Article 5A of the Greek Income Tax Code

A. Conditions for inclusion in the regime
Individuals who transfer their tax residence to Greece may opt for alternative taxation of foreign-sourced income, provided that they fulfill the following conditions cumulatively:
a) he/ she was not tax residents of Greece for the previous seven (7) out of eight (8) years before the transfer of his/ her tax residence to Greece, and
b) he/ she proves that either himself/ herself or any of his/ her relatives or through a legal person or legal entity in which he/ she holds the majority of stocks or shares, invests in real estate or companies or securities or stocks or shares in legal persons or legal entities established in Greece. The amount of this investment cannot be less than five hundred thousand (500.000) euros. The investment should be completed within three (3) years with effect from the application date.The latter condition does not need to be fulfilled, in case of individuals who have obtained and hold a residence permit for investment activity in Greece, according to the provisions of article 16, Law No. 4251/2014 (A΄80) on the granting and renewal of a residence permit for investment activity (par. 1, article 5A of the ITC). Investments must have been made from 12.12.2019 onwards.
The eligible investments for the purposed of the regime, the required documentation, process, time of retaining the investment and all the other details concerning the investment are regulated by Common Decision (KYA) No 46834/ 2023 of the Ministers of Finance and Development, as amended by Common Decision (KYA) No 30257/ 2024 of the Ministers of Finance and Development
If the application for inclusion in the alternative tax regime is accepted, the individual shall pay a flat tax of 100.000 euros each tax year, irrespective of the level of income acquired abroad. The taxpayer can request extension of the provision to his/her relatives and in this case a flat tax of 20.000 euros shall be paid each tax year for each relative and the provisions on the taxation of donations, inheritances and parental grants shall not apply. For income arising in Greece, taxation is imposed in accordance with the general provisions of the ITC (Law 4172/ 2013).

B. Procedures and deadlines
Individuals may submit an application for the transfer of tax residence in order to be subject to alternative taxation of foreign-sourced income, under Article 5A of the ITC, to the competent Tax Authority of IAPR (Tax Office for Residents Abroad and Alternative Taxation of Domestic Residents) by March 31st of the relevant tax year. The tax administration examines the application and issues a decision approving or rejecting it by the last working day of June of each year.
The application must be accompanied by proof of transfer of the minimum amount of the investment, 500.000 euros, to an account of a financial institution established in Greece, in case where the investment has not been completed at the time of submission of the application. Within a deadline of 6 months from the end of the 3-year deadline from the date on which the application for in inclusion in the tax regime is submitted, the taxpayer shall be obliged to appear at the Tax Authority of IAPR, along with the relevant supporting documents demonstrating the completion of the investment and that he/ she continues to be subject to the alternative tax regime.
The tax administration is obliged to update the relevant web application and to inform the tax authorities of the country concerned about the transfer of the tax residence for the taxpayer.

C. Payment of the tax
Once the application is approved, no later than the last working day of June of the relevant tax year, the Tax Office of Residents Abroad and of Alternative Taxation for Greek Tax Residents shall, for the first year of inclusion in this tax regime, issue a tax assessment act for the tax liability in he taxpayer’s name and the amount of the flat tax corresponding to him, namely 100.000 euro (In case of relatives, +20.000 euro for each one included in the tax regime).
Tax shall be paid each tax year in one installment by the last working day of July and shall not be offset against other tax liabilities or any credit balances of persons who have been included in the alternative tax regime. Specifically, in the first year of inclusion under the tax regime, the individual shall be obliged to pay the lump-sum amount of tax withing 30 days from approval of the application.
If any tax year the taxpayer does not pay the entire amount of tax, he or she ceased to be subject to the provisions of tax regime and from the relevant tax year onwards will be taxed on his or her global income under the general provision of the ITC.
D. Filing of income tax return
Taxpayers are obliged to declare only Greek source income. There is no obligation to declare the foreign-source income, which is covered by the regime.

E. Eligible Investments
The taxpayer who transfers his tax residence to Greece has to prove that he or a relative, or through a legal person or legal entity, in which or in which, respectively, it holds the majority of shares or units, makes a maximum of three (3) distinct investments with own funds of at least five hundred thousand (500,000) euros, not excluding other sources of financing for the excess amount, in one or more of the following categories:
o Investment in real estate in Greece.
o Purchase of existing or creation of new fixed establishments in Greece for the exercise of business activity through a personal business.
o Acquisition of participation securities in a Greek company, which must be non-listed and must develop a business activity in Greece.
o Purchase of Bonds of the Greek Public Sector.
o Capital contribution for the participation in an Alternative Investment Fund.
o Purchase of securities or corporate bonds of Greek companies, of ETFS shares and/ or bonds of the Greek public sector which are subject to trade in regulated markets or multilateral trading mechanisms operating in Greece.

