European Residency with an Investment of 250 000 Euros

Dear clients,

Landsdowne Investment Properties is very excited to present you with an opportunity, not only to invest in the European property market yielding a solid rental return in Euros, but also allowing you the opportunity to obtain Shengen (European) Residency through either Spain or Greece.

In summary for a Spanish property investment of €500 000 or a Greek property investment of €250 000 one qualifies for European Residency.

Below, we outline the two options and the laws that pertain to residency applications through the purchase of a property in each country;

Spain:

Landsdowne now has a Spanish office with a designated team on the ground. We have aligned ourselves with one of the largest real estate listing agencies in Spain and can therefore offer you a variety of property options throughout Spain, but most specifically along the Costa Del Sol ( Southern Spain) which is the region generating the largest rental and investment potential in Spain.

A new law has been approved in Spain called "Ley de Emprendedores y Ayuda a la Internacionalización". This law aims to improve the health of the Spanish economy. This is very interesting for foreign people looking to invest in Real Estate. Please note that this cannot be a financed investment – at least not with a Spanish bank. It also allows children under the age of 18 to obtain residency as well as your spouse.

This new decision says that whoever buys a property with a value over €500 000 will be able to obtain an "investors-visa" or residence visa. The Tax Administration has informed that all the paperwork must be done in the Spanish Consulate of the country that the investor is in.

This visa will give the possibility to live in Spain for two years and to renew the visa every two years thereafter. The requirements to apply for it are:

• The investor cannot have tax residence in a tax haven. • The investment must be proved with a Certificate from the Spanish Property Registry or the property deeds.

The residence visa must be renewed every two years. To renew the visa for another two years it is necessary to fulfil the following:

• The investor cannot have tax residence in a tax haven. • The investment must be proved with Certificate from the Spanish Property Registry or property deeds. • Apply for the renewal before the "investor – visa" has expired. • Have travelled to Spain at least once during those two years of "investor-visa". • Have paid all taxes and other obligations.

Through our Spanish office we have excellent properties with very good rental potential should you wish to purchase for investment purposes.

We are able to assist you with every step of the process through a designated team of lawyers, accountants and tax specialists.

Greece:

We are appointed agents for three beachside developments in Greece. The Residency Law in Greece states the following:

Article 36A

Granting Residence Permits to Property Owners in Greece

1. By resolution of the Secretary General of Decentralized Administration, a residence permit having a five year duration shall be granted to a citizen of third countries, provided that he/she has received an entry visa, when such is required, and has, either personally or through a legal entity the shares or stock of which are wholly owned by him/her, full right of ownership and possession (fee simple) in property located in Greece or has entered into a time-sharing agreement under Law 1652/1986 having a minimum duration of ten years “Time-Sharing Agreements and Regulation of Similar Issues”.

(A 167) as such is in effect, time sharing of hotel rooms or furnished tourist residences in tourist complexes having a ten year duration, as described in article 8, section 2, Law 4002/2011 (A 180). The above mentioned permit may be renewed for an equal period of time, provided that the property remains in the person’s ownership and possession (fee simple) in the manners listed above or the agreements mentioned in the above subsection continue to be valid and in effect and the remaining conditions provided by law are also fulfilled. The minimum amount corresponding to the real property, as well as the contractual consideration of time-sharing agreements and leases of hotel rooms or furnished tourist residences in tourist complexes described in this present article, is set at two hundred fifty thousand (250.000) euros.

By joint resolution of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance, the amount of the aforementioned real property may be readjusted and shall result in accordance to the property values given in the contracts or lease or time-sharing agreements.

1. The above mentioned third country citizen may be accompanied, under section 1, article 54, Law 3386/2005, by members of his family to whom a personal residence permit shall be granted at their request, which permit shall be renewed and/or shall expire simultaneously with the permit of the party providing support.

2. Residence permits granted under sections 3 and 4 of this present article do not establish any right of access to any form of employment whatsoever.

3. The period of residence under the provisions of this present article shall not be co-calculated for the purpose of granting nationality to residents”.
   

Should you require any further information on the above opportunities please kindly contact our European Office: alfie@landsdowne.co.za or our local office: jonathan@landsdowne.co.za