Country visa guide
Greece digital nomad visa: income, duration and the 50% tax break
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Greece made a deliberate pitch to remote workers: come for the islands and the cost of living, stay because the paperwork is workable and the tax can be unusually kind. There are two moving parts here, and people tend to blur them together — a long-stay visa that lets a non-EU remote worker live in Greece, and a separate tax regime that can halve your income tax for years. You earn each one differently, so it pays to understand them separately before you book a one-way flight to Athens.
Here is the shape of the requirements as we currently understand them. Treat the numbers as a starting point for your planning, not gospel — visa thresholds and tax rules shift, and the figures marked unverified should be confirmed against an official Greek source before you commit.
The essentials at a glance
Every figure below is marked // UNVERIFIED in the source and should be re-checked against the Greek consulate or AADE (the Greek tax authority) before you rely on it.
| Minimum income | €3,500 net per month, increased ~+20% for a spouse and +15% per child // UNVERIFIED |
|---|---|
| Income source | Employment, freelance or business income earned from outside Greece (no Greek clients/employer) // UNVERIFIED |
| Initial visa duration | 12 months (national long-stay "Type D" digital-nomad visa) // UNVERIFIED |
| Residence permit | Convertible to a 2-year residence permit once in Greece, renewable // UNVERIFIED |
| Application route | Greek consulate in your country of residence; permit then filed at the local immigration office // UNVERIFIED |
| Family members | Spouse and dependent children can join under the higher income thresholds above // UNVERIFIED |
| Tax angle | 50% income-tax exemption for 7 years for qualifying new tax residents who relocate work to Greece // UNVERIFIED |
| Tax residency trigger | 183+ days in Greece in a 12-month period generally makes you a Greek tax resident // UNVERIFIED |
Eligibility, in one line
If you clear the income floor from work outside Greece and carry no recent Greek tax history, you are squarely the applicant this visa was written for:
Eligible Strong fit — stable foreign income, no Greek clients, planning to relocate genuinely.
Depends Worth checking — income near the floor, family in tow, or you'll cross 183 days and trigger Greek tax residency.
Not eligible Not this route — your income comes from Greek employers or clients, which the visa does not allow.
The tax break is the real headline
The visa is the entry ticket. The tax regime is why finance people pay attention. Greece offers qualifying newcomers a 50% exemption on Greek-source employment or business income for up to seven years, as long as you were not a Greek tax resident in the recent past and you move your work there. The catch sits at the 183-day line: spend more than half the year in Greece and you are generally a Greek tax resident, which happens to be the exact status the exemption attaches to. So work out the tax position first, then let it shape how long you actually stay — rather than the reverse.
Before you apply
Two quick checks save the most grief. First, run your travel history through the Schengen day-counter, so you arrive on a clean footing and can see how your existing short-stay days play against a long-stay move. Second, hold your profile up against the broader nomad-visa criteria — income, documents, and whether another country actually suits you better before you commit to Greece in particular.
- Check your digital nomad visa eligibility — see how your income and situation map onto the requirements.
- Schengen 90/180 day calculator — count your days before a long-stay move so re-entry timing is clean.
This is a general guide, not legal or tax advice. Greek visa thresholds and tax rules change, and the figures above are marked unverified for a reason — check anything border- or money-sensitive with the relevant Greek consulate or the Greek tax authority (AADE) before you act on it.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to earn for the Greece digital nomad visa? +
The headline figure is around €3,500 net per month, earned from clients or an employer outside Greece. Bring family and that floor climbs: roughly 20% more for a spouse, 15% more per dependent child. You prove it with recent payslips, contracts or bank statements, not a single lump sum — so steady monthly income counts for more than a one-off balance sitting in your account.
Does the 50% tax discount apply automatically? +
No. The 50% income-tax exemption is its own regime, meant for new tax residents who move their work to Greece and were not Greek tax residents in the prior years. You apply for it on purpose, commit to staying for a set period, and it then runs for up to seven years. The digital nomad visa does not hand it to you. And once you pass 183 days in Greece you are generally a Greek tax resident anyway, so settle the tax question before you move, not after.
Can I work for Greek companies on this visa? +
No. This visa is built around income earned abroad — remote employment, freelancing, or running a business whose clients sit outside Greece. A Greek employer or Greek clients fall outside what the permit covers, and would send you down a different work-authorisation route instead.
Last verified:
Sources
- Greek consulate (national long-stay / digital-nomad visa)
- AADE — Independent Authority for Public Revenue (Greek tax authority)
Voymo gives general information to help you organise your move. It is not legal, tax, or immigration advice, always confirm with an official source or a qualified professional before you act.