As a Golden Visa holder, you are not allowed to work in Greece, not even independently like having your own business as a freelancer.
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How can I establish a business in Greece if I hold a Golden Visa?
I talked with a migration agent in my home country the other day. According to her, although I cannot work for other employers as a Greek Golden Visa holder, I can establish and operate my own business as long as the government doesn’t consider my position as a risk to job opportunities for local Greek people. Is this true? If so, what types of businesses are acceptable?
Answers
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It all depends on what kind of business you want to establish and how much committed you aim to be. The Golden Visa gives you no right to work nor to represent a company. So this means that if you want to operate the business yourself, you need to get a work permit or give the operation to a third person.
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In no case does the resident permit for property owners provide access to any type of employment. Employment, according to paragraph 6, article 20, of Law 4251/2014, does not include the exercise of economic activity in the capacity of a shareholder or a chief executive officer for an already existing company. So in your case, you could be engaged under the above roles only in an already existing company as the legal frame exists right now. The truth is that we are waiting for some significant adjustments in the whole Golden Visa scheme, but the above is per the legal terms in force.
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The granted resident permit does not establish any right of access to any form of work in Greece. Only the exercise of economic activity in the capacity of a shareholder, a member of the board of directors or a managing director of a company is permitted.
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As a Golden Visa holder, you do not currently have the right to work in Greece, however, you do have the right to establish your own company of any type and act as the shareholder has the general supervision of your company’s management. Therefore, although you cannot work for your own company you will be able to hire other local people as your employees to be in compliance with Greek law provisions.
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