One of the issues that particularly concerns the readers of protothema.gr is migration. We have referred several times to illegal migrants.

Of course, beyond the illegal ones, there are also the legal migrants, who are recorded by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Very recent data (July 31, 2025) from the Ministry records the legal migrants in our country and their main countries of origin.

In the same appendix there is another, particularly important in our opinion, piece of information: the number of foreign nationals who are “permanent investors” (this is how Golden Visa holders are officially described), as well as the number of their family members, which perhaps some people do not consider—that they follow the “permanent investors” (and of course there are also the well-known “occasional investors…”).

We will briefly look at the numbers of legal migrants, their countries of origin, and the data concerning Golden Visa holders and their family members. Finally, how many holders of ADETs (Single Permit Residence Cards) there are in Greece and from which countries most of them come.

More than 900,000 legal migrants in Greece – Albanians make up 53% of “third-country nationals”

As of July 2025, there were 901,536 legal migrants in Greece. Of these 264,699 were EU citizens and repatriated Greeks, 36,776 had temporary protection residence permits, 508,499 were third-country nationals, and 91,562 were recognized refugees (holders of active ADET, i.e. Single Permit Residence Cards).

Among third-country nationals, the largest group were Albanians (268,964), followed by Chinese, Pakistanis, Georgians, Bangladeshis, Russians, Ukrainians, Egyptians, Filipinos, and Turks in 10th place. In total, 10,934 Turks live in Greece, representing 2.2% of all third-country nationals.

Here we see the huge gender imbalance among legal residents from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Egypt (more men), while the opposite is true for Russians, Ukrainians, and Georgians (more women). Filipina women are more than double the number of Filipino men.

A relative balance exists among those from Albania, China, and Turkey. As of July 2025, there were also 287,531 pending applications for residence permits. From July 2024 to July 2025, this number only fluctuated slightly: from 269,184 (08/2024) to 296,170 (03/2025).

The…European investors

In hundreds of comments on protothema.gr, especially on articles about crime, some refer ironically to the “European investors” involved in illegal activities.

We see that tens of thousands of EU citizens live in Greece, from both genders. The largest groups are Bulgarians, followed by Romanians, Poles, Germans, Cypriots, Italians, French, Dutch, Swedes, Spaniards, and other Europeans.

In addition, there are 14,549 repatriated Greeks from Albania, 3,701 from the former USSR, and 2,545 from Turkey.

Permanent investors (Golden Visa)

Continuing with the Golden Visa holders (officially: permanent investors) living in Greece: From Table 12a (columns for renewal and reissue), we see that the largest group of Golden Visa holders are Chinese, followed by Turks and Russians.

It is striking that the next groups include nationals of five Asian countries and one African country, with Ukrainians in 10th place.

The Chinese and Turks remain firmly in the top two positions, significantly increased in number, followed by Lebanese in third place. Notable is the presence of British, American, and Israeli investors, a predictable decline in Russians, and Armenians in 10th place—possibly related to the events in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in Armenia in autumn 2023.

In total, there are 13,400 male permanent investors and 9,821 female permanent investors, making 23,221 Golden Visa holders.

As for their family members, they largely reflect the nationalities of the investors and amount to 42,035 people. In other words, more than 65,000 people live in Greece either as permanent investors or as their family members.

The top five nationalities with ADET

Finally, tens of thousands of people in Greece hold an active ADET. What is an ADET? The Single Permit Residence Card is the main identification document held by refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. It is essential for identification, issuing other necessary documents, and accessing basic rights (healthcare, housing, social welfare, employment, legal representation). (Source: Refugee Support Aegean)

According to the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, 91,562 people in Greece hold an active ADET. Of these 29,859 are Afghans, 17,976 are Syrians, 11,776 are Palestinians, 9,121 are Iraqis, and 3,906 are Eritreans (an East African country with capital Asmara, independent from Ethiopia since 1993).

Another 18,924 people of various nationalities also hold ADET. For more details, see Appendix B of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (July 31, 2025).