Greece will extend the Golden Visa program to investors other that those purchasing real estate worth at least 250,000 euros. The new scheme will include those who make a bank deposit or an investment in Greek bonds or shares of at least 400,000 euros.
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 relevant “law will be voted in a few months,” a source in the ministry of migration policy told AFP news agency on Thursday, July 18th.
The aim is to “attract investors to help in the (economic) revival and respond to market demand,” the source added.
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 programs.
The European Parliament now wants a better framework for such schemes to fight corruption and money laundering.
