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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 almost every round-up blurs 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. They are governed by different laws and they pull in opposite directions, which is the single most useful thing to understand before you book a one-way flight to Athens.

Here is the shape of the requirements, taken from the Greek Immigration Code and the Income Tax Code rather than from the usual round-ups. Statutes still get amended, and two consulates can read the same rule differently, so plan with these numbers and then confirm the ones your case actually turns on with the Greek consulate or AADE before you commit.

The essentials at a glance

Each line is checked against the Government Gazette text named in the sources below, on this page's last-verified date.

Minimum income €3,500 net per month, plus 20% for a spouse or partner and 15% for each child The Code fixes the figure in euros; it is not pegged to the Greek minimum wage. "Net" means after the tax due in the country where the work is performed.
Income source Employment, freelance or business income from an employer, clients or a company established outside Greece You sign a declaration that you will not work for any employer whose seat is in Greece.
Initial visa duration Up to 12 months on the national long-stay "type D" visa issued by the Greek consulate, fee €75
Residence permit A 2-year residence permit for people with sufficient resources (type "I.8"), applied for before the visa runs out It carries no right to take a job or run any economic activity in Greece.
Application route Greek consulate for your country of residence, then the Aliens and Immigration Directorate of the Decentralised Administration where you live Since Law 5275/2026 (Gazette A' 17, 6 February 2026) the consular visa is the only way in. The old option of applying from inside Greece after a visa-free or Schengen-visa entry was repealed.
Family members A spouse or partner and children under 18 get individual visas that expire with yours While in Greece they may not take a job or run any economic activity either.
The 50% tax break A separate regime that this visa does not open: it is for people who move to Greece to fill a job with a Greek employer or to start a business in Greece, both of which this permit forbids Art. 5C: 50% off Greek-source employment or business income for 7 tax years, if you were not a Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years, you move your tax residence from an EU or EEA state or a state that has a tax cooperation agreement with Greece, and you commit to staying at least two years. It takes its own application to AADE.
Tax residency trigger More than 183 days of physical presence in Greece within any 12-month period, continuous or broken up A permanent or main home, a habitual abode or your centre of vital interests in Greece can make you resident on its own, with no day count at all.

The income floor is usually the first thing people want to size up. We keep a sourced view of where the Greek figure sits against 28 other nomad visas, ranked lowest to highest, so you can see at a glance whether Greece sits at the friendly end of the scale for you.

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

It is the headline everyone repeats, and it is the part that most often gets attached to the wrong visa. Greece does offer qualifying newcomers a 50% exemption for seven tax years. Read the statute, though, and the exemption is written for someone who moves to Greece to take a job with a Greek employer, or to open their own business there. The digital nomad route rules both out by design: the visa comes with a signed declaration that you will not work for an employer based in Greece, and the two-year permit that follows gives you no right to work or trade in the country at all. So the break is real, but it belongs to a different door.

The other conditions narrow it further. You must not have been a Greek tax resident in five of the previous six years, you must be moving your tax residence from an EU or EEA state or one that has a tax cooperation agreement with Greece, and you have to commit to staying at least two years. It never applies by default either: it takes a deliberate application to AADE, within a window tied to when you start the Greek job or register the Greek business.

Meanwhile the residency line arrives whether you plan for it or not. More than 183 days of physical presence in any twelve-month period makes you a Greek tax resident, and a permanent home or a centre of vital interests in Greece can do it with no day count at all. 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.

This is a general guide, not legal or tax advice. The figures above are quoted from the Greek statutes named in the sources, and statutes get amended, sometimes quietly: the route into the country changed in February 2026, when the option of applying from inside Greece was repealed. The stakes are high at a border and on a tax bill. Anything you intend to act on deserves a check with the relevant Greek consulate or the Greek tax authority (AADE) first.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I need to earn for the Greece digital nomad visa? +

The Immigration Code names a figure: €3,500 net per month, earned from clients or an employer outside Greece. It is written into the statute in euros, so it does not move with the Greek minimum wage. Bring family and the floor climbs by 20% for a spouse or partner and 15% for each child. Two details catch people out. "Net" means after the tax you already pay in the country where the work is done, and you prove the income with contracts, an employment relationship or bank statements, so a steady monthly figure counts for more than a lump sum parked in your account.

Does the 50% tax discount apply automatically? +

No, and on this visa it usually does not apply at all. The 50% exemption belongs to a separate regime built for people who move to Greece to fill a job with a Greek employer or to start a business in Greece. The digital nomad route forbids both: you sign a declaration that you will not work for any employer based in Greece, and the residence permit that follows carries no right to work or trade there. The regime also asks that you were not a Greek tax resident in five of the previous six years, that you arrive from an EU or EEA state or one with a tax cooperation agreement with Greece, and that you commit to staying at least two years. It then runs for seven tax years and takes its own application to AADE. Meanwhile, once you pass 183 days in Greece you are 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.

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Sources

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.