Can a Greek resident travel and live in the Schengen Area?
Greece is one of the 26 members within the Schengen Area. Residents of Greece are able to travel within the Schengen Area and live in it for 3 months in every 6 months.
What is the Schengen Area?
The Schengen Area is formed by a group of countries who agreed to abolish internal border controls. The area is made up of 26 countries in total including Greece and is known as Schengen since the agreement was signed in a small Luxembourg town called Schengen. The Schengen Area and the European Union are seperate and different from each other, and there are countries within the EU who are not part of the Schengen Area, and there are also countries which are part of the Schengen Area but not members of the EU. Greece is a member of both the EU and also of the Schengen Area.
The 26 countries include Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Is Greece part of the Schengen Area?
Greece signed the Schengen Agreement on the 6th of November 1992 and implimented it in 2000, thus making Greece a full member of both the EU and the Schengen Area.
Can a Greek resident live in the Schengen Area?
A non-EU national who obtains residence in Greece through the Greek Golden Visa Programme, may stay in the Schengen Area for a period of up to 90 days in a six month period. Thus a Greek resident can enter the Schengen Area and travel freely within all the 26 countries for three months within a six month period.
Additionally, a non-EU individual who obtains the Greek Golden Visa may also reside in Greece indefinitely.
The Greek Golden Visa
In accordance with Law 4251 of 2014 non EU nationals may apply for permanent residency in Greece. The residence permit is granted for life, but the residence card is issued for five years and is renewable every 5 years provided that the applicant still holds the investment in Greece. In order to be eligible, the applicant must invest at least €250,000 in real estate situated in Greece.
In the same application, the applicant may include the spouse, the parents as well as children below the age of 21.
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