Beginning May 1, Greece will double its minimum investment amount for Golden Visas

Greece's decision to raise the minimum amount of investment for the Golden Visa Program will take effect on May 1 of this year.

This means that in some parts of the Hellenic Republic, including the municipalities of Thessaloniki and Athens, as well as the islands of Santorini and Mykonos, foreign investors will no longer be able to obtain residency through this programme by investing at least €250,000 after the minimum investment amount has been increased to €500,000 under the new changes.

The country's Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, earlier announced the decision to take such a measure, noting that the new strategy intends to increase the affordability of real estate for Hellenic Republic people.

The Greek government implemented the Golden Visa system in 2014, allowing affluent foreigners to obtain residency in exchange for making a financial gift to the country, allowing them to give a five-year residence visa that can be renewed.

Yet, authorities in EU countries have frequently condemned this country's plan, as well as all EU countries' Golden Visa Programs, urging them to end these residencies through investment schemes as quickly as feasible.

Also, early this year, Portugal and Ireland announced the abolition of their Golden Visa programmes.

Yet, Greece's Golden Visa system remains effective, despite the fact that the decision to raise the minimum amount of investment for this scheme caused several wealthy internationals to reconsider taking such a step.

Nonetheless, not all investors were sceptical about investments made in Greece through this programme.

According to recent reports, the Golden Visa Program received record-breaking interest in this country in the fourth quarter of 2022. Furthermore, it was revealed that a total of 2,432 Golden Visa applications were submitted during this quarter.

Also, there was a large monthly increase from September through December of last year.

September – 337

October – 438

November – 878

December – 1,116

Furthermore, of a total of 16,411 requests submitted in Greece from 2018 until 2022, about a third of them, or a total of 4,485, were submitted in 2022 alone.

The overall number of applications submitted this year, including new and renewal applications, reached 5,547, representing a 125% increase over the 2,463 submitted in 2021.

Citizens from China, Turkey, Lebanon, Russia, and Egypt were the primary beneficiaries of this programme.

By fLEXI tEAM