Greece’s Golden Visa approvals nearly doubled in 2025 as applications fell

Applications measure new files entering the system, while approvals count initial permits issued. A large queue allows the two measures to move in opposite directions.

Officials worked through older files

The ministry reports Golden Visa decisions by the month in which a permit decision was issued. Its December 2025 report recorded 620 initial approvals in January, 640 in February and progressively larger monthly totals through much of the year. July was the busiest month, with 916 initial permits approved.

The pace slowed in August, then rose again. October produced 875 initial approvals, while December added 828. Together, the 12 monthly figures produced the 8,879 total highlighted by Enterprise Greece.

Those numbers were not limited to applications submitted during 2025. The same report showed 9,958 initial investor applications still pending at year-end, including 4,437 filed in 2024 and 4,846 filed in 2025.

The queue has since fallen. By July 2026, the ministry reported 6,315 pending initial investor cases, with 1,902 dating from 2024 and 1,965 from 2025. That is consistent with a higher case-clearing volume, not proof that every file was being processed faster or that new demand was accelerating. The Aegalis processing and backlog tracker compiles the official monthly counts without turning them into a national processing-time estimate, which the ministry does not publish.

The underlying tables are live administrative records and are revised as cases are updated. A January 2026 edition, for example, revised several of the 2025 monthly totals and lifted the calendar-year count to 9,017. Enterprise Greece’s February newsletter retained the 8,879-versus-4,535 comparison. The small discrepancy is a useful warning against treating a rolling permit database like a fixed census.

Turkey gained ground, while China remained the largest group

Nationality figures answer a different question. They show the stock of active initial investor permits at a point in time, not how many people from each country were approved during the year.

At the end of 2025, Chinese nationals held 9,926 active initial investor permits, or 47.9% of the total. Turkish nationals were second with 3,291, equal to 15.9%. Lebanon, Iran, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United States followed.

The year-over-year changes were large. Turkey’s count rose from 1,268 in December 2024 to 3,291 in December 2025, an increase of about 160%. Israel rose from 332 to 636, up 91.6%. China increased from 6,457 to 9,926, up 53.7%, while Iran rose 52.5% and the United States 49%.

The trend continued into 2026. By July, Chinese nationals held 12,485 active initial investor permits, and Turkish nationals held 4,975. China’s share was 47.5%, while Turkey’s had reached 18.9%.

The nationality table records active permits, not approvals issued during the year. Turkish nationals held 3,291 active initial permits at the end of 2025. The table does not provide an annual flow of approvals by nationality.

Family permits also sit outside the main-investor count. At the end of 2025, the ministry listed 40,902 active initial permits for investors’ family members, compared with 20,732 for investors themselves. Combining the two without a label would more than double the apparent size of the investor population.

Why applications fell after a record 2024

The 2024 application surge came as Greece changed the property rules and closed a transition window for purchases under the previous thresholds. Applicants who met the transition conditions could retain the older terms. The deadline likely encouraged some applicants to bring qualifying transactions forward, contributing to the 2024 filing surge.

Under the current property framework, the standard minimum is 800,000 euros in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Santorini and Greek islands with more than 3,100 residents. It is 400,000 euros elsewhere. The 250,000 euro property route is limited to qualifying commercial-to-residential conversions and listed-building restorations; it is not a nationwide price tier for an ordinary apartment.

The standard 400,000 euro and 800,000 euro routes require one property with at least 120 square meters of main space. Short-term letting and subleasing are prohibited for a property used to qualify for the permit. Eligibility still depends on the route, asset and evidence in an individual file.

What the 2025 figures actually show

The strongest conclusion is about administrative volume. Greece issued far more initial investor permits in 2025 than it had in 2024, while about 25% fewer new applications entered the system. By July 2026, the stock of pending initial investor applications was lower than at the end of 2025.

The nationality data shows a second change. China remained the dominant source country, but Turkey’s share rose quickly and continued to increase in the first seven months of 2026. Israel, Iran and the United States also recorded sizable gains in active initial permits during 2025.

What the data does not establish is why any individual applied, which property was purchased or whether the higher approval count will persist once older cases are cleared. Those questions require different evidence.

This story was produced by Aegalis and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.