8,107 Golden Visas Issued as Greek Application Backlog Halves

Greece Golden Visa Backlog Halves as Approvals Surge to 8,107 Permits

Greece issued 8,107 initial Golden Visa permits between January and September 2026, according to official data released by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.

Higher capital requirements slashed intake while processing efficiency cleared old files. Non-EU investors filed 3,862 initial residency applications during the first nine months of 2026, a 32.8 percent decline compared to the 5,747 filings registered during the same period in 2025.

Investment Rule Changes Reshape Market Demographics

The reduction in active applications stems directly from higher minimum investment thresholds and administrative restrictions introduced in September 2024. Despite lower intake, the Ministry’s approval volume increased from 6,282 initial permits in the first nine months of 2025 to 8,107 permits in 2026, alongside 1,476 renewals.

That shift cut the overall processing backlog to 25,970 pending applications from investors and their dependents at the end of September 2026, down from 49,301 cases logged at the end of December 2024. Of the current pending pool, 6,962 represent primary investor filings, comprising 5,405 initial requests and 1,557 renewal files. The historical bottleneck was heavily concentrated in regional administrative hubs; by the close of 2025, Attica alone accounted for 9,095 pending investor files, or nearly 80 percent of the nation’s total investor backlog at that time.

The valid investor base expanded to 35,857 primary visa holders by late September 2026, 27,602 holding initial permits and 8,255 holding renewals, up from 24,666 primary holders a year earlier. An additional 68,653 family members held derivative residence permits through those investors.

Nationality distributions highlight a major shift among Mediterranean and Middle Eastern capital sources. Chinese nationals maintain the largest footprint with 13,070 initial permits, representing 47.4 percent of all active initial visas. However, Turkish participation expanded significantly: Turkish investors hold 5,403 initial permits (19.6 percent of the total), up from 1,268 permits (9.8 percent) at the close of 2024.

Other key investor nationalities holding active initial permits include:

• Lebanon: 1,187 permits (4.3 percent)
• Iran: 1,024 permits (3.7 percent)
• Israel: 893 permits (3.2 percent)
• United Kingdom: 839 permits (3.0 percent)
• Egypt: 675 permits (2.4 percent)
• United States: 659 permits (2.4 percent)

For non-EU corporate leaders, high-net-worth individuals, and real estate asset managers, the figures show a program transitioning from rapid application volume to steady administrative execution. While higher financial thresholds have raised the barrier to entry, faster adjudication schedules reduce holding costs and immigration uncertainty for capital deployed into the Greek economy.

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