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Brexit and Golden Visa
Post-Brexit and Golden Visa.
Brexit has brought about significant changes to the lives of UK citizens. Possibly the most notable change is that they no longer can enjoy the freedom of movement, which applies to EU citizens, meaning, British citizens cannot live nor work in an EU Member State.
The good news is that in the last years, Greece has been running a fast-track residence permit program for non-European citizens who purchase property with a minimum value of €250,000 or can open term deposits with a minimum investment of €400,000.
What about UK citizens who own property/s in Greece?
Given that Greece has always been a top holiday destination for British citizens, quite a few have invested in real estate in the last decade, valued at much more than €250,000. Now that they have found out about the Golden Visa opportunity, a great number are proceeding to take advantage of it and receive a Greek residence permit.
But disappointment often settles in at this point. The Golden Visa is not granted to just anyone who legally buys property valued at over €250,000.
There is a strict process in place, and strict conditions apply BEFORE the property is purchased, such as how the payment was made, when it was purchased and the provisions that applied at the time, the type of ownership rights, and other legal parameters.
In principle, when a non-European citizen wants to get a Golden Visa by investing in real estate, they must visit a dedicated Golden Visa law firm, which will ensure that the Golden Visa conditions are fulfilled during the property purchase process, and will draft a purchase agreement that will include all the information required to qualify for a Golden Visa.
Many UK citizens may have met the Golden Visa conditions out of sheer luck or may have small omissions that can be corrected at a very small cost. Others, however, may meet the Golden Visa conditions in part and may need to make a much smaller additional investment. Whatever the case may be, based on experience, a viable solution can be found in around 50% of cases, possibly with an additional cost, offering the opportunity to obtain a Golden Visa based on the investments made to date.
Golden visa process for British citizens, how to start?
Varnavas Law Firm 1978 is an awarded law firm specializing in real estate law. Since 2013, we have been running a Special Desk dedicated to Golden Visa investments, advising individuals, entities, and governments on the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Greek legislation. We are an active member of the Advisory Committee of the Investment Migration Council (IMC), the global organization for residency and citizenship by investment, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
If you are a UK citizen with property in Greece and would like us to review your case, contact us at +302106400300 or at [email protected]
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