(TAN): Greece is expected to resume its Golden Visa Programme which was suspended earlier this year because of circumstances created by COVID-19.
A golden visa, also called a golden passport, is a permanent residency visa issued to people who invest a specific amount of money into the issuing country. It is an immigrant investor programme which enables the investor to earn citizenship by investment.
[ALSO READ: COVID-19 travel – Holidaying in Europe could be different this summer]
Greece, which was one of the first European nations to pause the programme, plans to reopen as its administration believes the country has been successful in containing the pandemic. So far, the country has 3,108 cases including 183 deaths, as per data from Johns Hopkins University.
Theodoros Skylakakis, deputy Finance Minister of Greece, had earlier said the authorities would relaunch the golden visa programme “immediately” as the country was keen on boosting the real estate market, reports said. He also said steps to improve the golden visa programme would be taken to push investment.
“To accelerate the course of growth in the coming months, we will seek to lift the bureaucratic obstacles that currently exist in the property market,” he said.
Greece has adopted certain measures to speed up the applications – remote applications can now be made directly to the Ministry of Migration via authorised attorneys, biometric data can be submitted at a later stage, visa can be picked up upon producing a certified copy of the passport, and golden visas that have already been issued can be picked up and additional documents can be submitted by courier.
The European nation launched a new campaign for the 2020 travel season dubbed “Restart Tourism” earlier this month as it prepares to open its borders to tourists starting June 15, reports said. The campaign is reportedly aimed at urging international tourists to visit Greece this year.
Related posts:
US Embassy in India cancels all visa appointments from March 16 amid coronavirus outbreak
India extends regular and e-visa of foreigners stranded owing to COVID-19 till April 30
European Commission advises member states to restart visa application procedures abroad
Germany allows stranded Schengen visa holders to stay and work until September-end
