Enterprise Greece announced that 8,879 initial Golden Visa permits were issued in 2025, nearly double the 4,535 permits recorded for 2024. The increase came even though the Ministry of Migration and Asylum reported a drop in fresh investor applications—from 9,372 in 2024 to 7,021 in 2025, a decline of roughly 25%.
Why approvals rose while applications fell
The ministry’s data show that officials processed many cases already in the system, including applications filed in earlier years. Because approvals count permits issued and applications count new files entered, a large backlog can cause the two figures to move in opposite directions.
Monthly approval pattern
December 2025 figures reveal a steady flow of permits throughout the year. The busiest month was July, with 916 initial approvals, while October and December each produced 875 and 828 permits respectively. The total of 8,879 permits reflects the sum of these monthly totals.
Pending cases and backlog trends
At the end of 2025, 9,958 initial investor applications remained pending, including 4,437 filed in 2024 and 4,846 filed in 2025. By July 2026 the pending count fell to 6,315, suggesting a higher case‑clearing volume, though the ministry does not publish processing‑time estimates.
Nationalities of permit holders
Chinese nationals held the largest share of active permits at year‑end 2025—9,926 permits, or 47.9% of the total. Turkish nationals were second with 3,291 permits (15.9%). Other notable groups included Lebanon, Iran, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States.
Year‑over‑year, Turkish permits rose about 160%, Israel’s increased 91.6%, China’s grew 53.7%, Iran’s 52.5% and the United States’ 49%.
Property investment thresholds
Under the current framework, investors must purchase property worth at least €800,000 in high‑demand regions such as Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 residents, or €400,000 elsewhere. A €250,000 route exists for qualifying commercial‑to‑residential conversions and listed‑building restorations, but it is not a general low‑price option.
All routes require a single property of at least 120 square meters, and short‑term letting or subleasing of the qualifying property is prohibited.
Family permits
In addition to investor permits, the ministry listed 40,902 active permits for family members at the end of 2025, compared with 20,732 for the investors themselves. Combining these figures would more than double the apparent size of the investor population.
Key takeaways
The data show that Greece cleared a substantial backlog of Golden Visa cases in 2025, issuing far more permits while receiving fewer new applications. The nationality breakdown indicates continued strong interest from Chinese investors, with Turkish participation accelerating sharply. The evolving property thresholds and family‑permit figures provide further context for the program’s impact on Greece’s real‑estate market.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
