Chinese investors appear to dominate Greece’s “Golden Visa” Program, a residence-through-investment scheme launched in 2013 to enable non-EU nationals and their family members to secure temporary residence permits in Greece, based on the amount of cash they invest in the country.
The ministry of migration and asylum released data indicating that Chinese nationals have the “lion’s share”, with 54.7% of applications submitted during the 12 months from August 2023 to August 2024.
Interestingly, Turkish nationals occupy second place, with 8%, while a significant uptick from Brits and Americans has been recorded over the 12-month period.
Most of the golden visas are issued for property purchases.
American investors are in seventh place on the relevant list, while investors from Israel now hold 271 permits, with the latter apparently seeking security through the program due to the ongoing conflict in the broader Middle East region.
Real estate market experts in Greece believe that significant delays in the approval process for existing permit applications have limited the numbers.
They add, however, that despite these delays, the number of applications is expected to rise considerably in the coming months.
Greece updated the requirements for applications on August 31, raising the minimum threshold from 250,000 euros to 800,000 euros in some regions, mostly notably in many districts in the greater Athens-Piraeus region.
