Foreign direct investment

Changes to Greece's Golden Visa scheme are set to kick in at the end of the summer. This will see increases in the minimum amount needed to invest in order to secure a residence permit in an effort to tackle the country's housing crisis. This move comes as golden visa programs are being phased out or shut down around Europe, and as housing has become a hot political issue.

New applications for five-year residence permits through the Golden Visa program continue unabated, as 1,299 new applications were submitted in the first two months of this year, compared to 1,248 applications submitted in the corresponding two months last year.

Spain is to axe its so-called "golden visa" scheme under which foreign investors get residency for a 500,000-euro-investment in property, to curb the speculation blighting many Spanish cities, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said.

Greece has tightened its Golden Visa rules raising the required investment to as much as 800,000 euros in a bid to help ease a housing crisis.

The successful program that has attracted thousands of Chinese launched in 2014 granting foreigners a renewable, five-year residence permit in return for a 250,000-euro property investment.

Greek authorities have decided to raise the minimum property purchase price for the "golden visa" scheme, which grants residency rights to foreigners in exchange for buying real estate, from 250,000 to 400,000 euros ($433,000) — a staggering 60 percent increase.

The Finance Ministry presented on Thursday changes to the Golden Visa program increasing the minimum amount a third national needs to invest and secure the residence permit, in an effort to tackle the country's housing crisis. 

The government is considering to impose restrictions on short-term rental properties acquired through the "Golden Visa" program, as sources say the aim is to increase the availability of properties for long-term rentals.

When China's Belt and Road Initiative was formally launched in 2013, it was touted as a world-spanning push to replicate the economic and political impact of the Silk Road. As it made investments across the world - including in the port of Piraeus during the depths of the financial crisis - Western capitals sought to counter Beijing's growing influence.

A high-level WTO conference ended Saturday with a temporary extension of an e-commerce moratorium but no deals on agriculture and fisheries, throwing into doubt the effectiveness of the multilateral trade body.

Foreign direct investment would have amounted to less than 2.5 billion euros in 2023 were it not for the real estate market, which is estimated to have registered an over 45% share last year in all investments from abroad.