Greek golden visa opportunities remain despite tightening on popular islands – Richard Haller, Sable

Across Europe, many governments are tightening their Golden Visa programs, which have long been a favourite for many seeking relocation or secondary residency. Despite these restrictions, Greece offers permanent residency opportunities through its Golden Visa program in exchange for property investments. However, Richard Haller from immigration specialist Sable International explained to BizNews in an interview that recent changes mean investors can no longer purchase property anywhere. The Tier 1 investment category, which includes real estate in areas like Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and islands with populations over 3,100, now requires a minimum investment of €800,000. Meanwhile, the Tier 2 category has been set at €400,000 in other locations. Haller said there is also a €250,000 investment option, which mandates buying within new developments that involve a change of use on the mainland. He said Athens is an exciting and dynamic place to watch in the coming years and has strong potential for capital growth, similar to what Lisbon has experienced..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, will be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events, and members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..Watch here.Listen here.Highlights from the interview .In an interview with Linda van Tilburg for BizNews, Richard Haller, an immigration specialist at Sable International, discusses the evolving landscape of Golden Visa programs in Europe, focusing on Greece and other countries like Spain and Portugal..Golden Visa schemes provide affluent investors with residency rights in exchange for property investments, and Haller highlights Greece as a viable option, particularly since Portugal shifted its program in 2023 to focus on private equity funds. Greece's Golden Visa still offers a pathway to residency through real estate investment. Still, recent changes have made it more restrictive: buyers must now invest in new developments, such as converting commercial properties into residential units, to qualify for the program..Haller also notes that while the Greek market is maturing, large-scale projects in cities like Athens and Crete present opportunities for significant growth. He mentions that islands now require a higher investment of €800,000 to qualify for the visa and emphasizes the importance of choosing real estate investments that provide capital growth potential..Regarding Spain's decision to end its Golden Visa in January 2024, Haller explains that these programs often evolve as governments aim to direct foreign investment where it's most needed. For South Africans, the Greek Golden Visa, priced from €250,000, offers a lifestyle option with residency in Greece and travel freedom within the Schengen area. However, it doesn't provide long-term residency in other EU countries like the Netherlands..Haller concludes by discussing the potential for long-term growth in Greece's property market, drawing comparisons to Lisbon's past development..Edited transcript of the interview .Linda (00:06.161): .I am Linda van Tilburg for BizNews. Across Europe, governments are increasingly restricting the Golden Visa programs, a popular route for many seeking to relocate or secure a secondary residency option. For those unfamiliar, the Golden Visa scheme provides a pathway for affluent investors to acquire property in a foreign country and receive residency rights. So, what alternatives remain? To shed light on this, we have Richard Haller from the Immigration Specialist Sable International with us. Hi Richard, thank you for joining us today..Linda (00:41.693) .Let's look at Greece. Is that still a viable option for those interested in the Golden Visa program?.Richard Haller (00:48.606) .Absolutely. The Greek program has been running for a couple of years, initially overshadowed by the Portugal Golden Visa program, which was strong when real estate was involved. As of October last year, Portugal changed its program to focus on private equity funds or qualifying stock market funds, increasing the price to €500,000. Greece has now become the primary real estate program offering residency by investment, a golden visa that allows the purchaser to live in Greece and travel within the Schengen area for 90 days out of every 180 days. So, no more visas are required if you want to enjoy the European lifestyle. .Linda (01:38.683): .They've also changed the golden visa in Greece. What are the new changes?.Richard Haller (01:43.774) .Until September this year, you could buy anywhere in Greece or Athens for €250,000 and qualify for the Golden Visa program. Similar to what happened in Portugal and Lisbon, this created a market hype, increasing prices and affecting local affordability. Now, you can't just buy anywhere at the €250,000 level in Greece. You must buy within a new development involving a change of use, where a developer converts a commercial or industrial building into residential space, qualifying you