About the Greek Golden Visa Start Up Option
There has been an addition to the Golden Visa Program in Greece that now makes Greece a particularly attractive investment for foreign investors outside the EU. The Greek Government has introduced investing in a StartUp as an avenue for securing the Golden Visa and gaining Greek (and EU) residency.
The current government has a strong focus on making Greece a supportive country for investment, economic innovation and reducing and reversing the brain gain. The Golden Visa was originally focused on attracting investment in Greek Property, however, now there is a focus on investment in start-ups making the investment options far more wide reaching and also providing Greek start-ups with an additional source of potential funding. This, coupled with different tax break initiatives on offer, make Greece an increasingly attractive option for residency and investment.
Key dates, conditions and requirements – designed to make investing in Greece attractive
- The startup option has been detailed in the Greek 2025 Budgetary plan.
- The minimum investment amount is €250,000.
- There needs to be a minimum of two jobs created within the first year of the invention. It’s important to know that wages in Greece are relatively low compared to other countries. Therefore this is certainly something that is achievable. The increase in the workforce needs to be maintained for a minimum five years.
- The startup must be listed in the National Register of Startups (otherwise known as Elevate Greece). Elevate Greece is similar to a start-up incubatory program run by the Greek Government.
- There is a limit of 33% in terms of capital and voting rights. This is designed to limit the integrity of the program and decision making of the startups.
The reasons why investing in a startup in Greece for the Golden Visa makes sense
- A wide range of compelling investment opportunities. Greece has a robust start-up sector with a track record of success. Through the startup option, you can gain exposure to different industries and some investors see it as safer at the 250,000 euro level than investing in the real estate market.
- A positive impact on the Greek Economy. There is a direct impact on job growth and economic growth in Greece – which is diversified and has substantial downstream economic and social benefits to the country.
- The 250,000 euro entry barrier compared to investing in the Golden Visa which has higher thresholds for properties in more popular locations makes it attractive.
Helping overseas investors invest in Greek Startups and develop a pathway to Citizenship
Our partners are citizenship and migration professionals and are across these changes and ready to assist clients from overseas invest in this Golden Visa option which has the potential for permanent residency and citizenship. In addition, our tax and finance partners also have the experience to assist with due diligence on investments in Greece. Our partners provide independent financial due diligence on potential investment opportunities in the start-up sector and can assist you when you conduct due diligence on different start-ups.
Talk to us today about how our partners can assist with your Golden Visa application particularly with a focus on this new startup avenue (although of course our lawyers are experienced in the property purchase avenue as well.
Client testimonials
When you speak to one of the Tsaks Consulting partner advisors, they provide you with all the different golden visa options and other Greek residency options. They are also very independent and don’t work exclusively with any start-up or any real estate agency. This is critical as integrity is critical. The team can point you in the right director to understand the different start-ups in Greece which you may consider investing in and what they do. This is great especially if you go down the start-up investment option and want to consider different businesses to invest in. The Tsaks Consulting team is helpful, as are all their partners, their prices are fair and reasonable, and they provide you the right advice and all options. They are one of the best advisors in Greece for Golden Visa and start-up investment options and understand the legal, regulatory and financial landscape. They are excellent.
Zhang Zanghzi | Global Investor | China and Greece
The team at Tsaks Consulting have been excellent. Their partner lawyer provided us the initial advice on Golden Visa options and suitable strategies to get residency and also invest in Greece. Then the team at Tsaks Consulting educated us on Elevate Greece and the different investment options in start-ups available. They assisted us in initial analysis of some investments including the regulatory and financial analysis of the start-ups we were looking to invest in. The good part is they have no association with any of the startups and so therefore they have complete integrity and help advise us in our best interests only. Overall we were very happy with the support provided by the team and they are highly professional.
P Pezeshki | Private Wealth | Iran and Greece