revive debt-laden Greece’s moribund real
estate market and it has attracted some 5,000 mainly Chinese, Russian,
Turkish and Egyptian nationals.
Thirteen European union countries have similar programmes. The European
Parliament now wants a better framework for such schemes to fight corruption
and money laundering.
BSS/AFP/HR/1122