How could the amendments that ban transactions through the POS system impact my submitted applications?

Answers

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  Vasiliki Papaloi

  Papalois & Associates Legal

  January 17, 2019

  We cannot be sure about this and we would need to check your contract. Normally, you need to amend the contract and give the money the legal way.

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  Aggeliki G Androutsou

  Aggeliki G. Androutsou

  January 18, 2019

  POS payments are not accepted in the Golden Visa program. Illegal payment transactions between Greek real estate companies and Chinese investors who are seeking residency in an EU country visa the Golden Visa program are still under investigation by Greek and Chinese authorities.

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  Elissavet (Isabelle) Razi

  Right Target Estate

  January 21, 2019

  It is important to understand how you used the POS system for the purchase of your property in Greece. To be entitled to the Golden Visa the funds must enter from a bank account with a bank outside Greece to the bank a/c of the seller (or yours and then to the seller) in Greece. And this needs to be done either with a normal bank transfer or with the issue of bank checks.

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  Mary Tsiganou

  Synergia Technical and Consulting SA

  January 22, 2019

  According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Migration Policy 23388/24/07/2018, it was clarified that in order to be entitled to the Golden Visa resident permit, the acceptable payment methods of the purchase price according to the Article 20 Law 4251/2014 are only two: the funds must enter through a bank transfer from your bank account outside Greece either to your Greek bank account or directly to the seller’s Greek bank account; the funds must be paid through the issue of bank checks in the seller’s name. On the contrary, the payment of acquisition price through POS (credit, prepaid or debit cards) is not an acceptable form of payment. A law 4587/2018 has also recently been voted that explicitly states that only the above mentioned two payment methods of a purchase price are accepted in the framework of the Golden Visa. Of course, once your application has been successfully filed, the relevant reference to the contract has been checked and the application has been accepted, the description of the payment in your contract has to be checked. Perhaps an amendment of the related reference of the contract should be needed in order to meet the law requirements, as above.