Working and Living in Greece

Greek consumer prices sit about 14% below the EU average (Eurostat price level index for household final consumption, 2024). Athens is the most expensive city and the most active for employment, Thessaloniki sits below it, and the islands or the Peloponnese offer a sought-after setting for a life or retirement project, more affordable outside the tourist season.

Housing is the most variable item. In Athens, rents have been rising for several years, driven by tourism, short-term rentals and foreign investment; elsewhere they remain more affordable. The islands can be expensive in high season.

Rather than reasoning in averages, the most reliable approach is to compare your current net position with your projected position on the ground, taking tax and social contributions into account:

The Greek job market is driven by tourism and hospitality (a major share), maritime transport and shipping (Piraeus), the emerging tech and startup scene (Athens), energy and renewables, and service centers. Pay ranges by sector are detailed further down, in the Sectors and salaries section.

One point to anticipate: Greek pay levels are markedly lower than in most Western European economies. The statutory minimum monthly salary for salaried employees was raised to 920 EUR gross from 1 April 2026 (Ministerial Decision 8934/2026), and Greek statutory pay is set over fourteen payments a year, so the annualized equivalent works out at roughly 1 073 EUR a month, and the average salary remains modest; a lower cost of living and, where applicable, a favorable tax regime can offset part of the gap, to be assessed case by case. Net income also depends on social contributions: an employee pays 13.37% of gross pay to the social security fund EFKA and the employer 21.79%, within a monthly contribution ceiling of 7 761.94 EUR from 1 January 2026.

The working language depends on the sector and the city:

Tourism and maritime transport, two pillars of the economy, offer many opportunities to international and English-speaking profiles, particularly around Athens and Piraeus. One sequencing point for nationals of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland: the right to work has to be secured before the job starts, through one of the routes set out in decision 6. This is general information rather than tax or immigration advice; for any personal situation, a qualified professional is recommended.

The most common and most flexible form for doing business is the IKE (private company with capital), whose minimum capital is 1 EUR. For larger ventures, the AE (public limited company) requires capital of around 25 000 EUR. A company can be 100% held by foreign partners, from the European Union or from third countries, and an IKE can be set up online within a few days. A tax number (AFM) and registration with the business registry (GEMI) are required. Owning shares in a Greek company does not by itself confer a right to live in Greece: nationals of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland still need a residence permit that covers the activity, under the Immigration Code (Law 5038/2023).

Self-employed workers are subject to flat-rate social contributions (EFKA), divided into classes, with a reduced class for new entrants during their first years of activity. The amounts attached to each class are reset annually by ministerial decision.

The annual business tax (telos epitidevmatos) has been abolished for the self-employed. Rates and thresholds are set by the annual budget law and may change from one year to the next: it is preferable to check the values in force in the year of your project.

The choice of structure and regime depends on your activity, your projected turnover and your personal situation, in particular your tax residence.

Greece taxes its tax residents on worldwide income, and residence is triggered mainly by spending more than 183 days in the country over any twelve-month period (article 4 of the Income Tax Code, Law 4172/2013). Following the reform enacted by Law 5246/2025, the scale applying from 1 January 2026 is 9% up to 10 000 EUR, 20% from 10 000 to 20 000 EUR, 26% from 20 000 to 30 000 EUR, 34% from 30 000 to 40 000 EUR, 39% from 40 000 to 60 000 EUR, and 44% above 60 000 EUR. Lower scales apply according to the age of the taxpayer, up to 30, and to the number of children (Law 5246/2025), and the solidarity contribution has been abolished.

Beyond the standard scale, Greece offers three regimes that draw the attention of people settling in, which should not be confused:

For pensioners in particular, the treaty position matters. Greece has a network of bilateral double taxation treaties covering more than fifty countries, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, India, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and France. No comprehensive double taxation treaty is currently in force between Greece and Australia, where only an airline profits agreement of 1977 applies, nor between Greece and New Zealand; treaty networks change over time, so the position in force in the year of your project is worth checking. Most of these treaties follow the OECD model, which as a general matter allocates private pensions to the state of residence and government-service pensions to the state that pays them. Once tax residence has moved to Greece, the instrument to look at is therefore the treaty between Greece and the state your pension arises in, rather than the treaty with the country you are leaving. How that treaty interacts with the 7% flat tax depends on the nature of the pension and on the individual situation, so it calls for a personalized review.

