The Greek economy ministry announced plans to expand the current golden visa program in Greece to include investing in bonds or shares worth €250,000. Currently foreign investors can buy a property in Greece for €250,000 and qualify for golden visa in Greece, which gives them free movement in Schengen zone .
According to Money International, ‘Golden visas’ lure thousands of wealthy investors to immigrate to Europe’. The most popular golden visa programs in Europe are Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta.
According to The National Herald, Economy ministry figures showed that by January 31, 2017, Greece has granted 1,573 residence permits to third country citizens who invested in property assets in Greece, led by
- Chinese (664)
- Russia (348)
- Egypt (77),
- Lebanon (73)
- Ukraine (67).
The Bank of Greece, in a report, said that the value of houses sold to foreign investors grew by 34.5 pct in 2016 to 250 million euros, from 186 million in 2016, although real estate sources said the real money invested in the sector was larger.
