Rich foreign citizens who wish to obtain residency in various parts of Greece under the Golden Visa Program must now invest a larger sum of money. Due to the recent modifications, foreign investors must now make a total investment of €500,000 rather than €250,000 as of this month's first. The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced the plan to implement such measures earlier this year, emphasizing that they will take effect on the first of May. The choice was then put off until August 1 for a further three months.  

“In order to increase the affordability of real estate for Greeks, we are now increasing the minimum amount of investment required for the issuance of a golden visa from €250,000 to €500,000 (£434,000, $500,000),” Greece’s PM pointed out in this regard, based on International Adviser report.

  Local media outlets emphasized that the North of the Hellenic Republic, the Central and South Sectors of Athens in the Attica Region, the Islands of Mykonos and Santorini, and the Municipality of Thessaloniki would all be subject to the new modifications. Following the declaration by the country's authorities to raise the minimum amount of investment required for this program and Portugal's decision to end this scheme, authorities in the Hellenic Republic saw an increase in the number of applications for the Golden Visa scheme this year. International citizens who meet certain requirements and make financial contributions to Greece may become citizens there under the Residency by Investment Program. In the first five months of this year, the program helped Greece's economy grow by about €1 billion, according to data published by the ministry responsible for immigration and asylum. According to data from the same Ministry, 3,900 requests for the purchase of residential real estate were made from January to May of this year, as opposed to 1,444 requests made during the same period last year. With more than 5,444 investor visa applicants pending clearance, the country's authorities were under strain as demand for the Golden Visa program increased. Additionally, the Greek government received 8,351 petitions for investor visas between May of last year and May of this year, of which 35% were granted. Furthermore, according to the same source, 1,938 requests were granted in the first few months of this year, up from 777 in the corresponding period last year, or 149%. In May of this year, 412 permits were issued, compared to 220 in May of last year.