The visa · Greece
Greece
Greece has an express digital-nomad route under Article 68 of the Migration Code (Law 5038/2023): a twelve-month national visa that can convert into a two-year residence permit, with a €3,500 net monthly income floor. Since Law 5275/2026 took effect in February 2026 the visa must be obtained at a Greek consulate before travelling; arriving visa-free and applying in Greece is no longer possible. There is no freelance permit for working with Greek clients, so the practical choice is between the nomad visa, the financially-independent-person permit for passive income, the Australian and Canadian youth-mobility schemes, and property investment from €400,000.
- Nomad visa · September 2026YesRoutes4Bases1
- Athens12 pieces
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The routes
Researched 10 September 2026 · rules as of September 2026 · as published, not legal advice
Nomad visa
Digital Nomad Visa (national visa type D) and residence permit
Εθνική θεώρηση εισόδου για ψηφιακούς νομάδες, άρθρο 68 ν. 5038/2023 – National entry visa for digital nomads, Article 68 of Law 5038/2023
Non-EU/EEA employees, freelancers and company owners who work remotely for employers or clients established outside Greece and can show €3,500 a month after tax.
- Income floor
- €3,500 net per month for the applicant, plus 20 per cent for a spouse or partner and 15 per cent for each dependent child, shown from active remote work rather than passive income; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes it as a steady income of €3,500 monthly. Guides typically ask for three months of bank statements.
- Duration
- National visa valid up to 12 months. Before it expires the holder may apply in Greece for a two-year residence permit for persons with sufficient means (category I.8, Article 163(8) as cited by Greek counsel), renewable for further periods while conditions persist.
- Cost
- Consular visa fee reported at €75. Residence-permit fees are set by ministerial decision under Law 5275/2026 and published progressively; published guides disagree (figures from €150 to €1,000 appear), so the fee should be confirmed with the consulate or migration office.
- Processing
- The consulate must respond within ten days of a complete application under Article 68, with issuance as a one-stop act. Applicants and guides report two to four weeks in practice, and up to one to three months at busier posts. The two-year permit application in Greece is reported to take around a month.
- Eligibility
- Third-country nationals only; remote employment or self-employment with a non-Greek employer or clients; income at the floor; private health insurance covering Greece; clean criminal record; no professional or economic activity connected to Greece, however incidental. The explanatory circular 6/2024 of the Migration Ministry sets the administrative reading.
- Work rights
- Remote work for foreign employers and clients only. No access to the Greek labour market and no business activity in Greece, including limited or incidental engagements with Greek entities.
- Dependants
- Spouse or partner and dependent children may accompany the holder on a closed, derivative basis; they receive no right to work or trade in Greece and their presence raises the income floor by 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
- Leads to
- Not a direct route. Lawful residence under the permit is reported to count towards the five years of continuous legal residence needed for EU long-term resident status, and Law 5275/2026 clarified continuous residence and permitted absences; naturalisation requires seven years of lawful residence plus language and civic tests.
- Apply
- Greek consulate or embassy in the applicant's country of residence, in person, by e-mail or registered post; consulates in the UK and elsewhere route appointments through the outsourced portal Global Visa Center World. The two-year permit is then filed in Greece through the Migration Ministry's electronic applications platform.
Documents Passport valid beyond the stay and a completed national long-stay visa application form · Employment contract, or company documents and client contracts for the self-employed, showing work for entities outside Greece · Evidence of €3,500 net monthly income, usually payslips or bank statements covering at least three months · Signed declaration that no work will be done for Greek employers or clients · Private health insurance valid in Greece · Criminal record certificate from the country of residence, apostilled and translated · Medical certificate · Proof of accommodation in Greece, such as a lease, needed for the residence-permit stage
Long stay
Financially Independent Person (FIP) visa and permit
Άδεια διαμονής οικονομικά ανεξάρτητων ατόμων – Residence permit for financially independent persons, Law 5038/2023
Retirees and people living on pensions, dividends, rent or other passive income from outside Greece who do not need to work at all.
- Income floor
- €3,500 per month of stable passive income from abroad, plus 20 per cent for a spouse and 15 per cent per child; alternatively a lump sum, reported at €126,000 in savings to cover a three-year permit.
