Residence permits in Greece

• A third country citizens who own real estate property in Greece, either personallyor through a legal entity of which they own the total of the company shares, provided the minimum value of the property is €250,000;
• A third country citizens who have signed a timeshare agreement (lease) – for aminimum of 10 years – for hotel accommodations or furnished tourist residencesin integrated tourist resorts according to article 8, paragraph 2 of Law 4002/2011(Government Gazette 180 A’), provided the minimum cost of the lease is €250,000;
• A third country citizens who either reside legally, with a residence permit, in Greece, or wish to enter and reside in the country, and who have full ownership and possession of real estate property in Greece, which they have purchased before the enactment of law 4146/2013, provided that they had purchased the real estate property for a minimum of €250,000 or the current objective value of their real estate property is at a minimum of €250,000;
• A third country citizens who fully and legally own real estate property in Greece, the minimum value of which is €250,000, and which they acquired through adonation or parental concession. The right to a residence permit in this case can only be exercised by the receiver of the donation or parental concession.
• A third country citizens who purchase a plot of land or acreage and proceed toerecting a building, provided that the cumulative value of the land purchase andthe contract with the construction company is at minimum €250,000.
• A third country citizens who have signed a ten-year timeshare agreement (lease), based on the provisions of Law 1652/1986. A time share lease, according to theprovisions of article 1 of law 1652/1986 is the commitment of the lessor to grant, each year, to the lessee, for the duration of the timeshare, the use of the touristaccommodation and to provide to them the relevant services for the determinedperiod of time according to the contract, and the lessee must pay the agreed rent.
• Family members of the third country citizens described above.
• “Permanent residence permit of the investor.”
• By decision of the Secretary General of the Decentralized Administration, residence permit for five years, subject to renewal, is granted to a third country national who:

(a) has legally entered the country with any type of visa or legally resides in the country, even if the type of residence permit that he possesses, does not permit change of purpose.

(b) has personally the full ownership, possession and peaceful enjoyment of real estate property in Greece. In the case of jointly owned property, worth 250,000 euro, the right of residence is granted only if the owners of the property are spouses with indivisible shares in the property. In all other cases of joint ownership, the right of residence is granted only if the joint ownership rate of each joint owner is worth 250,000 euro.

(c) has the full ownership, possession, and peaceful enjoyment of real estate property in Greece via a legal entity, whose shares are fully owned by him.

(d) has concluded an agreement for at least a ten-year lease of hotel accommodation or furnished tourist residences in tourist accommodation complexes, pursuant to Article 8 par. 2 of Law 4002/2011 (Government Gazette 1, no 180).

(e) has concluded a time-sharing agreement pursuant to the provisions of Law 1652/1986 “Time sharing agreement and related issues” (Government Gazette 1, no 167), which is in force.

• The minimum value of the real estate property, as well as the contractual consideration of hotel accommodation or tourist residences leases of this Article, is determined at two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euro and must have been paid in full upon the signing of the contract.

” The consideration is paid by a crossed bank cheque to a bank account of the beneficiary, held in a credit institution operating in Greece or with a credit transfer, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4, par. 24 (Official Government Gazette Α ́ 84) to a beneficiary’s bank account held in a payment service provider, as defined by Law 4537/2018 article 4 par. 11 operating in Greece”.

By joint decision of the Ministers for the Interior and Finance, the value of the above real estate property may be adjusted and shall result from the property value stated in the contracts or from the lease agreements.

• Το third country nationals, real estate property owners, the possibility of leasing that property is granted.
• The above third-country national may be accompanied by the members of his family to whom, at their request, an individual residence permit is issued, that expires together with the residence permit of the sponsor.

