Greece’s Golden Visa programme has quietly become one of the most powerful capital inflows into the country’s real estate market. The total number of individual foreign investors using the scheme is expected to reach nearly 40.000, excluding family members, according to official data.
Even at the minimum investment threshold of €250,000, this translates into at least €10 billion invested in Greek property since mid-2014, or close to €1 billion per year. That figure is approaching the annual volume of new mortgage lending in Greece, which has ranged between €1 billion and €1.4 billion in recent years.
Crucially, much of this capital has not stopped at the first transaction. Sellers of properties to foreign investors have often recycled the proceeds back into the market, primarily for owner-occupied housing, further amplifying the programme’s impact.
Licences surge, backlog pushes total close to 40.000
According to Greece’s Ministry of Migration Policy, initial permanent investor residence permits rose by 60.3% year on year, reaching 20.732 by the end of 2025. When combined with 7.054 renewals of first-generation permits (after the initial five-year validity period), the number of active permits stands at 27.786.
However, the real number is set to climb significantly higher. There are still 11,553 pending cases, including 9.958 new licence applications, and 1.595 renewals of older permits. Once processed, the final total is expected to reach 39.958 licences, including renewals.
Fewer new applications, but a more mature market
One of the key developments in 2025 was a clear slowdown in new applications, following the explosive growth of 2023–2024. During 2025, 6.978 new applications were submitted, down from 9.289 in 2024, representing a 24.8% decline.
2.932 applications were filed in the first quarter of 2025 alone, as investors rushed to take advantage of a short extension that allowed them to qualify under the €250,000 threshold instead of the new €800,000 limit, provided they had signed a preliminary agreement before 1 August 2024.
In the remaining nine months of the year, applications fell sharply, with just 4.046 new permits requested, a sign that the market is entering a phase of normalisation rather than contraction.
A market moving at different speeds
By the end of 2025, Greece’s Golden Visa market had clearly split into distinct investment segments. €250,000 investments are now possible only through change-of-use properties, such as former office buildings, warehouses or industrial facilities converted into residential units.
Holiday home buyers face a higher threshold of €400,000, up from €250,000 previously. Demand for premium properties requiring €800,000 investments is noticeably weaker.
The €800,000 threshold applies to all of Attica, the municipality of Thessaloniki, and large islands with a permanent population of at least 3,100 residents, significantly narrowing the pool of eligible assets.
Chinese investors still dominate, but new players are rising
At the end of 2025, Chinese investors remained the dominant force, holding 47.9% of initial permits, or 9.926 licences. They are followed by Turkey – 3,291 permits (15.9%), and Lebanon – 994 permits (4.8%).
Notably, British investors are gaining momentum, now accounting for 3.8% of permits, or 797 licences. They are followed by Israel – 636 permits (3.1%), and United States: 578 permits (2.8%).