- Duration
- National visa followed by a residence permit issued for three years, renewable for three years at a time; earlier permits were two years before the Migration Code extended them.
- Cost
- Consular visa fee plus the residence-permit fee; one adviser quotes €2,500 in applicant and processing costs for the combined package, a figure not confirmed on an official page.
- Processing
- Consular decision reported at one to three months; the permit card in Greece follows within months of filing.
- Eligibility
- Third-country nationals; income must be passive, not from employment; private health insurance; clean record; at least 183 days a year of physical presence in Greece to keep the permit, which also makes the holder a Greek tax resident.
- Work rights
- None. No employment, freelancing or business activity in Greece; remote work is not the purpose of the permit and income must be passive.
- Dependants
- Spouse and dependent children under 21 can be included, with the income floor raised accordingly; they may not work.
- Leads to
- Time on the permit counts as lawful residence towards long-term resident status after five years and towards naturalisation after seven, subject to the general tests.
- Apply
- Greek consulate in the country of residence for the visa, then the Migration Ministry's electronic platform in Greece for the permit.
Documents Passport and national long-stay visa application · Evidence of passive income or the lump-sum deposit · Private health insurance covering Greece · Criminal record certificate and medical certificate, apostilled and translated · Proof of accommodation in Greece
Working holiday
Work and Holiday visa (Australia) and Youth Mobility (Canada)
Work and Holiday Visa – Greece/Australia; Canada–Greece Youth Mobility Agreement
Australians aged 18 to 31 and Canadians aged 18 to 35 who want a year in Greece with the right to take local jobs alongside remote work.
- Income floor
- No published income floor beyond proof of funds for the initial stay and an onward ticket, as required by the consulate.
- Duration
- Up to 12 months, not renewable.
- Cost
- Consular national-visa fee, set by the consulate.
- Processing
- Consular processing, typically weeks; the Australian scheme is capped at 500 places a year each way.
- Eligibility
- Australian citizens aged 18 to 31 with tertiary qualifications or at least two years of undergraduate study; Canadian citizens aged 18 to 35 with a valid Canadian passport. No dependants. Employment with a single employer is limited to six months on the Australian scheme unless a permit is granted.
- Work rights
- Local employment allowed, with the six-month-per-employer cap on the Australian scheme; remote work for foreign clients is not restricted by the scheme's text.
- Dependants
- Not permitted.
- Leads to
- No.
- Apply
- Greek embassy in Canberra and the consulates in Australia; the Greek embassy and consulates in Canada.
Documents Passport and national visa application · Proof of funds and return or onward travel · Evidence of tertiary study for Australian applicants · Health insurance for the stay
Investor
Golden Visa (residence by investment)
Άδεια διαμονής επενδυτή ακινήτων – Residence permit for real-estate investors, Law 5038/2023 as amended
Nomads with capital who want a five-year permit with no minimum stay, no income test and no restriction on where their income comes from.
- Income floor
- Property of at least €800,000 in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and islands above 3,100 inhabitants; €400,000 elsewhere; €250,000 for conversions of commercial buildings to residential use or listed-building restorations; €250,000 in qualifying Greek start-ups. No income requirement.
- Duration
- Five years, renewable indefinitely for five years at a time while the investment is held; Law 5275/2026 added holding-period requirements.
- Cost
- Application fee of €2,000 per adult investor plus card and family fees; property transfer tax and legal costs on top.
- Processing
- Reported at several months to over a year depending on the region's migration office; a residence certificate on filing allows legal stay meanwhile.
- Eligibility
- Third-country nationals; funds transferred through the banking system; €800,000 and €400,000 properties must be at least 120 square metres and cannot be let short-term. Uglobal reports new filings fell from 4,553 in the first half of 2025 to 2,551 in the first half of 2026 after the higher thresholds.
- Work rights
- Employment in Greece is not permitted; business ownership and remote work for foreign clients are.
- Dependants
- Spouse, children under 21 and parents of both spouses can be included.
- Leads to
- Long-term residence after five years and naturalisation after seven require actual residence and language tests, which most Golden Visa holders do not meet because there is no minimum stay.
