A total of 6,398 golden visas have been issued to Chinese investors through Greece’s Residency-by-Investment program by January 2025.
These recent figures provided by the Ministry of Immigration Policy and Asylum of Greece reveal that Chinese nationals are top beneficiaries of Greece’s Golden Visa Program, Schengen.News reports.
In addition to China, the Ministry revealed that a large number of Golden Visas were issued by Greek authorities to nationals from the below listed countries, too:
- Türkiye – 1,367
- Lebanon- 775
- Iran- 556
In addition, according to a report from News Beast, a surge in the number of investors was also noted from nationals from Egypt and Israel.
Over 13,000 Pending Golden Visa Applications in Attica
The figures from the Ministry of Immigration Policy and Asylum of Greece also revealed that there was a significant number of pending Golden Visa applications.
In Attica as of January 2025, there were registered a total of 13,036 pending Golden Visa applications, 967 in Macedonia and Thrace, and 873 in the regions of Peloponnese, Western Greece as well as other parts of the country.
Increase in Demand in Several Regions
A recent report from Greek Travel Pages has revealed that there was a surge in demand in several territories.
According to real estate agents and contract lawyers, a surge in demand was not only noted in Attica but in several regions as well, including Thessaloniki, the Ionian Islands and several other parts of the country where properties are sought for both rental and short-term leasing opportunities.
New Changes Have Not Affected the Interest for Golden Visa Program
Greece’s Golden Visa Program offers wealthy foreign nationals the opportunity to obtain residency in exchange for financial investments.
The country increased the minimum amount required for the Golden Visa Program in some territories to deal with the housing crisis.
However, these changes didn’t affect the demand for this program. In addition, the surge in Greece’s Golden Visa scheme was also driven by Portugal’s decision to abolish the real estate investment option from its Golden Visa Program and Spain’s decision to terminate the scheme altogether.
Earlier this year, Spanish authorities confirmed that in a bid to deal with the housing crisis, the Residency-by-Investment scheme would be put to an end on April 3, 2025.
Authorities in Greece announced that from the beginning of this year, the efforts would be tightened to attract investors through more productive ventures, instead of real estate investment options.
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