Investment residence permit program launched at a record pace “golden visa” in the last months of 2022, peaking in December when 1,116 interested parties filed applications, up from 337 applications filed last September, according to data from the Department of Immigration and Asylum.

The return of foreign investors to the Greek real estate market is a matter of course, especially after the weakening of China’s anti-pandemic policy. This latest development, in particular, greatly increased the flow of visitors from China, giving a big boost to the golden visa program.

In addition, despite the investment “suffocation” of the last two years, the Chinese remain the most numerous category of investors, and even then with a significant difference from the rest.

According to relevant data, from the start of the program in mid-2014 until the end of 2022, 62.8% of residence permits, or a total of 6,159, were issued to Chinese citizens. They are followed by investors from Turkey with a share of 6.4% and 631 permits, and the top five are closed by investors from Lebanon (4.5%), Russia (4.5%) and Egypt (2.9%).. Nearly 200 permits have also been issued to British investors, although it is estimated that most of them already owned property in Greece and simply applied for residence permits after Brexit was introduced.

From the start of the measure in mid-2014 until the end of 2022, 62.8% of residence permits were issued to Chinese citizens.

A total of 2,767 new investment immigration permits were issued in 2022, an 81% increase from 1,525 permits issued in 2021. However, this number is still less than in 2019, when a record of 3,504 new permits was set. In total, 4,264 applications for new licenses were submitted in 2022, which, together with applications for renewal, increased to 5,547.

In addition to the return of Chinese investors, the recent change in the institutional framework of the Golden Visa, which doubled the minimum investment limit from 250,000 to 500,000 euros, in areas where there is a lot of purchasing power of interest from abroad, has played an important role in restoring the corresponding figures. In particular, the new limit will apply from May 1 in the northern, central and southern sectors of Attica, Mykonos, Santorini and the municipality of Thessaloniki.

In practice, all northern suburbs, southern suburbs up to Glyfada and the center of Athens will become inaccessible to foreign investors, not only because of the amount of investment required, but also because of the difficulty of finding suitable real estate (especially in the city center).

The corresponding “window” before the changes come into force ends on April 30. Until then, those who wish will be able to enter into preliminary contracts for the purchase of real estate, and then there will be time until the end of 2023 to complete the purchase and apply for a residence permit for themselves and their families.