- Apply
- In Greece at the regional Migration Ministry office through the electronic platform, or via a lawyer under power of attorney.
Documents Passport · Notarised purchase deed and proof of payment through a bank · Health insurance covering Greece · Application forms and fee receipts
Without a visa, by passport
The stay you get on arrival, and whether working remotely on it is tolerated
- EU / EEA / SwitzerlandFree movement; registration certificate after 90 daysRemote work is lawful; tax residence and social-security questions arise after 183 days.
- United Kingdom90 days in any 180 (Schengen)Working remotely on a short stay is a grey area: it is not a listed ground for entry and short-stay entry is for tourism or business visits, but no published enforcement against remote work exists. Since Law 5275/2026 the nomad visa cannot be applied for in Greece on this stay.
- United States90 days in any 180 (Schengen)Same grey area; the consulate route must be used before travel for the nomad visa.
- Canada90 days in any 180 (Schengen)Same grey area; the Youth Mobility Agreement is the alternative for those aged 18 to 35.
- Australia90 days in any 180 (Schengen)Same grey area; the Work and Holiday visa is the alternative for those aged 18 to 31.
- Brazil90 days in any 180 (Schengen)Same grey area as other visa-exempt nationals.
- Japan90 days in any 180 (Schengen)Same grey area as other visa-exempt nationals.
- IndiaSchengen visa requiredRemote work on a type C visa is not a permitted purpose; the nomad D visa is the route.
- South AfricaSchengen visa requiredRemote work on a type C visa is not a permitted purpose; the nomad D visa is the route.
- TurkeySchengen visa requiredRemote work on a type C visa is not a permitted purpose.
- Ukraine90 days in any 180 (biometric passport)Same grey area; temporary protection holders have separate work rights.
- China and RussiaSchengen visa requiredRemote work on a type C visa is not a permitted purpose.
Tax
When the country starts counting you as its taxpayer
- Residency trigger
- An individual becomes Greek tax resident when physically present for more than 183 days in any twelve-month period, or when their permanent home or centre of vital interests (personal and economic ties) is in Greece, following the Income Tax Code and tax-authority circulars. A double-taxation treaty tie-breaker overrides the domestic test where both states claim residence. FIP holders must spend 183 days in Greece, so they become resident by design.
- Special regime
- Three alternative regimes exist for people who transfer tax residence to Greece. Article 5C exempts 50 per cent of Greek-source employment or business income for seven tax years for those who were not Greek tax resident in five of the previous six years and take up work in Greece; it is the one nomads and relocating employees use. Article 5B taxes foreign pensions at a flat 7 per cent for 15 years. Article 5A, the non-dom regime, charges a €100,000 annual lump sum on foreign income for 15 years against a €500,000 investment. All three are in force in September 2026. The ordinary scale runs from 9 per cent to 44 per cent above €60,000, and Law 5246/2025 introduced reduced scales by number of children and for those under 30 from tax year 2026.
- Social security
- Employees in Greece pay 13.37 per cent and employers 21.79 per cent to EFKA, 35.16 per cent in total since 1 January 2025, on salary up to a monthly cap of €7,761.94 from 1 January 2026. A digital-nomad permit holder working for a foreign employer is outside Greek employment and is not enrolled in EFKA; EU nationals posted or working remotely can keep home-country cover with an A1 certificate. Whether a non-EU remote employee or freelancer owes Greek contributions after becoming tax resident is not addressed on the official pages consulted and should be checked with an accountant.
- Treaties
- Greece has an extensive treaty network covering the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, India, Brazil, South Africa and most EU states. For a remote employee or contractor who passes 183 days, Greece taxes worldwide income with a credit for foreign tax paid; before that point the home state generally keeps taxing rights and the treaty tie-breaker settles disputes.
Practicalities
- Tax number (AFM)
- A nine-digit AFM is issued once and is needed to rent, open a bank account, sign a lease or pay tax. Non-residents can obtain one on a passport alone, remotely by video appointment or through a lawyer under power of attorney, and holding an AFM does not itself create tax residence.
