Greece has issued significant number of permanent residence permits under the Greek golden visa program for investment. According to the new report published by migration authorities in Greece as of Jul 2022, below is a quick summary
Quick summary
- A total of 1,152 initial permits for investors as of Jul 2022
- Pending applications (773) slightly lower than previous year.
- Zero refusal rate for the current year
- Top nationalities applying are China, Russia and Turkey
- Attica decentralized authority has more pending applications since 2018.
Requests for Permanent Investor-Golden Visa Permits (Initial Grants) by Application Year (2018-2022)
| Filed Year | Initial Permits | Refused | Pending | Total |
| 2018 | 1937 | 18 | 28 | 1987 |
| 2019 | 3943 | 49 | 92 | 4091 |
| 2020 | 1301 | 11 | 334 | 1647 |
| 2021 | 1117 | 4 | 886 | 2007 |
| 2022 | 429 | 0 | 723 | 1152 |
Source: Migration office statistics (as of Jul 2022)
Golden Visa (Initial issuance) by month of application (Jan 2022 – June 2022)
| Initial Grants | Total |
| Jan 22 | 135 |
| Feb 22 | 184 |
| Mar 22 | 246 |
| Apr 22 | 167 |
| May 22 | 157 |
| Jun 22 | 263 |
Valid Permanent Investor Residence Permits (Golden Visa)
| Top countries | Investors | Family |
| China | 5949 | 11316 |
| Turkey | 587 | 969 |
| Russia | 431 | 834 |
| Lebanon | 341 | 769 |
| Egypt | 229 | 342 |
| Iran | 229 | 497 |
| Iraq | 123 | 279 |
| USA | 121 | 201 |
Under the Greek Golden visa program, Decentralized authorities in Greece issue permanent residence permit for five years, under the following conditions
(a) He has entered the country legally with any entry visa or resides legally in the country even if the residence
permit he holds does not allow a change of purpose,
(b) He personally owns, by full ownership, jurisdiction and possession, immovable property in Greece
c) Has full ownership, jurisdiction and possession of immovable property in Greece
d) Has entered into at least a ten-year lease of hotel accommodation or tourist furnished houses in complex
tourist accommodation or a timeshare contract
(e) Acquired by full ownership and jurisdiction as an intestate or testamentary heir or as a consequence of
parental provision, immovable property with an objective value of two hundred and fifty thousand (250,000) euros,
and is an adult.
The above permit can be renewed for an equal duration, each time, as long as the immovable property remains in the ownership and jurisdiction of the citizen of a third country or its contracts remain in force. Periods of absence from the country do not constitute an impeding reason for the renewal of the residence permit
