Alexandros Risvas

The Golden Visa program, which concedes residence permits to third-country nationals who invest in Greece, is set to show its first annual decline this year since it was launched in 2014.

Thousands of property owners are faced with a very different reality to that of just a few weeks ago, as the effect of the coronavirus outbreak is being felt in the local real estate market, among other sectors of the economy.

Greece's Golden Visa program, offering five-year residence permits to non-European Union citizens who invest at least 250,000 euros in local property, appears to have become a victim of its own success.