Greece Increases Golden Visa Minimum Investment to €500,000 in Parts of Country

28 December 2022 | Schengen visa

Wealthy internationals planning to acquire residency in Greece through the Golden Visa program will have to spend more money when investing after the country decided to increase the minimum amount of investment for this program.

According to an amendment presented in Greece’s Parliament last week, in some parts of the Hellenic Republic, the minimum value of property required for Golden Visa issuance would be €500,000, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Based on local media reports, the new changes will be applied to the North part of Greece, as well as the Central and South Sector of Athens in the Attica Region, the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, and also the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

The Residency by Investment scheme, also known as the Golden Visa scheme, permits internationals to acquire residency in Greece provided they make a specific amount of money investment and meet specific conditions.

Earlier this year, the Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, unfolded plans that Greece would increase the minimum amount of investment needed in order for the issuance of Golden visas to a total of €500,000 instead of €250,000.

Mitsotakis announced such changes while stressing that the program would be revamped. The PM added that the new amendments would be introduced in order to raise the affordability of real estate for citizens of Greece.

According to Greece’s PM, investors were snapping up properties in Greece, especially in Athens, and also driving Greeks out of their own neighbourhoods and increasing rents.

It has been emphasised that for the rest of the country, the minimum value of 250,000 euros will be eligible for an investor permanent residence permit, also known as the Golden Visa.

Nationals from third countries who hold a permanent residence permit for investors are eligible to renew it for an equal time period if they still have ownership of the property, and the period of their absence from the country makes no problems.

In addition, it was reported that nationals from third countries who hold property in Greece are allowed to lease it.  At the same time, third-country nationals are eligible to complete contracts that are in progress in the territories where the new changes will be applied until December 31, 2023.

Greece’s Golden is among the most famous programs of this kind in Europe; however, it has often been criticised as being an open door to many unlawful affairs such as money laundering and corruption, while the European Commission is continuously calling on EU countries that run such schemes to terminate them as soon as possible.

Previously, a report provided by Ekathimerini noted that one-third of real estate transactions in the Hellenic Republic in the past years resulted from the purchases made for the acquisitions of a Golden Visa.

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Germany: Number of People Eligible for Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Increases by 4.3% in 2021

28 December 2022 | Schengen Visa

The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) has revealed that 399,000 people have received standard benefits offered to asylum seekers in 2021, with a third of recipients being minors.

According to the authority, the main nationality groups among beneficiaries include Afghanis, Iraqis and Syrians. The number of recipients has increased by 17,000 or 4.3 per cent compared to 2020, which noted the first increase in the number of recipients in this category since 2015, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

In accordance with the Asylum-Seekers’ Benefits Act, there is a provision for this category as follows:

• Basic benefits for housing, heating, food, clothing, personal hygiene, healthcare and household items
• Benefits to afford personal daily requirements
• Benefits for vulnerable people such those that are sick and pregnant women
• Benefits depend on individual cases and special circumstances

Germany has recently approved the amendments to the law on the right of residence and asylum for non-EU citizens who are already living in the country.

The amendments were approved on December 2, including making it easier to obtain residency for those without status and facilitating the opportunity for young people who have been in Germany for at least three years, to remain there.

The Parliament also approved a law which foresees the asylum application procedures being expedited, which indicated a clearer backlog of applications.

The new law will enable those that have been living in Germany for at least five years to secure residence status and obtain the right of residence for 18 months. Throughout this time, the subject can apply for a permanent right to stay in the country and provide the necessary information, including language skills and an understanding of the German lifestyle.

“Around 137,000 of the approximately 248,000 tolerated persons could benefit from the new law,” reads a statement published in the European Website on Integration regarding the issue.

In addition, people from this category that are under 28 years old, will no longer have to wait for four years for the right to continue living in Germany as that period has been shortened to three years.

People younger than 27 years old, will be able to live in the country if they have learned the language and adapted to the German culture.

Asylum seekers will also be able to receive a quicker response in their application, as the new changes aim at determining a decision on their application for a shorter period, with the maximum procession time for an asylum application can be six months but sometimes it can take up to 18 months.

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Portugal: 40% Increase in Number of Golden Visas Granted in November

Schengen info - 28 December, 2022

A total of 40 per cent increase was noted in the number of investments made through the country’s Golden Visa Program, or a 48 per cent year-on-year increase compared to October figures, to 65.5 million euros.

