Greece has recently revealed its decision to raise the minimum investment required for the golden visa program from €250,000 to €500,000 for specific regions within the country.
This adjustment, which comes into effect on August 1, applies to the investor visa initiative, offering a five-year residency opportunity to non-EU citizens who purchase real estate in Greece valued at a minimum of €500,000. Notably, the new regulation permits the acquisition of only one property at this designated price.
The modified investment threshold pertains to real estate acquisitions in several sectors of Attica, encompassing central, northern, and southern areas, as well as notable locations such as Mykonos, Santorini, and Thessaloniki.
Among the regions where the increased investor visa limit applies are broader zones in Athens and its suburbs, including neighborhoods such as Melissia, Penteli, Nea Penteli, Kifissia, Nea Erythrea, Ekali, Halandri, Agia Paraskevi, Nea Ionia, Cholargos-Papagou, Filothei, Psychiko, Neo Psychiko, Alimos, Glyfada, Palaio Faliro, and central Athens, among others.
Originally scheduled for implementation on May 1, the augmented golden visa limit has been postponed to August 1 to accommodate the high demand for real estate under this program.
According to data from the Immigration and Asylum Ministry, Greece golden visa initiative has significantly contributed to the economy, generating nearly €1 billion in the first five months of the year. This boost has been attributed to Portugal discontinuing its residence by investment scheme, coupled with Greece’s strategic decision to delay its own investment threshold increase.
During the period of January to May, a total of 3,900 applications for real estate acquisitions with the purpose of obtaining residency were submitted, a substantial rise from the 1,444 applications received during the same period the previous year. The total value of properties sold amounted to €975 million, marking an impressive increase of 170 percent, or three times higher, compared to the previous year’s total of €361 million.
However, the growing popularity of Greece’s residency by investment program has led to a backlog of more than 5,444 investor visa applications awaiting approval. Demonstrating the evident demand, Greek authorities received a total of 8,351 investor visa applications between May 2022 and May 2023, with 35 percent of them gaining approval.