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Greece’s Golden Visa Program is expected to continue to register an increase in the number of applications filed by wealthy foreign nationals.
The Global Investment Immigration Firm, Astons, predicts an ongoing increase in the number of golden visa applications, driven by investment threshold changes, increasing demand from US investors and Spain’s decision to soon terminate its Residency-by-Investment Program, Schengen.News reports.
The firm has analysed statistics around the number of golden visa applications submitted in a period from 2019 until November 2024.
According to the figures from the same source, by November, the estimated number of requests was 8,059. The analysis of Aston’s showed that in October alone, there were a total of 995 applications, a total of 914 in November and 778 forecasts submitted in December.
The surge in demand for Greece’s Golden Visa Program in 2024 was registered despite the changes implemented in September 2024, among them increasing the minimum investment requirement for golden visa applications in some of the most famous parts of the country, reaching €800,000 in Thessaloniki, the entire Athenian Riviera as well as major islands.
Offering Residency Through Real Estate Investment Option
The Golden Visa Program of Greece offers non-EU nationals the opportunity to acquire residency by making a financial investment through several options and meeting other needed requirements.
The most sought-after option of this program is purchasing properties, whose prices differ based on their location.
The interest of wealthy foreigners, particularly for this option, makes a large number of internationals choose Greece as their favourite destination after in some other countries offering the same program, this option is no longer eligible.
Spanish authorities recently announced that they would close their Golden Visa Program altogether in a bid to better manage the housing crisis. The Golden Visa Program of Spain will officially be terminated on April 3, 2025.
On the other hand, Portugal, which is also very famous for its Golden Visa Program decided to discontinue the real estate investment option route from this program, to deal with the housing crisis. The decision came after the approval of the “More Housing” bill.
Therefore, Greece’s Golden Visa Program, in addition to continuing to offer residency through the real estate investment option, also offers favourable conditions for foreign nationals.
In some parts of the country that are not so popular, the minimum amount required for investments made through this program is €250.000.
Surge in Number of Golden Visa Applications
In 2024, Greece experienced a surge in the number of applications for its Residency-by-Investment scheme. According to the figures from Imi Daily, in 2024, Greek authorities received a total of 9,289 golden visa applications, an increase of ten per cent compared to 2023’s statistics.
The same source revealed that the program registered an annual growth rate of 25 per cent between 2018 and 2024.
In December 2024, authorities in Greece announced that from the beginning of this year, new changes would be applied to this program.
Source: https://schengen.news/spains-termination-of-golden-visa-scheme-to-boost-demand-for-greeces-program/
