Instead of buying a property, if someone can prove that has sufficient income or funds to support their needs, a long-term residence permit can also be awarded.

A residence permit in Greece, that is a member of the European Economic Area, allows the holder to travel freely in all 26 countries of the Schengen Zone in the European Union.  

Current legislation

According to point (a) of paragraph 1, Article 89 of Law 4251/2014, a third-country national seeking to obtain long-term resident status must “have an income sufficient for their own needs and those of their family, which does not derive from recourse to the social welfare system of the country. This income cannot be less than the annual earnings of a person receiving the minimum wage, according to national legislation, increased by 10% for all dependent family members, […]. The regular nature of the above income is demonstrated particularly through the fulfillment of social security and tax obligations.”

Distributed via ‘IRIDA’ with UID: 63624d27eb32ff008dd15dc4 on 07/11/22 at 12:30.

According to the above provision, foreign nationals seeking to obtain the residence status in question are required to have an income that is (a) stable and regular and (b) sufficient to meet their own needs and those of their family members. Specifically, this income must be at least equal to the annual earnings of a person receiving the minimum wage, without relying on the country’s social welfare system.

However, the source of this critical income is not specified in the applicable provisions, except for the explicit prohibition of it originating from the Greek social welfare system. The lack of specific provisions implies that any lawful actual income generated and taxed in Greece, as defined and under any of the means enumerated in paragraph 1 of Article 5 of Law 4172/2013 (e.g., salaried employment, independent economic or business activity, retirement or disability pensions, or proceeds from the exploitation of real estate), can be considered in assessing whether the interested party meets the conditions of point (a) of paragraph 1, Article 89 of Law 4251/2014.

By analogy, it is clarified that the said income considered for evaluation does not include (a) income generated abroad, as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 5 of Law 4172/2013, or (b) the potential imputed income of the interested party, as calculated based on the provisions of Articles 30 to 34 of the same law.

In conclusion, given the above, interested parties seeking to obtain long-term resident status can generate the critical income through means other than salaried employment or independent economic activity. Their prior possession of a residence permit that grants access to the labor market is not a prerequisite for the granting of this status, nor does possession of a residence permit that does not grant access to the labor market constitute an impediment to this purpose.