- Bank account
- Banks require an AFM, passport, proof of address and usually a foreign tax return or employment proof; applicants report that branches vary and that a residence permit or lease makes opening far easier. Fintech accounts in euros remain the usual bridge.
- SIM registration
- Prepaid SIMs must be registered to a passport or identity card at purchase; anonymous SIMs are not sold.
- Health insurance
- Private cover valid in Greece is a condition of the nomad, FIP and Golden visas; permit holders working abroad are not enrolled in the public system. EU nationals use the EHIC for short stays.
- Address registration
- Lease contracts must be declared to the tax authority by the landlord; a declared lease is the standard proof of address for the permit and for the AFM.
- Overstay
- Fines for overstaying a Schengen stay are reported at up to €1,200 in Greece, with figures varying by source and no single official tariff published. Since 10 April 2026 the Entry/Exit System records every crossing digitally and passport stamps have ended, so overstays are detected automatically; entry bans of up to five years can follow.
- Driving licence
- EU licences are valid; other licences can be used with an international permit for the first months of residence, after which an exchange or Greek test applies depending on the issuing country.
Greece: a consulate-only nomad visa, a €3,500 floor and a 50 per cent tax break
Where remote workers base and why
Athens takes most long-stay nomads for its airport, coworking supply and year-round life, with Koukaki, Pangrati and Kypseli the usual rental districts. Thessaloniki is cheaper and has a large student and tech community. Crete, Rhodes and Corfu draw those who want islands with winter services, while Cyclades stays are mostly seasonal because rents and flights collapse out of season.
The attraction is a euro-zone EU country with a 12-month visa that converts to a two-year permit, a 50 per cent income-tax exemption for seven years for those who take up work here, and a cost of living below western Europe outside Athens' prime districts. The counterweight is a €3,500 net floor that is high by southern-European standards and a strict ban on any Greek clients.
What applicants report about the process
Until February 2026 most nomads flew in visa-free, signed a lease and filed the permit application in Greece. Law 5275/2026 closed that door, and applicants now describe the consulate as the bottleneck: appointment queues run through the outsourced Global Visa Center World portal in the UK and elsewhere, document lists differ between posts, and the statutory ten-day decision is reported as two to four weeks at best and one to three months at busy consulates.
Common refusal or delay reasons in applicant accounts are income shown gross rather than net, bank statements shorter than three months, self-employed applicants without client contracts, and criminal-record certificates lacking an apostille. Some consulates ask for an interview about the remote-work arrangement. Once in Greece, the two-year permit is filed online and a receipt allows legal stay while the card is produced.
Banking and daily money
The AFM comes first and can be obtained before arrival by video appointment or through a lawyer. Bank accounts at the four systemic banks need the AFM, passport, proof of address and evidence of income, and branches apply the rules unevenly; many nomads run on fintech euro accounts until they have a permit card. Card payments are near universal in cities and cash is still expected on smaller islands.
Landlords must declare leases to the tax authority, and that declared lease doubles as proof of address. Prepaid SIMs are registered to a passport at purchase.
Tax position in practice
A stay under 183 days in a twelve-month period leaves most nomads taxable only at home, subject to the centre-of-vital-interests test. Beyond that, Greece taxes worldwide income on a 9 to 44 per cent scale, and the Article 5C halving of Greek-source work income applies only to those who take up employment or self-employment in Greece and were non-resident for five of the previous six years. Remote employees of foreign firms are outside EFKA, but the treatment of freelancers who become resident is not spelled out on the official pages consulted.
What is changing
Law 5275/2026 transposes the recast EU Single Permit Directive and promises shorter processing windows and fee schedules by ministerial decision, still being published in September 2026. The Entry/Exit System now logs every day in the Schengen area, and the EU's ETIAS pre-travel authorisation for visa-exempt nationals is scheduled to follow in the last quarter of 2026. Golden Visa filings have roughly halved since the higher thresholds, and the government has signalled further tightening rather than relief.
Researched from mfa.gr · mfa.gr · mfa.gr · mfa.gr · migration.gov.gr · greeklawfirm.co.uk · siopi-law.gr · globaladvisoryexperts.com · expatsgreece.com · taxsummaries.pwc.com · the authority