Greece’s relationship with its Turkish neighbors has ranged from ambivalent to difficult for a very long time. As a rule, Turkey is viewed as an unpredictable and aggressive neighbor that Greece needs to protect itself against. That’s part of the reason Athens spends 3% of its GDP on defense.
At the same time, Turks are almost always given a warm welcome, whether as tourists or investors — especially when they are spending money on Greece’s east Aegean islands, also known as the Dodecanese Islands, between Greece and Turkey.
Not all that many tourists — domestic or foreign — tend to make it over here. In 2024, the number of ferry passengers from Turkey to Greece jumped to 1.5 million, up dramatically from 800,000 in 2023.
The influx of Turks on the tiny island of Leros, for instance, feels to some like an invasion of sorts. Until just 20 years ago, the island had an awful reputation, known as the home of one of Europe’s most notorious mental institutions. Today it is a vacation paradise for Turkish visitors.
A ferry trip from Turgutreis, near Bodrum, Turkey, to Leros only takes one hour. To get there from Piraeus, Greece, on the other hand, takes 10 hours. That means hundreds of Turks arrive in Leros each day during the summer months — with many of those arriving also owning houses on the island. Locals appreciate the well-heeled visitors from the other Aegean shore who come to enjoy good food and drink.
The situation is the same on Lesbos, Chios and Samos. Since Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a simplified tourist visa deal for 10 of Greece’s Aegean isles back in 2023, Turks have rushed to visit. And they aren’t just coming during the summer months. Thousands, for instance, chose to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, here in late March.
Turkish investment in Greece on the rise
Not only is Turkish tourism booming in Greece, so is Turkish investment. Although Turkish investment remained relatively modest in 2024 (€485 million ($548 million) compared to €6.8 billion in German investment for example), the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey says it has seen a ten-fold jump since 2022.
Turks are mainly investing in real estate, because this opens the door for them to attain a so-called “golden visa” that allows them to reside in Greece for five years and travel freely within the Schengen zone. Only the Chinese have shown more interest in the special investment program. In 2024, Greece received a total of 9,289 golden visa applications — 1,356 came from Turkish citizens.
Freedom of movement — for the rich
The program has helped a number of wealthy non-EU citizens gain access to Greece and the wider EU. At the same time, the program has sent home prices skyrocketing, especially in Athens and Thessaloniki. That means it is increasingly difficult for the average Greek to find affordable housing. The same thing happened in Spain, which ultimately caused the government in Madrid to do away with its own golden visa program just a few days ago.
But Athens is sticking with its investment program, albeit while hiking the minimum investment rate required to get one.
When the program started, investors needed to lay down a minimum of €250,000 in order to receive a five-year residency permit in Greece. By September 1, 2024, that rate had risen to €800,000 for the regions of Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini, as well as any other islands with more than 3,100 residents. A minimum of €400,000 has been put in place for the rest of the country.
Despite that steep increase, demand from Chinese, US, Russian, Israeli and Turkish citizens remains high. A lot of Turks, it seems, can afford to buy property abroad, and that concerns conservatives in Greece — especially in northeastern Thrace and on the Dodecanese Islands, two regions situated close to Turkey.
Concern over ‘aggressive Turkish real estate purchasing’ in Greece
Meanwhile, the governing Nea Dimokratia (ND) party has been using the issue for political purposes. A number of politicians who could be called “traditional right” are displeased with Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ policies vis-a-vis Turkey. They think the prime minister is too forgiving with Turkish President Erdogan and that he should be tougher when dealing with him.
Moreover, conservative ND parliamentarians have the far-right breathing down their necks as these continue to gain in popularity — leading conservative ND politicians to present themselves as impassioned patriots. In late March, 11 ND politicians addressed parliament with concerns about “aggressive real estate purchases” by people with Turkish roots.
The politicians demanded that government ministries provide them with information on the total volume of real estate purchases in Thrace, Lesbos, Lemnos, Chios and on the Dodecanese Islands. Though the answer has yet to be delivered, the ND politicians who voiced their concern have already raised their profile.
There has also been some public concern that Turkish spies or gangsters could be among those buying up property. Although no evidence has been published to confirm or deny such worries, Greece’s intelligence services have indeed been taking a closer look at several recent foreign real estate purchases.
Secular Turks just looking for some peace and quiet
In reality, worries over “aggressive real estate purchases” appear overblown. Observers say that most of the new Turkish property owners are rich, non-religious individuals who — either had to leave Turkey; want to enjoy their vacation time in a secular, less-politicized neighboring country; or simply want to invest in a stable and comparatively affordable Greece.
On the other hand, many of those buying cheaper properties in places like Thrace, which is close to the Turkish border, are Turkish-born EU citizens who tend to have worked for long periods of time in Germany, Belgium or the US. They want to enjoy retirement in the EU rather than suffering the repressive political and religious atmosphere of Turkey, while at the same time being close to their former home.
This article was originally written in German and translated by Jon Shelton
