26/04/23

CITIZENSHIP AND RESIDENCY: Foreigners’ Interest in Greece’s Golden Visa Program Surged by 75% in a Single Month.

As published on schengenvisainfo.com, Wednesday 26 April, 2023.

Online searches for Greece’s Golden Visa Program increased by a total of 75 per cent in the past month alone, based on recent research conducted by the immigration investment firm, Astons.

The analysis, which was focused on global Google search trends regarding the topic of citizenship and residency by investment programs, brought into light the fact that searches for the Hellenic Republic’s investment programs increased significantly, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

According to Aston’s analysis, searches for Greece’s Citizenship by Investment Program increased by 16.8 per cent for a period between March and April, while those for Golden Visa Scheme rose by 7.7 per cent.

The recent surge in popularity comes following previous research from Astons found that the number of requests for Greece’s Golden Visa scheme from wealthy US nationals surged by a total of 740 per cent in 2021.

Among the main reasons that the Residency by Investment Program of Greece is becoming famous is the country’s decision to increase the minimum amount of investment in some parts of the country from €250,000 to €500,000, starting from May 1.

At the same time, the analysis revealed that search interest in Spain’s Golden Visa also experienced a surge, while search popularity rose by a total of 37 per cent in a single month (in March).

On the other hand, interest in Portugal’s Golden Visa program decreased significantly by 18.7 per cent after the country’s decision to put an end to this program.

A decrease in interest for Cyprus’ Residency by Investment scheme (30.8 per cent), as well as Malta’s Golden Visa Program, has also been noted, according to the analysis of Astons.

“Greece offers all of the geographical and lifestyle features that hold strong appeal amongst those looking to secure alternative residency via investment, not to mention the fact that it also offers one of the most affordable investment thresholds of all European nations,” Immigration Expert for Astons USA, Alena Lesina, pointed out, according to News Patrolling report.

She stressed that Greece’s Golden Visa Program’s popularity has recently increased after the program attracted wealthy investors from the United States as well.

Recently, the data provided by Greece’s Ministry of Immigration and Asylum revealed that applications for the Residency by Investment scheme rose by 252 per cent, totalling 1,446 requests registered in the first two months of this year, in comparison to 411 applications recorded during the same period last year.