Greece announced this week that it has increased the golden visa limit for property purchases. As of August 1, the new limit stands at 500,000 euros, doubling the previous amount of 250,000 euros, applicable to specific areas in the country.
Under Greece's investor visa program, third-country nationals who purchase property valued at a minimum of 500,000 euros will be granted five-year residency rights. The changes specify that only one property can be purchased for this set amount.
The expanded limit applies to property purchases in various areas, including the central, northern, and southern sectors of Attica, as well as popular destinations such as Mykonos, Santorini, and Thessaloniki. Noteworthy areas where the investor visa limits have increased include suburbs in the wider Athens region, such as Melissia, Penteli, Nea Penteli, Kifissia, Nea Erythrea, and many more.
Originally planned for May 1, the increase in the golden visa limit was delayed to August 1 due to the high demand for properties in Greece through this program. Data from the Immigration and Asylum Ministry shows that the golden visa program has already contributed nearly 1 billion euros to the Greek economy in the first five months of this year. This financial boost can be attributed to Portugal discontinuing its own residence by investment scheme and Greek authorities postponing the threshold increase.
During the January-May period, there were 3,900 applications for real estate purchases for residences, compared to 1,444 in the same period last year. Moreover, the total value of properties sold reached 975 million euros, which is three times higher than the previous year's total of 361 million euros.
The growing interest in Greece's residency by investment program has resulted in a backlog of more than 5,444 investor visa applications awaiting approval. From May 2022 to May 2023, Greek authorities received a total of 8,351 investor visa applications, with 35 per cent of them already approved.
