Despite the difficulties faced by the Greek Golden Visa scheme during last year, partially due to the pandemic crisis, Greece has rebounded and reached the 1st place among programs granted within Europe.
It is widely known that Greece and Portugal have been constantly competing for the top place in investors’ preference, from 2014 until today. However, the first place for this year belongs to Greece who managed to recover fully, by expediting the proceedings and restricting bureaucracy.
A glance at the following chart, displaying statistical data on residence permits granted to investors and their dependents, proves that total Golden Visa applications in Greece are currently at their highest level.
The current year is predicted to be one of the most successful for foreign investments towards Greece, if we factor the fast-track pace of processing and accepting applications until now. More specifically, 1,100 residence permits are expected to be granted this year, taking into consideration the 193 applications of main investors and 1,078 applications of family members which have been approved to this moment. The impressive rate of 48 acceptances/per week has resulted to positive and high expectations for the remaining year.
Focusing on investors’ nationalities, Chinese investors seem to be – steadily – on top of the list, followed by Russian and Turkish investors with significant contributions. Finally, several applications were submitted by Lebanon, Egypt and USA.