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[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN GREECE]
7. RESTRICTIONS IN ACQUIRING REAL ESTATE PROPERTY IN GREECE Cross-border Areas. Greek law provides restrictions for the acquisition of property rights in cross border areas of Greece, by individuals or legal entities that are not nationals of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association (“EFTA”). Furthermore, the transfer of shares or the change of partners /shareholders of companies not located in the EU or EFTA that own real estate property in cross-border areas of Greece, is also prohibited. Any such natural or legal persons (which are not nationals of the EU or EFTA) wishing to acquire real estate properties located in cross-border areas, must apply to a special Committee in order to obtain permission to acquire or rent the real estate property. Any transaction taking place in breach of the above provisions is null and void. • The following areas of Greece are considered as cross-border areas, in which the above restrictions apply: Dodekanisa, Evros, Thesprotia, Kastoria, Kilkis, Lesvos, Xanthi, Preveza, Rodopi, Samos, Florina, Chios, Thira (Santorini), Skiros, as well as certain regions of the areas of Drama, Ioannina, Pella and Serres. Restrictions are lifted depending, in principle, on the legal form of the requested transaction, its monetary value, the exact location or value of the property, and unless national security reasons exist. • Purchase of Islands Greek law also provides that in order for a natural or legal person to acquire ownership of or rent a privately owned island or a property located in a privately owned island, they have to apply for the issuance of a permit by the Minister of Defense.
When it comes to public islands, acquisition of ownership is not possible; such islands may only be leased under the same above conditions (prior issuance of a permit by the Minister of Defense). 8. IMMIGRATION RULES RELATED TO PROPERTY INVESTMENT Greek law provides that a residence permit of 5 years shall be granted to citizens of non-EU countries who are the owners (either personally or through a legal entity established in Greece or in an EU country, the shares of which belong entirely to them) of real estate property in Greece, or who have concluded a timeshare agreement or have leased hotel accommodations for at least 10 years. According to the applicable law, for the Region of Attica and the Regional Unit of Thessaloniki (Region of Central Macedonia), the Regional Unit of Mykonos and Santorini (South Aegean Region) and the islands with a population of more than 3.100 residents, the minimum value of the real estate property and the contractual value of the timeshare or hotel accommodations lease agreement, has been set to the amount of eight hundred thousand (800,000) euros. If the investment concerns the acquisition of only a joint percentage of a real estate property, the value of this percentage must amount to at least 800,000 euros. As for all the other regions of Greece, the minimum value of the real estate property at the time of its acquisition has been set to the amount of four hundred thousand (400,000) Euros. If the investment concerns the acquisition of only a percentage of a real estate property, the percentage in question must meet the same requirements, i.e., its value must amount to at least 400,000 euros. In both of these cases, the investment must concern only one single property, and if it concerns an already constructed building, its surface area must be at
ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
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