Greece is your paradise for retirement and residing in a piece for the rest of your life while enjoying the great attractions, weather, and culture of the country. You just need a Greece retirement visa to experience heaven on this Earth.
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ToggleWho can apply for a Greece retirement visa?
The main requirement for a Greece retirement visa is that you have enough funds to cover your expenses.
Applicants have to provide proof that they can cover their expenses in the country.
Video description
Find the links and information explained in the video here:
Greece long-stay application form.
The financial requirement is as below:
- Main applicant, 2.000 EUR
- If your spouse accompanies you, 4.000 EUR
- For every dependent child, 300 UR.
The required fund increases by 20% for your spouse and 15% for every child you have.
The child needs to be 18 years old to accompany the parents and not older.
The following are some of the income sources you can use for the program:
- rental income,
- fixed-rate interest earnings
- pension payments
- long-term rental income,
- dividends,
- royalties
- fixed-rate savings earnings
- Any combination of the above options
Applicants need to prove that they have an independent source of income to cover their expenses in Greece. A retirement pension or saving in a bank account can well prove that applicants can cover the expenses.
Only non-EU nationals can apply for the Financially Independent Visa. The Eu nationals have to follow a different route to live in Greece.
The required funds for the family for two years need to be deposited in a Greek bank at the time of application. It is one of the const of the program.
Greece retirement visa Requirements
The list of requirements is as follows
Application form
You need a Greece long stay application form. Complete it with care, as your information must be compatible with your documents.
Passport
It must be valid over the duration of your stay.
Insurance
It must cover all of your expenses during the trip to Greece.
Applicants need health insurance in Greece, and they can not rely on public insurance.
A biometric passport Photo
It must be new and taken in the last three months.
A medical certificate
A verified doctor by the Greek embassy in your home country needs to fill it. Applicants must be healthy to pose no medical threat to the public.
Clean record certificate
Get it from the police in your home country.
Transferring the fund to Greece
Applicants might have to transfer the funds to a Greek bank account or prove they have enough funds through a bank statement or pension scheme in their home country.
Translation
Have all the documents translated into English or Greek and verified by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs or Ministry of justice required by the embassy.
Note: The Greek embassy in your home country might require further documents. It’s up to your conditions and particular case.
Greece retirement visa application
The way applicants need to apply for a Greece retirement visa is as you see in the below steps:
Step 1. Are you eligible to apply for a Greece retirement visa?
Not everyone is qualified to apply for a Greece Financially Independent Visa. There are eligibility principles that you need to meet.
See the section above to know if you can meet the requirements or not.
If you don’t qualify with the conditions, work on your condition and try to achieve them.
Step 2. Gather the supporting documents asked by the embassy
The Greek officials require a list of supporting documents to prove that you are qualified for the visa. You can see them in the above part.
Read every detail of the documents and prepare them as required.
Bear in mind that collecting them could take time and you may not be able to gather all of them in time. So you can begin this stage a bit earlier.
Also, the Greek embassy can ask for further supporting documents. They have every right to do so and it is possible. It is up to the country you live in and the embassy’s decision.
Step 3. Participate in the visa meeting with the embassy
Find the nearest Greek embassy or consulate in your home country. Remember that the embassy might have outsourced the visa processing to a via center such as VFS Global. You need to figure out who is responsible for issuing a visa.
Schedule a meeting with them and attend it on the exact date. Do not forget to bring the gathered requirements and prepare the copies if they want.
You can ask the embassy about their full list of requirements and ensure your collected documents are complete.
You also need to pay the fee for visa processing which is different in each country. Bring cash or your credit card to pay the fee.
The officials might ask you questions about your background and the reason you have picked Greece to retire or spend time. You would better do some research to prepare your reasons not to get surprised.
When the embassy procedure is over, you need to wait until the embassy decides on your application.
The processing time is about 2-3 months but you might have to wait a bit longer.
You can ask the embassy about the average processing time.
When the visa is ready, the embassy informs you to get it. Now you can move to Greece.
Step 4. Apply for a residence permit
When you arrive in Greece, you have to apply to the Authority of Aliens and Immigrants of the decentralized Authority to get your residence permit.
The officials will guide on you what to do and what to submit to get your residence permit.
Your permit is valid for two years, but you may extend it and stay as long as you have enough funds to cover your expenses.
You can not put any financial pressure or burden on the Greek government or get engaged in a paid activity in the country’s.
Your savings or income must be sufficient to cover your expenses.
Can you work under a Greece retirement visa?
No. you have no permission to work in Greece during your residency. Applicants need to have enough funds to cover their expenses. In fact, you need to show that you have enough funds for the duration of your stay in the country’s.
You have permission to spend the money while you are in the country from a Greek bank account.
You might invest in the century and get income from it but you can not work in the area, company, or business you invest in.
Can you invest the money?
No. you can not invest the money you provide that covers your expenses in Greece. But if you have another source of income, you might be able to invest in the country. You can not work in the area or business you invest in but you can receive income from the return on your investment.
You would better inform the officials of your investment as the rules are a bit complicated and your situation.
Do you have to live in Greece all the year?
No. you do not have to live the whole year in the country. However, you need to spend some time there. The rules and regulations regarding the stay limit are a bit ambiguous and unclear.
If you need to live outside of Greece or you have to travel a lot, you would better ensure about this factor then decide to apply.
When can you get a permanent residency?
You have to live in Greece for five years and then you become eligible to apply for Permanent residency.
Greece is one of the EU countries that provide PR after a short time, and it is the shortest among other countries.
When can you apply for citizenship?
After seven years of living in Greece, you can apply for its citizenship. In fact, after two years of receiving your PR, you become eligible to apply for citizenship. Although there are no requirements for PR application, you need to pass the Greek language proficiency test and the culture, and lifestyle of the country.
Greece retirement visa processing time
The average processing time for a Greece retirement visa is 2-3 months. However, it could take longer due to a few factors that are not in your control. For instance, the embassy could be busy and it’s the peak touristic seas and they are processing applications.
Also, if the embassy requires further documents and your supporting documents are not complete, you have to wait a bit longer.
How long is a Greece retirement visa valid?
The initial validity of a Greece retirement visa is two years. However, you can extend the residency period as long as you are qualified.
Applicants need to have enough stable or passive income to cover their expenses in Greece.
Also, they cannot work in the country, and the source of income can not be from inside the country.
Greece retirement visa benefits
The following list is some of the benefits of the Greece retirement visa:
- PR, after five years of living in the country
- Being able to invest in companies and startups.
- Access to all EU and Schengen areas.
- Great attractions for the retired.
- Lowest fund requirements for residency in the EU
Let’s sum up…
Greece is the perfect option for retirement with great weather, tourist attractions, and culture. It’s the cheapest EU country for retirement. You have visa-free access to all the EU countries as well.
You just need a Greece retirement visa to move to the country and enjoy your retirement there.
This article explained who can apply for a retirement visa, the requirements, and the application.
If you have any sort of questions regarding this type of visa, write them down in the comment section. The visa Library team will respond to them right away.
Do you need to know about other types of Greece visas? Look at the left sidebar.
You can learn about other countries’ visas from the top menu.
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- Max-B.
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