Divorce between short stay and Golden Visa
The government is considering to impose restrictions on short-term rental properties acquired through the “Golden Visa” program, as sources say the aim is to increase the availability of properties for long-term rentals.
Although the final decisions have not yet been taken, the proposal envisages the “eviction” from the center of Athens -but also from other areas of Attica, of those who invest in real estate through the “Golden Visa,” with the aim of short-term leasing. The plan has caused some reaction, which will be discussed within the week and, immediately after that, the relevant amendment will come to Parliament, also including changes to the limits of the Golden Visa.
It is reported that the changes to the limits will come into effect from May, potentially allowing those who have submitted their application to receive the “Golden Visa” to enjoy the current limits.
The final configuration of the limits will be decided within the week, with the upper limit for investments reaching 800,000 euros, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had also announced.
Today, after the changes made last summer, the country is divided into two zones, with the acquisition of the “Golden Visa” costing €250,000 in the cheap areas and €500,000 in the expensive ones.
The limit of €500,000 concerns areas of the Northern Sector, namely Penteli, Kifissia, Metamorfosi, Halandri, Agia Paraskevi, Vrilissia, Nea Ionia, Iraklio, Cholargos, Papagou, Pefki, Lykovrysi and Marousi. In the Southern Sector respectively, the Municipalities of Agios Dimitrios, Alimos, Glyfada, Elliniko-Argyroupoli, Kallithea, Moschato-Tavros, Nea Smyrni and Palaio Faliro and in the Central Sector the Municipalities of Athens, Philadelphia-Halkidona, Galatsi, Zografou, Kaisariani, Byron, Ilioupoli, and Dafni-Ymittos.
The €500,000 limit also concerns the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the islands of Mykonos and Santorini.
Other areas
In the remaining municipalities of Attica, as well as in the rest of the country, the limit of €250,000 applies, which, like the €500,000, is per property. In other words, the “Golden Visa” cannot be obtained with total investments of €500,000 or €250,000, respectively, with multiple real estate purchases.
The new investment map for the “Golden Visa” will be decided within the week and it is being considered to create two, three or four price thresholds (€250,000, €400,000, €500,000 and €800,000), while there will be special care for the case where an investment is made in listed properties.
In particular, there are recommendations to take additional measures, such as the exemption from the Single Property Tax (ENFIA), as well as from value-added tax (VAT) on the restoration costs of these buildings, the deduction from income tax, the reduced tax rate on rental income, the calculation of age based on actual date of construction and not the last building permit.
Based on the data of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, from 2021 to 2023 the funds that flowed into the country from abroad through the “Golden Visa” exceeded a total of €4.3 billion, while the submitted applications reached 14,875 and the final approvals for inclusion in the program amount to 7,387.
The Chinese are consistently first in the ranking for the purchase of real estate through the “Golden Visa”, while a significant increase is recorded in the three years 2021-2023 from the countries of the Middle East, but also from Britain.
The top 10 at the end of 2023 are: China, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Britain, Egypt, USA, Israel, Russia and Ukraine.
