Last month, Greece became the first Christian Orthodox majority country to legalise same-sex marriage. We chatted to Harry Angelides from The Property Chambers about the legal implications for property buyers in Greece.
Greece welcomes in same-sex marriage.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the new law allowing for same-sex marriage would “boldly abolish a serious inequality”.Greece joins thirty-six other countries that have made same-sex marriage legal. As well as being able to marry, same-sex couples in Greece are now able to adopt children after a 176-76 vote in parliament. The law change has seen opposition from the right and members of the Orthodox Church but had parliamentary consensus. While the bill has been applauded by members of the LGBTQI+ community in Greece, it has been criticised for not going far enough, as it does not allow same-sex couples to pursue parenthood through surrogacy.
Naturally, as experts in assisting people purchase property overseas, we were curious what the rule change would mean for same-sex couples keen to make Greece home. So, we asked one of our partners, Harry Angelides from The Property Chambers, what the legal implications were.
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Contact the Property Chambers for reputable legal advice here.
What does the law change mean for same-sex couples looking to buy property in Greece?
Given that civil partnership agreements were already allowed among same-sex couples and considered as family members for the needs of Golden Visas (GV), it is implied that married couples can, of course, benefit from GV legislation.
So, either one spouse can be the main applicant and the other the dependent, or both spouses can purchase a property of at least €250,000 or €500,000, depending on the location of the property (under indivisible joint ownership).
Many overseas buyers choose to go for a Greek golden visa. This is a residency-by-investment scheme, though there are other avenues for investment, such as business. It is a popular choice as it enables third-country nationals to stay in Greece for longer than 90 days.
What impact will the law change have on inheritance laws in Greece?
When it comes to inheritance rights since same-sex married couples are officially recognised, the Greek inheritance laws are also applicable in this case.
Regarding GV, it is mentioned that in case the main applicant dies, then the dependent loses the GV permit. This is also applicable to heterosexual couples.
If one of the couple has an EU passport, e.g., Irish, or Greek, what documentation will the other one need to be able to live with them in Greece.
In this case we are talking about a different type of permit, possibly the European citizen’s card or the residence permit as a spouse of a Greek citizen, as the case may be. These types of permits cannot run parallelly with GV. Furthermore, the required documents may vary depending on each specific case.
Indicatively, for the permit of a Greek family member, the following are requested from the applicant:
– Entry visa (Type C) or Residence permit etc
-Copy of the marriage certificate indicating the marriage registration with the competent Greek Service (Special Registry) or the official document of civil partnership agreement drawn up in Greece or before a Greek consular authority.
-Family status certificate.
-An authenticated copy of the Greek citizen’s ID.
– Insurance contract.
-Government stamps.
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