These three regimes differ from one another and from the standard scale. Their eligibility and value depend closely on the individual situation.

There is no general nationality bar on buying property in Greece: nationals of the European Union, the EEA and Switzerland buy on the same footing as Greek nationals, and third-country nationals may also buy. A Greek tax number (AFM) is required in every case, the deed is completed before a notary, and an authorization may be required for property located in designated border or island areas.

For an existing property (resale), the transfer duty is 3% (raised to 3.09% with the municipal surcharge), calculated on the higher of the tax value and the price. For new-build, the 24% VAT that would apply in principle remains suspended until the end of 2026. Non-residents can obtain a local mortgage, generally on stricter terms than residents, including a higher down payment, on conditions that change with market rates.

The golden visa (residence permit through investment) is a route for nationals of countries outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, who do not benefit from free movement. Since the reform enacted by Law 5100/2024, its thresholds are zoned: 800 000 EUR in high-demand areas (the Attica region and Athens, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3 100 inhabitants), 400 000 EUR elsewhere, and 250 000 EUR for converting commercial premises into housing or restoring a listed property.

Several conditions frame this scheme: the property investment must relate to a single asset of at least 120 m² of main-space floor area (balconies, parking and storage do not count in this calculation); a married couple or a couple in a civil partnership can obtain residence for both members on a single jointly owned property that reaches the threshold; short-term rental of the property is prohibited. A separate, non-property route also allows a residence permit to be obtained by investing 250 000 EUR in a startup entered in the dedicated national registry.

Greece is a European Union member state and a full member of the Schengen area, so the rule that applies on arrival depends on the passport held. Nationals of the EU, of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and of Switzerland travel on a national identity card or passport under free movement: no visa, no work permit, and a registration duty only once the stay passes three months. Nationals of the third countries listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Brazil, may enter without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, provided they take up no gainful employment. Nationals of the countries listed in Annex I to the same regulation, among them India, China, Nigeria, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam and the Philippines, need a Schengen short-stay C visa even for a brief visit. Since 10 April 2026 the Entry/Exit System has recorded the entries, exits and refusals of non-EU travelers on short stays, with facial image and fingerprints, in place of passport stamping; ETIAS, the travel authorization announced for visa-exempt travelers, is not yet in force.

Whatever the passport, working or staying beyond a short visit is a separate authorization. Nationals of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland need none, and take up employment or self-employment directly. For every other nationality the Immigration Code (Law 5038/2023) applies, and the sequence depends on the route chosen. Dependent employment normally runs through the E.4 permit, which starts with an invitation (metaklisi) filed in Greece by the employer, then a national long-stay visa (type D) issued by a Greek consulate before departure, then a residence permit card carrying 166 EUR in fees. The E.1 permit for highly qualified employment, the Greek EU Blue Card, requires a contract of at least six months and a gross annual salary of at least 1.6 times the average gross annual salary in Greece; it is granted through two separate procedures, one starting with approval of the employer’s request and a national type D visa obtained before departure, the other open to a third-country national already lawfully in Greece under a uniform Schengen visa or under the visa-free regime, who applies from inside Greece before the authorized stay expires. The same code also provides the route commonly called the digital nomad permit, under article 68 of Law 5038/2023: a national visa of up to twelve months for remote work performed, with information and communication technologies, for an employer or clients established outside Greece, which a two-year residence permit for sufficient resources can then follow. Both stages require stable resources of at least 3 500 EUR per month, a threshold read net of tax in the country where the work is performed when the income comes from employment, services or a project contract, and raised by 20% for a spouse or partner and by 15% per child. Admission for a short stay, whether under a uniform Schengen visa or under the visa-free regime, does not by itself confer a right to work: employment starts once the permit has been granted. The investment route set out in decision 5 is a further option. A few steps then frame long-term settlement:

The AFM and then the AMKA are the first two steps to plan for on arrival, because they condition access to most services, to employment and to healthcare. On a temporary stay, EU, EEA and Swiss nationals remain covered by their European Health Insurance Card; once employment starts, affiliation to EFKA opens access to the Greek public system whatever the nationality.

In practice, obtaining the AFM and AMKA quickly makes all the other settlement steps easier. This is general information rather than immigration or tax advice; for any personal situation, a qualified professional is recommended.