Between Lifestyle Migration and Comfortable Exit Strategies: Turkish Golden Visa Investors in Greece

Abstract

This article examines a new phenomenon of affluent Turks investing in Greek real estate following the 15 July 2016 coup attempt in order to obtain residence rights in Greece. Triggered by a sense of social, political, and economic insecurity, Turkish nationals invest to secure an exit strategy and safe haven for family and capital in case of potential economic and political upheaval in the country. Drawing on Hirschman’s (1970) typology of Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, this paper argues that this new form of mobility and comfortable exit of the Turkish upper middle class helps defuse opposition to the AKP government and could have a stabilizing effect for the regime in the long run. Based on data from twenty-eight interviews with investors and Golden Visa brokers taking part in the investment process, two factors, in particular, are making the move from Turkey to Greece an attractive option for Turkish nationals, namely geographic proximity and perceived cultural familiarity.