Such figures have been made through the recent report provided by Lusa, taking into account the figures of the Foreigner and Border Service (SEF), SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

According to a report provided by Portugal News, in November this year, the investments through the country’s Golden Visa scheme reached 65.5 million, or a 40 per cent increase compared to November 2021 data, during which month, 46. 6 million were registered.

At the same time, compared to as of 44.3 million euros recorded in October, investments in November this year surged by 48 per cent.

The data provided by Lusa shows that in the first 11 months of 2022, investments through this program reached 575 million euros or a surge of 37 per cent in comparison to the figures of the same period last year.

It has been reported that the number of Golden Visas granted in November this year by authorities in Portugal is 121, of them 95 for the acquisition of real estate and 26 for the transfer of capital.

Out of the total 1,130 Golden Visas that were granted by authorities in Portugal this year so far, the number of visas issued each month is as follows:

• January – 94 Golden Visas issued
• February – 94
• March – 73
• April – 121
• May – 112
• June – 155
• July – 80
• August – 77
• September – 120
• October – 83
• November – 121

The main beneficiaries of Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme last month were citizens of the United States (18 golden visas granted to them), followed by United Kingdom citizens (14), China (13), Brazil (10), as well as South Africa (10).

In November this year, the number of residence permits granted to reunited family members was 138.

The Golden Visa scheme of Portugal is among the most famous schemes of this kind in European countries.

This program permits wealthy internationals to acquire residency in Portugal, provided they make a specific amount of money investment and meet specific conditions.

However, despite the fact that it brings significant contributions to the country’s economic sector, it is often in the media spotlight after reports that it is involved in many unlawful affairs such as corruption and money laundering.

Portugal’s Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, previously announced that the country is considering abolishing such a scheme, however, recently, the Socialist Party voted against the initiative to put an end to this program, despite the previous announcements made in this regard.

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Burundi ranks as second most visa-open in East Africa

East African | 27 December 2022

Burundi’s immigration policies for other Africans have improved significantly, with the country’s visa openness ranking rising by 32 places in the year and becoming the second most open country in the East African Community (EAC) bloc.

According to a new report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Burundi’s rise, mostly since 2021, is a result of Bujumbura accepting all travellers from Africa into the country either on visa-free travel (all East Africans) or visas on arrival (all other Africans). Burundi does not have electronic visas yet, but it does not require Africans to apply for entry permits before travelling to its territory.

Burundi’s decision to allow all Africans to travel without visa applications helped it rise from position 44 to 12, making it one of the most improved countries on the continent’s visa openness ranking alongside Benin, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

This may give President Evariste Ndayishimiye credit for reforming his country’s immigration and foreign policies since coming to power at the height of Covid-19. He is the current chair of the EAC.

In the bloc, The Africa Visa Openness Report 2022 shows that Rwanda is still the highest-ranked country on visa openness, allowing visitors from 18 African countries without visas, while granting visas to all other Africans on arrival. It was ranked 5th in Africa, behind Benin, Seychelles, the Gambia and Ghana.

Tanzania allows citizens from 19 African countries visa-free travel, 22 nations get visas on arrival, while visitors from 12 other African countries apply for permits before travel. Tanzania is ranked 20.

But Uganda (30th), Kenya (31st), the Democratic Republic of Congo (47th) and South Sudan (50th) all fell out of the top 20 on the list of African countries seen as most progressive in welcoming Africans.

At the report launch on Sunday, Jean-Guy Afrika, the acting Director of Regional Integration Coordination Office at the AfDB, said the ranking is not all-revealing but only hints at trends on the continent. For example, island nations and landlocked African countries tended to be more welcoming to African visitors. Seychelles, Cape Verde, Mauritius and Comoros were all in the top 20.

Still, landlocked countries with the most natural resources or better economies seemed more unwelcoming. South Sudan, for example, requires visas before departure from 50 countries and allows visa-free travel from only three neighbouring countries. Botswana, too, was cited as restrictive, requiring visas from visitors from 35 countries before travel.

“The causes vary, they are dynamic, but they generally straddle issues of geography, political, economic and cultural reasons,” he told an audience at the launch in Balaclava, Mauritius, on the sidelines of the African Economic Conference.

The index, he argued, was not a name-and-shame list of poor performers but an outline of recent trends. On the continent, the general pattern is that “you will need a visa to travel to other African countries at least 47 percent of the time.”