F. Supporting Documents for the Application
If the taxpayer requests a Tax Registration Number for the first time, or if he or she appears in the records of the tax administration as a foreign tax resident in 7 out of the 8 years prior to the application to transfer his or her tax residence, the supporting documents proving his tax residence need not be submitted.
In case the records of the tax administration do not show the taxpayer as a foreign tax resident in 7 out of the previous 8 years, he or she must submit the following documentation for each year for which there is no available data:
a) A tax residence certificate from the relevant tax authority of the state in which he or she declares tax residence showing that he or she is tax residence in that state. If with the state, there is a Convention on the Avoidance of Double Taxation, instead of the certificate he or she may submit the relevant Claim for the application if the DDT, which incorporates the tax residence certificate duly filled out, signed and stamped by the competent foreign tax authority
b) Where is not possible to submit the documents of point (a), a copy of the statement of income tax payable or, a copy of the income tax return submitted to the other state by that person as a tax resident in that state
c) Where is not possible to submit the documents of point (a) or (b), a certificate from any other public or municipal or other recognized authority is required, demonstrating that the person has a fixed and permanent establishment in the other state for that period.

G. Supporting Documents for the certification of completion of the investment
In order to prove completion of the investment, the request for completion shall be accompanied by:
o Annex to the Investment Documentation, which includes a presentation of the investment as a physical object, a breakdown of the investment amount as well as the relevant supporting documents, as defined below for each category of investment and
o Report of a certified auditor – accountant registered in the Public Register of Law 4449/2017 (Chapter C), in which the completeness of the Documentation Annex and the supporting documents is ascertained and the compliance with the terms and conditions of per. b of para. 1 of article 5A of Law 4172/2013 and this decision. The report also includes the specific references of per. A. 2 and B. 3, as listed below.

The supporting documents accompanying the Investment Documentation Annex per investment category are as follows:

a) In case of purchase of property in Greece
The investment is considered completed after the payment of the purchase price and the transcription/registration of the transfer deed at the competent Land Registry or Cadastral Office and required supporting documents are:
i. Notarial Deed of transfer of the immovable property and Certificate of the Land Registry for its transcription or Certificate of the Cadastral Office for registration of a registered deed. If two months have elapsed since the transcription / registration, a recent (not earlier than two months) Certificate of Ownership from the Land Registry or a Cadastral Sheet from the Cadastral Office is required. In case the transfer was subject to the payment of a credited price, the corresponding legally recorded notarial deeds of redemption and termination of the dissolution condition.
ii. Solemn declaration of article 8 of Law 1599/1986 by the seller and the taxpayer, in which they declare that there is no relationship between them according to the provisions of par. 2 of Article 2.
iii. If the seller is a legal person:
o A recent certificate from the legal representative, not older than two months, stating the natural persons participating in the legal entity-seller directly or indirectly through successive participations of other legal entities and their percentage participation in the legal entity.
o Solemn declaration of article 8 of Law 1599/1986 by the taxpayer and by the natural persons who participate directly or indirectly in the legal person-seller in which they declare that there is no relationship between them, in accordance with the provisions of par. 2 of Article 2. If there is a family relationship, the solemn declarations shall indicate the relationship of kinship and the amount of investment attributable to relatives of the taxpayer.

b) In case of purchase of Bonds of the Greek Public Sector
The investment is considered completed after the redemption of the purchase of the Bonds and the required supporting document is a certificate from the credit institution for the purchase of bonds with a remaining maturity, at the time of purchase, of at least three (3) years, the ISIN number, the price paid, as well as their holding until the date of issue of the certificate.
H. After the completion of the investment, for monitoring its maintenance:
The investment referred to in Article 2 in Greece is held for the entire period of inclusion of the taxpayer in the provisions of Article 5A, which may last up to fifteen (15) tax years, starting with the tax year in which the application for inclusion in these provisions is submitted.
The taxpayer must submit to Tax Authority of IAPR (Tax Office for Residents Abroad and Alternative Taxation of Domestic Residents), by the 31st of May of each year, and whenever requested, the following documentation:
a) In case of purchase of property in Greece,
o Recent (not older than two months) Certificate of Ownership, from the Land Registry or Cadastral Sheet from the Cadastral Office
b) In case of purchase of Bonds of the Greek Public Sector:
o Certificate from the credit institution on the continuous holding of securities related to the investment. The certificate will relate to the initial investment in Greek Government Bonds or the new corresponding investment in case a new corresponding investment was made after the expiry of the previous one.

In case of interruption (liquidation), partial or total, in the holding of the investment for which it has been subject to the provisions of article 5A , the taxpayer as well as the investor, if they are not the same person, must inform the Tax Authority of IAPR within one (1) month from the day of interruption (liquidation), by submitting a request for notice of cessation in the holding of the investment.

In case the taxpayer wishes to change, partially or totally, the investment for which he has been subject to the provisions of article 5A, after its completion has been certified, he/she may submit a request for change of the investment accompanied by a request to certify the completion of a new investment. The new investment must be completed within three (3) months from the partial or total cessation of holding (liquidation) of the initial investment.