Based on this year’s data, the demand for residency permits through investment (Golden Visas) in Greece remains consistently high, especially in markets where property upgrading and access to the Schengen Area act as key growth drivers.

In particular, countries such as the UK, Israel, Turkey, the U.S., and Iran show a clear surge in demand for investments in Greece, whereas China is behaving differently compared to previous years.

According to an analysis by Nikos Roussanoglou published in Capital.gr:

• There is a significant increase in demand and issuance of Golden Visas from Turkey and Israel. Specifically, Turkish investors now make up 14.7 % of the total. Compared to the same month last year, there is a 152.8% increase, indicating a strong interest in obtaining Greek residency. Following Turkey, Israel shows an 83.7% year-over-year rise from 296 permits last year to 544 this year.

• The United Kingdom accounts for 48.8% of the applications, with 737 submissions. According to a study by the British investment‑immigration group Astons, more and more high net worth individuals are looking to escape the increasing taxes on property and wealth in the UK by investing in other countries.

• U.S. investors have increased demand by 47.5%, now receiving 536 permits compared to 363 last year. Iran also shows a 43.3% rise in investment demand, with 721 permits (vs. 503).

• On the other hand, China, despite having dominated in the past, is losing ground: its increase is only 29%, and its share of new permanent-investor permits has dropped to 47.9%, from 53.5% a year ago.

In recent months (especially after May, when the old, lower investment thresholds were abolished), new Golden Visa applications have dropped sharply. In September, only 392 applications were submitted almost half compared to September of last year. From January to September, there were 5,747 applications, which is 6% fewer than during the same period last year.

Nevertheless, the number of permits issued this year is much higher: 6,282 new Golden Visas, marking a 103% increase in one year.

Despite the drop in new filings due to higher investment requirements, Greece is issuing many more visas, suggesting that the Golden Visa program remains very popular and that the administration is efficiently processing the pending applications.

Source: Capital.gr