Latest / IMI Podcasts / Greek Golden Visa Wait Time Hits 14-Month Low as Officials Chip Away at Backlog

Transcript

Greek Golden Visa Wait Time Hits 14-Month Low as Officials Chip Away at Backlog · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Greece reduced its pending golden visa applications to 42,390 by November 2025, processing files at the highest monthly rate since improvements began in March.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: The backlog decreased by just over 4% between October and November, marking the steepest month-on-month decline since August.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Monthly reductions have averaged just below 3% since that time.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Processing data shows Greece has completed 88% of 2023 applications.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Authorities have processed 50% of 2024 applications and 26% of 2025 applications.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Figures that underscore how the country's push to process applications through decentralized offices has reduced processing timelines that previously reached 18 months.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: More than half of January 2025 applications have received approval, over a third from February, and roughly a third from March and April.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: These figures support the assessment that decentralized offices have ramped up processing speeds.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: 7% of August applications gained approval, 4% from September and 1% from October, with some files clearing in under 30 days.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: Around 1,000 applications from 2023 and earlier remain pending.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Greece has received approximately 600 applications monthly in 2025, placing the country on track for roughly 7,200 applications by year end.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: The figure falls below 2024's monthly average of 782, but would represent the third highest annual total ever.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Approvals exceeded new applications in every month from April 2025 onward.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Processing volumes remained higher than application counts, even as submissions declined later in the period.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: China accounts for roughly half of all active golden visa holders.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Turkey ranks second, with Lebanon in third.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Israelis register the highest average monthly growth rate at 5.5%, followed by Turks at 5%, percentages that reflect growing popularity rather than absolute numbers.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: China maintains the highest monthly growth in absolute terms, adding 95 new golden visa holders per month on average, though its percentage growth rate remains low because the existing number is already substantial.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Turkey adds an average of 71 holders a month.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Attica contains the largest number of pending applications for main applicants.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Central and eastern Macedonia and Thrace hold second place, while Peloponnese and western Greece rank third.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Investors have increasingly turned to purchasing and converting historic or commercial buildings to meet the lower 250,000 euro threshold, driving renovations in central Athens neighborhoods like Exarchia, Metaxorgeo, Kypsili, and Piraeus.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Of roughly 16,000 properties foreigners acquired by the end of 2024, nearly 15,000 entered the long-term rental market immediately after purchase.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Greece plans to introduce legislation in January 2026 addressing backdated residence permits, according to Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevrus.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: The proposed reform would calculate validity periods from the card's issuance date rather than the application filing date, ensuring residence cards carry the full five-year validity period upon issuance.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Amada Boss on IMIDAily.com.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And upgrade your membership to IMI Pro to get access to our exclusive professional community, citizenship catalog, investment migration company Rolodex, private briefings, and more members only content.