Some countries also have other non-tariff barriers. In the Gambia, deemed the third best African country in welcoming others, behind Benin and Seychelles, all air travellers pay a $ 20’ airport clearance’ fee on arrival and departure even though no African visitor needs to apply for visas before travel.

The Index Africa Visa Openness Index (AVOI), an initiative of the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission, measures the extent to which African countries are open to visitors from other African countries.

Researchers calculated the number of African countries whose citizens must obtain a visa before travelling there, the number of countries whose citizens may obtain a visa upon arrival, and the number of countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter. Nations ranking best in these categories receive one (1) as the highest mark. The data was collected between June and August this year.

The index indicates the readiness of African countries to implement some of the continent’s recent protocols on open borders and the movement of the people, such as the Free Movement protocol, the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCTA), and the continental open skies agreement (SAATM).

Some 36 of 54 countries have improved or maintained their score since 2016. 13 of 2022’s top-20 performers have a higher score today than in 2016 when the ranking was launched.

“The AfCTA makes an important contribution to how trade agreements can facilitate the movement of people,” argued Zodwa Mabuza, the Principal Integration Officer, Regional Integration Coordination Office at the AfDB. But she warned that the phobia among Africans in welcoming others means the continent must discuss some kind of ‘AfCTA’ visa to address concerns on how movement under free trade can continue without disturbing security.

The report says trade may thrive in a more integrated continent but could still be limited if other attendant disciplines are kept the same.

“Access to the continent’s markets also depends on conditions that govern the trade in services. Trading across borders requires communications, financial services, and transport, and many of these involve people moving across borders. So do tourism, higher education, medical care, professional services and many others.

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Immigration: German couple may retire in SA after long unnecessary legal battle

Pretoria News - 28 Dec 2022

Pretoria - A judge was outraged by the conduct of the director-general of Home Affairs, who for years simply turned a blind eye towards an elderly German couple’s desperate plight to retire in South Africa.

The couple fully qualify in terms of the law to obtain permanent residency here, yet their application was turned down by the department.

Western Cape High Court Judge Vincent Saldanha said he considered holding the official personally liable for the legal costs.

He commented that the court noted the egregious conduct of the official for the manner in which he had conducted this litigation and in handling the couple’s application. Jakob Maier, 80 and his wife Maria, 78, dearly want to retire in Cape Town, where they bought a house about 11 years ago.

They applied for permanent residence, but were simply told they didn’t qualify. This in spite of the Immigration Act stating that a person who wants to retire in South Africa must have a minimum of R37 000 a month in their account.

The Maiers, together with their application for permanent residency, made a full disclosure of their assets – both here and abroad – which were verified by the banks where they hold accounts, as well as the businesses in which they had ownership in. This revealed that they were very wealthy.

They also planned to retire in their multimillion-rand home that they bought in Cape Town.

They applied for permanent residence in 2016, but only heard from the department four years later that their application was rejected.

The reason given was “that they failed to provide adequate proof” they would have the prescribed R37  000 a month in their account.

The surprised Maiers tried to engage with Home Affairs, to no avail. They told the court that they still had no idea why their application was rejected.

They turned to court in desperation; they had for years lived in their Cape Town home on visiting visas. This meant they had to leave the country every three months to have the documents renewed.

They said they were living in a state of uncertainty, not knowing when their visas would not be renewed again. As elderly people, this was taking a toll on them, they said.

They asked the court to grant them permanent residency and not to remit the matter back to department to avoid being in the same position as before.

In opposition to the application, director-general Livhuwani Makhode issued an affidavit stating that “their preferred retirement is driven by nothing but sentiment”.

The department said the application was rejected for numerous reasons, including that the couple did not submit a list of their debts. In spite of this affidavit, the department didn’t want to continue fighting the matter in court.

The judge said it was no surprise that the department had thrown in the towel on the eve that the matter was due to be heard in court.

The department proposed a settlement, which would allow it 60 days to verify the assets of the Maiers.

The judge concluded that there was no need for this time consuming exercise, which the department had years to do if they wanted to. He said all records regarding the couple’s finances were above board and thus there was no need to verify it.

Regarding the conduct of the director-general, Judge Saldanha said: “He has displayed a complete disdain for the applicants in the way he has treated them…”

The judge ordered the department to foot the entire legal bill.

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