Turks Buying The Greece Golden Visa

The relationship between Greece and Turkey has historically been a mix of ambivalence and tension. Generally, Turkey is seen as an unpredictable and aggressive neighbor, prompting Greece to allocate 3% of its GDP to defense spending.

Despite this, Turks are warmly received, whether as tourists or investors, especially when they spend money on Greece's eastern Aegean islands, known as the Dodecanese Islands, situated between Greece and Turkey.

Few tourists, domestic or international, typically visit these areas. In 2024, ferry passengers from Turkey to Greece increased to 1.5 million from 800,000 in 2023.

The influx of Turks on the small island of Leros, for example, feels to some like an invasion. Just 20 years ago, Leros was infamous for housing one of Europe's most notorious mental institutions. Now, it is a vacation hotspot for Turkish visitors.

A ferry ride from Turgutreis, near Bodrum, Turkey, to Leros takes only an hour, whereas traveling from Piraeus, Greece, takes 10 hours. As a result, hundreds of Turks arrive daily in Leros during summer, with many owning homes there. Locals appreciate these affluent visitors from across the Aegean who come for good food and drink.

The situation is similar on Lesbos, Chios, and Samos. Since Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a simplified tourist visa agreement for 10 of Greece's Aegean islands in 2023, Turks have flocked to visit. They come not only in summer but also for events like Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, celebrated here in late March.

Alongside booming Turkish tourism, Turkish investment is also rising. While Turkish investment in 2024 was €485 million ($548 million), compared to €6.8 billion from Germany, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey reports a ten-fold increase since 2022.

Turkish investors primarily target real estate, which grants access to a "golden visa" allowing five-year residency in Greece and free travel within the Schengen zone. Only Chinese investors have shown more interest in this program. In 2024, Greece received 9,289 golden visa applications, with 1,356 from Turkish citizens.

The program has enabled many wealthy non-EU citizens to enter Greece and the broader EU. However, it has also driven up home prices, especially in Athens and Thessaloniki, making affordable housing scarce for average Greeks. A similar situation in Spain led to the discontinuation of their golden visa program recently.

Despite this, Athens continues with its investment program, though it has increased the minimum investment required for eligibility.

Initially, investors needed to invest at least €250,000 for a five-year residency permit in Greece. By September 1, 2024, this amount increased to €800,000 for areas like Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, and any other islands with over 3,100 residents. A minimum of €400,000 applies to the rest of the country.

Despite the steep rise, demand from Chinese, US, Russian, Israeli, and Turkish citizens remains strong. Many Turks can afford overseas property purchases, raising concerns among conservatives in Greece, particularly in northeastern Thrace and on the Dodecanese Islands, areas close to Turkey.

The governing Nea Dimokratia (ND) party has been leveraging this issue politically. Some politicians from the "traditional right" are dissatisfied with Prime Minister Mitsotakis' approach to Turkey, believing he is too lenient with President Erdogan and should adopt a firmer stance.

Moreover, conservative ND parliamentarians face pressure from the far-right, which is gaining popularity, prompting them to position themselves as fervent patriots. In late March, 11 ND politicians expressed concerns in parliament about "aggressive real estate purchases" by individuals of Turkish descent.

They requested information from government ministries on the total volume of real estate purchases in Thrace, Lesbos, Lemnos, Chios, and the Dodecanese Islands. Although a response is pending, the ND politicians who raised these concerns have already gained attention.

There is also public apprehension that Turkish spies or criminals might be among those purchasing property. Although no evidence has been provided to confirm or refute these fears, Greece's intelligence services have been scrutinizing recent foreign real estate transactions more closely.