Family members shall mean:

1. Spouses
2. the other spouse or partner with whom a third-country national has a cohabitation agreement in Greece
3. The direct unmarried descendants of the spouses, who are under the age of 21
4. the direct unmarried descendants of the supporter or of the other spouse/partner, provided that their custody has been legally entrusted to the sponsor (for his/her children) and to the other partner (for his/her children), under 21 years of age
5. the direct relatives of the spouses in the ascending line.
6. The above permit may be renewed for an equal duration, each time, provided that the real estate property remains in the ownership and possession of the third-country national or the agreements of paragraph 1 of this remain in force and all other requirements, provided by law, are fulfilled.  Periods of absence from the country shall not disrupt the renewal of the residence permit.

“The resale of the real estate property during the period of validity of the residence permit, to another third-country national shall provide the right to the granting of residence permit to the new buyer with simultaneous withdrawal of the vendor’s residence permit.”

• The residence permits, being granted pursuant to the paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article, do not establish the right of access to any form of employment.

Residence permit in Greece for financially independent persons

A residence permit in Greece for financially independent persons is issued to foreign citizens who can prove their legal and stable income from foreign / passive sources in the amount of € 2,000 per month. The conditions for granting the status are stated in the Law on «Immigration and Social Integration» 4251/2014, article 20.

Residence permits for self-employment

If you are not a EU or EEA citizen or permanent resident, you need a residence permit to work in Germany. Everyone else needs a visa to work in Germany. If you want to be self-employed, you must apply for a German freelance visa

In Germany, becoming self-employed isn’t only about having a great idea for your new venture. It’s also about getting properly registered.

Before you can start out as a self-employed person, you must register. We are here to support you in all matters concerning your residency on the legal as the social basis.

Legal and Tax support in Germany from Astropel

Our legal and tax advisor’s department consists of our internal modern law firm with experienced legal practitioners in various areas of civil law as well as competent translators working for the department.

Our specialist lawyers are always ready to provide you with comprehensive information of any kind and to provide you with all the documents you need legal support upon completion.

They will represent you in court, before any other administrative authority or in any other place. What is important; We translate our consulting work into German if you wish.  The business and official languages in the firm are Greek, Turkish, English, Russian and German.

Astropel legal advisors support companies / individuals and clients who intend to make capital investments in Germany and other countries.

Our central law firm is located in Berlin and works in close cooperation with the corporate law departments all over the world.

Fields of competence

Civil Law – Real Estate – Construction – Investments

• Hotel title transition
• Rent a residential and commercial building.
• Children’s gift settlement
• Gift Settlement – Wills – Acceptance of Legacy.
• Property management
• Property rental and timeshare
• Hotel construction and repair orders.
• Leasing
• Hotel construction and repair orders. Property construction of shares.
• Genuine commitments and security

Business and Commercial Law – Corporate Law-Bank-Law

• Company law: articles of association, oral and written advice regarding the companies functioning and their contacts with foreign law firms; Subscription Minutes of the Society’s Board of Directors and General Meetings; Mergers and spin-offs.
• Insolvency law: bankruptcy proceedings, liquidator (defender) date, meeting of creditors, transformation and dissolution plans, corporate restructuring plans.
• Business leasing, corporate leasing contracts and compensations, rent correction, hotel leasing.
• Business contracts and agreements of any kind, cooperation of companies and joint venture formation, national and international sales / commercial agent contracts, complaints, and compensation.

Public law

• Taxes, companies and individuals taxation. International tax law.
• Double taxation agreements.
• Government projects, public institutions law, public-private partnership.
• Urban planning and building law.
• Forestry and environmental legislation.
• Energy systems Law – renewable energy sources.

Immigration law.

Residence permit

Preparation of documents and legal assistance with the competent bodies (Directorates of the Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation, Municipalities, Immigration Directorates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or Police Immigration Departments).

Types of residence permits for entrepreneurs

• Dependent employment or the provision of services or work
• Seasonal employment
• Corporate executives
• Temporary travel for the provision of services
• Athlete-coach
• Members of artist groups
• Inventors
• Members of schools of archaeology

Residence permits for self-employed economic activity:

• Independent economic activity
• Development of investment activity