Greece a Top Residence-by-investment Option
Greece is among the Top 10 countries to buy real estate for residence but missing out on the Russian market, according to a recent report released by property brokers Tranio.
According to the latest data, all the more Russians are looking into residence-by-investment programs as are buyers from BRICS and CIS countries.
Indicatively, in the past year, Turkey accounted for 21 percent of Russian requests, followed by Cyprus (17 percent), and Spain (13 percent). Greece, which is currently not accepting Russian golden visa applications due to the Russia-Ukraine war, ranked fourth, followed by the UAE, France, Portugal (which is discontinuing its golden visa program in June), Germany, Montenegro and Thailand.
Before the war, Russia was a top market for Greece’s investor visa. Turkey and China were in the Top 3.
According to Tranio analysts, demand by Russian buyers remains high in 2023. They purchased 1,183 residential properties in Turkey in April and 1,175 in March driving the number of requests for investment programs in the country up by 103 percent over the year.
Greece is among the most popular destinations in Europe to invest through its highly sought-after golden visa scheme open to buyers from CIS excluding Russia. As of 1 August 2023, the golden visa limit will increase from the current 250,000 euros to 500,000 euros for certain areas. This news has boosted demand by investors wishing to close the deal before the change.
Cyprus, which offers residency rights with a 300,000-euro investment is also a favorite. Spain (500,000-euro threshold) and Cyprus are benefiting as programs there are still open to investors from Russia and other CIS countries.
“Among the new trends, it is worth noting the growing interest of Russians in obtaining a second passport in other CIS countries, which is acquired for capital restructuring purposes more often than for the investment ones. In prospect, citizenship of the CIS allows you to participate, for example, in the Greek golden visa program,” said Mikhail Bulanov, Executive Director and Partner at Tranio.
If Greece allows anymore Russian investment it will have Ukrainian blood on its hands.