Greece Golden Visa Applications Drop 26.5% in June 2025

In June 2025, Greece Golden Visa program experienced a sharp slowdown. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, the country received 441 new Golden Visa applications during the month — a 26.5% decrease compared to 600 applications in June 2024, marking the first significant drop in recent years. Analysts attribute this cooling trend to multiple policy tightenings introduced since September 2022.

Back in 2022, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a higher minimum investment threshold for the Golden Visa, triggering a rush of foreign buyers. As investment requirements and due-diligence checks continued to increase, many investors fast-tracked their purchases, creating short-term surges in demand and pushing the real estate market into temporary overheating. Officials now expect application numbers to keep declining in the second half of 2025.

Chinese Investors Remain Dominant, Turkey Ranks Second

Despite the overall decline, Chinese nationals remain the largest group of Golden Visa holders in Greece, with a cumulative 7,795 residence permits, far ahead of other countries. Turkey ranks second with 2,161 permits, driven by ongoing political and economic instability. Lebanon (884 permits), the United Kingdom (680 permits), and Iran (665 permits) also remain key source countries. In recent years, interest from Egypt and Israel has been steadily rising.

Investment Hotspots Centered Around Athens

The Attica region, especially Athens and its southern coastal suburbs, continues to dominate Golden Visa investments, with around 11,984 residence applications pending. Other active areas include:

• Macedonia–Thrace (1,099)
• Peloponnese, Western Greece & Ionian Islands (812)
• Thessaly & Central Greece (481)
• Crete (293)
• Aegean Islands (160)

Housing Shortage Debate and Official Response

As rules have tightened, public debate has intensified over whether the Golden Visa worsens Greece’s housing crisis. The Real Estate Committee of the Hellenic Entrepreneurs Association (SAEE) argues that most investments do not involve purchasing standard homes from the active market. Instead, buyers often acquire abandoned commercial buildings, aging structures, or industrial spaces, then renovate them for long-term rentals — increasing housing supply and improving quality.

Data shows only 6% of investors actually live in their purchased properties, while 94% rent them out long-term, in line with new regulations effective September 1, 2024.

Over €8.5 Billion in a Decade, Driving Urban Renewal and Jobs

Since its launch in 2013, the Greek Golden Visa program has attracted over €8.5 billion in foreign real estate investment, with projections to exceed €12 billion in the future. The scheme has spurred urban regeneration in Athens neighborhoods such as Kypseli, Patissia, Exarchia, and Koukaki, while creating or sustaining more than 100,000 jobs across construction, architecture, property management, and tourism. It has also generated significant tax revenue through property transfer tax, VAT, and annual property taxes.

Greece competes with Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy in the global residency-by-investment market. In 2023, Greece received 7,752 Golden Visa applications, ranking first worldwide among residency investment programs.