for the Golden Visa program..Linda (02:32.094) .What is the potential for growth if you buy into one of these units?.Richard Haller (02:37.436) .So interestingly, what we're seeing in Greece for the first time is the advent of these big master plans. If you go to Athens now and you drive past the old airport, they're redeveloping that into a couple of thousand residential opportunities. I think it's a six-star hotel on the beachfront, and it's essentially a smart city plan with walkways and parks. The real estate market in Greece is maturing; it's happening. We're seeing some large-scale master plans in Crete as an example – amazing developments are happening. It's a bit like we saw in Mauritius, 10, 15 years ago, where you saw lots of exciting new developments that we are in Greece..Linda (03:27.456) .What about other countries? I see Spain has announced its intentions to discontinue their golden visa. Is it in January?.Richard Haller (03:36.848) .Yes, these programs tend to have a lifespan, and they ultimately morph from their initial objective, which is normally to drive foreign direct investment into the country and start growing the economy through that. As they gain momentum, the government shapeshifts the programs to divert the money into an economy in the right place. So, the same has happened in Greece, particularly in Athens, where they're driving the regeneration of Athens by converting the old derelict industrial buildings or non-used commercial buildings. And because there's generally a shortage of good housing, you're now seeing that creating supply. So, it's quite a good mechanism to try and correct the imbalances within the real estate market..Linda (04:29.567).You mentioned Athens; what about the islands? I think most people would want to end up on an island..Richard Haller (04:35.166) .That was essentially on the old program. Before the changes in September, you could buy for €250,000 anywhere in Greece. But what's happening now is that that's putting pressure on the islands. The new price point for any island with over 3,100 inhabitants has gone up to €800,000. So, you can buy on the islands and qualify for the golden visa, but it is at €800,000..Linda (05:05.41) .Does it still create opportunities for South Africans? Would they be interested if you can't buy a new property like you used to?.Richard Haller (05:17.854) .It's a bit of a change of mindset in terms of… When looking at these programs, you're ultimately considering the residency program. For us at Sable, we're examining the investment opportunity from a real estate perspective. The last thing you want is to buy a real estate investment solely to get a golden visa. You still want to purchase a decently yielding investment with potential capital growth. That's the priority. Coupled with that, you've got a golden visa where you can go and live in Greece. You can rent something on the island for a couple of months of the year, and you can traverse the EU and travel if you like—a nice lifestyle and freedom of movement solution. Clients are still willing to spend €800,000 and purchase a villa on an island. You can still find a nice villa at that price, qualifying for the Golden Visa. There is another price point, which is €400,000, essentially for the mainland of Greece outside Athens or Thessaloniki, the other main city..We are currently in the process and planning a big trip in January to evaluate the best areas to invest in. Athens is one location where we expect to see capital growth. You'll be able to rent the apartment out. We think it's quite a sound long-term investment from a capital growth perspective and offers decent yields of up to 400,000..Then, we'll look more into the €400,000 level, which could be a place where you can live on the beach for a couple of months of the year and then return to South Africa or wherever you are, moving between the two..Linda (07:02.881) .You mentioned 90 days; can you live elsewhere? Can you buy property and live in the Netherlands?.Richard Haller (07:18.012) .Unfortunately not. To live in any European country, you need an EU passport. So, the Portugal Golden Visa Program is still the flagship of Golden Visa Programs, which ultimately gets you a passport in seven years without having to relocate and move out of your country. That's still, by and large, the best program if you want to go live or your kids go and live in any European country. The Greek Golden Visa is the next best option at a €250,000 price level, where you can get enhanced access to the EU. You can go live in Greece for a couple of months of the year, you can travel the EU without any visa restrictions. And at the same time, it seems to be stacking up a decent investment over the long term. .Linda (08:11.728): .Amid security concerns following the Ukraine war, there are proposals from Brussels for stricter checks on existing visas. Is this an issue for South Africans?.Richard Haller (08:24.744) .Compliance, know-your-client, and checks across the board are increasing. So, we see it in every programme from a golden visa perspective. he second passport