A total of €1.57 billion have been invested in Greece through the Golden Visa Programme in the last 12 months, according to Ekathimerini report.
Based on the recent data of the Department of Immigration Policy, in the last 12 months, 6,064 applications for new permits have been submitted; of them, 2,072 residence permits have already been issued while another 3,976 are pending.
Taking into account the fact that the current minimum investment threshold is €250,000, the total funds that have flowed into Greece surpass €1.5 billion, even though it is estimated that the number is even higher, perhaps about €2 billion, according to local media reports.
The figures of Ekathimerini show that in the first quarter of this year, a total of 1,052 new licenses were issued, thus accounting for a surge of a total of 141 per cent compared to the same period in last year’s statistics. In addition, for a period from January until March this year, requests for granting of a permanent investor residence permit surged by 156 per cent, thus reaching 2,367.
The Hellenic Republic’s Golden Visa investment immigration scheme gives wealthy foreigners the opportunity to acquire residency in this country if applicants make a significant financial contribution to this country, or over €250,000.
Greece’s Residency by Investment programme is among the most favourite ones in Europe, at present, especially after the Portugals’ abolishment of the Golden Visa Programme, as well as Ireland’s Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP).
The end of Portugal’s Golden Visa scheme led a large number of Americans to head to Greece’s Residency by Investment scheme, based on research conducted by the London investment immigration firm Astons.
Research conducted by the immigration investment firm, Astons showed that in March alone, online searches for the Golden Visa Programme of Greece surged by 75 per cent.
Previously, Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, unfolded plans that the country would increase the minimum amount of investment for this scheme, in some parts of the country, from May 1 this year.
This means that applicants would have to invest a total of €500,000 instead of €250,000. However, the decision has been postponed until July 31.
At present, several European countries offer a Golden Visa scheme for wealthy citizens from other countries. According to Astons’ recent analysis, Greece, together with Cyprus and Malta, are the countries benefiting the most from this scheme, following the abolishment of Portugal’s Residency by Investment scheme.
