Long-Term Resident Residence Permit and Nationality via Naturalization
Under the former legal regime as it was in force before the introduction of Law 4332/2015, it was stipulated that : “The period of residence referred to in the provisions of part B hereof (golden visa) shall not be taken into account for inclusion in the status of long-term resident and the granting of nationality to the relevant residents.”
After the implementation of Art. 8 par. 32 of 4332/2015 which abolished the aforementioned provision, the period of legal residence in Greece due to Golden Visa can be taken into consideration for the calculation of the required period for the issuance of the Long-Term Resident Residence Permit. Hence, Golden Visa holders are eligible to apply for the issuance of a Long-Term Resident Residence Permit according to the provisions of the Art. 89 et seq. of L. 4251/2014 provided that all the relevant requirements are fulfilled.
In alignment with the above, the Article 5 of the Code of Greek Citizenship (L. 3284/2004) stipulating the formal requirements for the acquisition of Greek Citizenship via naturalization was amended by the Ministerial Decision No. 130181/6353/2018 (Gov. Gazz. 1208/02.04.2018) including in the necessary for the acquisition of the Greek Citizenship residence permits Golden Visa.
In view of the above, Golden Visa holders are now entitled to apply for the acquisition of Greek citizenship through naturalization !
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