programs like Grenada – there's a lot more pressure to ensure that there's enhanced due diligence, that the clients are sound, and that the source of the funds is sound. So that's happening. Then, from the visa space recently, South Africa is off the visa-free list for Ireland, which was the last best visa-free travel for Europe. As a South African, travelling is becoming tricky, and getting visas takes longer. .For younger families with kids, the Portuguese option with the passport is still the gold nugget. However, the Greek golden visa from half the price is ultimately a very small sunk cost in terms of administration fees to get the golden visa and having a decent yielding investment over the long term that you can eventually sell. When you sell the property, you do lose your residency card. So, you've got to keep it for as long as you want to be in the programme. .Linda (09:40.872) .Can you tell us about your Golden Visa project launching in January?.Richard Haller (09:46.662) .We've got three interesting developments that we're launching. It's taken some time for developers to know about the new change of use legislation in Athens. So, we've taken our time to allow the developers to go and find the right sites in the right areas of Athens. So, that has happened. So, in January, we'll go and look at everything. We don't want to launch anything until we've seen it there and done our due diligence as much as possible. So, we're building up a waitlist by the end of January or early February. We'll then launch those products on our waitlist and open them up to the rest of the market..Linda (10:32.976) .For many South Africans, Athens' appeal is known to sites like the Acropolis. What's the appeal of living in Athens?.Richard Haller (10:41.778) .Most investors will not live in Athens. So, the 250 level is the mechanism for living in Greece sometime along the line. Skiathos, for example, is very famous among South Africans..They can rent an apartment there for €2,000 or 3,000 a month. The long-term rentals on the islands are not too bad. That's when you're going for the short-term high-season periods, which are very expensive. However, if you can do a long-term lease for 12 months, for example, the pricing is quite reasonable. It gives you the chance to explore different islands in Greece. I think from a lifestyle perspective, it's a great opportunity to go and spend some time in Europe because you can spend six months in Greece and then spend three months in Italy and go and enjoy that, so it just gives you that freedom..Linda (11:38.218) .There's often discussion of the impact of foreign investors buying property, which has a negative impact on locals, as seen in Europe, the UK, and Cape Town. What lessons have been learned from your Mauritius experience?.Richard Haller (11:58.674) .We've seen in Mauritius that the ability for foreigners to buy property is only designated within certain areas. So, a development must be zoned for foreigners to purchase, and that has kept the foreign demand and the price points of foreigners away from the local market. So, the normal social impact we see in Cape Town, in London, we haven't seen that in Mauritius..I think that where the Greek gold visa has gone now, ultimately, is a change of use; it's creating new stock rather than cannibalising existing stock, which normal Athenians have been buying and have access to. I think that goes a long way to potentially alleviating the large price increases that you might see on the older buildings, for example. If governments can manage that, the price impact for the locals will not be too severe, and then you'll have the best of both worlds..Linda (13:06.089) .Richard, is there anything else you'd like to add?.Richard Haller (13:14) .What's exciting about the Greek opportunity is that property prices are still relatively low. We saw Lisbon 10, 12 years ago; we were sitting at about €2800 – €3,000 a square metre. About a year ago, Athens was sitting at about €3,000, 3,500 euros a square metre. We're now seeing it go up to €4,000 – 4,500 a square, going up €5000. a square..Potentially, down the line, Athens is a much bigger city to redevelop. The long-term play will take longer for Athens to develop than Lisbon did. There definitely seems to be some legs in terms of potential capital growth and what's happening in the city. So, you've seen lots of new infrastructure projects and new developments, and it's quite a buzzy place to be at the moment. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out over the next few years..Read also:.Sable International's guide to UK property investmentSpeedy SA bricklayers, who triple British output, now in high demand in the UK – Saskia Johnston Sable International

Greek golden visa opportunities remain despite tightening on popular islands – Richard Haller, Sable

Related Stories

UK demographic crisis: Birth rates hit historic lows

Mass drone production has turned the war in Ukraine's favour

Mark Oppenheimer: Joburg Bar's undeniable race-based admissions

Epstein files trigger sweeping police probe into (former) Prince Andrew