Golden Visa program attracts investments of 2 billion euros

Greece's Golden Visa program has fetched some 2 billion euros into the country's property market since the launch in 2014 of the scheme for the concession of five-year residence permits to non-European Union investors who spend at least 250,000 on local realty.

According to the latest official data from the Citizens' Protection Ministry, by the end of 2019, a total of 6,304 residence permits had been issued in those five-and-a-half years. Although the threshold is at a quarter of a million euros, lawyers and estate agents confirm that the vast majority of buyers spend an average of 300,000-350,000 euros each.

Last year saw a 22 percent increase in new permits issued, which numbered 2,239, against 1,833 in 2018. Chinese buyers confirmed their dominance in 2019 as their share grew further than in previous years: Since mid-2014, when the program started, 70 percent of...