Everything you need before Greece — checked, dated and sourced
Information about Greece is scattered, written to sell something, and rarely dated. Rules changed in 2024, again in 2025, and again this year. Every figure on this site carries a source and the date we last checked it. Where sources disagree, we say so rather than picking one.
What changed recently
All rule changesGreek rules move. These are the three most recent changes we have recorded, with the date each took effect. If something you read elsewhere contradicts one of these, check its publication date before you believe it.
- ETIAS still not operating; applications are not open As at September 2026, ETIAS is not operating and no one can apply.
- EU Entry/Exit System fully operational The EU's biometric Entry/Exit System became fully operational across the Schengen Area on 10 April 2026, after a phased rollout that began on 12 October 2025.
- Minimum wage rises to €920 gross a month Ministerial Decision 8934/2026 raised the statutory minimum wage from €880 to €920 gross a month, an increase of 4.55% and the sixth since 2022.
Work out your own numbers
All calculatorsEach calculator reads from the same dataset as the rest of the site, shows the method it used, and tells you when its figures were last verified.
- Visa Finder Answer four questions, see which routes you actually qualify for.
- Net Salary Calculator Greek gross to net, over 12 payments and over 14.
- 90/180 Day Counter Whether your trips are still inside the rolling limit.
- Golden Visa Zone Checker Which threshold applies, and whether the property passes.
The routes people compare most
Compare every routeFour of the eight residence routes, summarised. The last column is the one that matters most and the one sales sites leave out.
| Route | Financial requirement | Initial term | Work allowed | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Nomad Visa and residence permit | €3,500 | D-visa up to 12 months, then a residence permit of up to 2 years | Limited | Since 5 February 2026 you must apply at a Greek consulate abroad. You cannot arrive as a tourist and apply on the ground. |
| FIP — Financially Independent Person | €3,500 | 3 years | No | You may not work in Greece at all. This is the route's main practical limitation. |
| Golden Visa — residence by investment | €800,000 | 5 years | Not by the permit | Single property, 120 m² minimum of main spaces, and no short-term letting. |
| EU, EEA and Swiss nationals | None | Not applicable — no permit is issued | Yes | Free movement removes the visa, not the bureaucracy. You still need an AFM and an AMKA. |
Where in Greece
All regions and citiesOne honest line each. Every profile also carries a "who this doesn't suit" section, because the wrong region is a more expensive mistake than the wrong visa.
- Athens and Attica Jobs, international schools, healthcare, flight connections and a life that works year-round. Highest rents in the country with tight central supply, and August heat that is genuinely hard.
- Thessaloniki Tech and logistics growth, universities, food, and a lower cost base than Athens. The job market is smaller than Athens and winters are cold and damp in a way visitors do not expect.
- Crete The strongest all-round value-to-lifestyle ratio in Greece, with a real year-round community. Mountain winters are genuinely cold, and healthcare is concentrated in Heraklion and Chania.
- Peloponnese Affordable buying, quiet, and a drivable distance from Athens. Services are thinner and English usability is lower than buyers expect. A car is not optional.
- Ionian Islands Green islands, a long summer season and strong summer rental yields. Heavy seasonality. Winters on the smaller islands can be very quiet indeed.
- Cyclades A visitor economy with high summer earnings and the most recognisable landscape in Greece. Extreme cost and crowding in season, ferry dependency out of it, and Zone A thresholds where you would least expect them.
- Dodecanese A longer season than most of Greece and decent year-round infrastructure on the two main islands. The labour market is strongly seasonal, and the smaller islands are remote in winter.
- Epirus and Ioannina Housing roughly a fifth cheaper than Athens, a university city, and the best mountain landscape in the country. Limited international connections and real winters. This is not a warm-winter destination.
Why you can check us
Links, not claims. Three things are worth knowing before you rely on anything here.
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How we verify
Every figure lives in one place with a source and a verification date. Anything our sources disagree about is marked as unverified and does not get published as fact. Pages that depend on an unverified figure are held back.
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How we make money
Affiliate links, paid introductions to Greek professionals, and paid directory listings. Every page carrying one says so at the top. Payment never changes what we write or the order anything appears in.
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What we do not do
We are not a law firm, a tax practice or an immigration consultancy. We publish information and then point you at someone qualified. When a route is a bad fit for you, we say so — we are not selling it.
The first 60 days, as a checklist
The order matters more than people expect: nothing in Greece works without an AFM (tax number), and the AMKA (social security number) depends on having one. We will send you the sequence as a printable checklist.
Free, tickable and printable, with your progress held in the page address so you can bookmark it or send it to whoever is moving with you. Nothing to sign up for — the email version is not running yet, and we would rather link you to the working thing than collect an address we cannot yet post to.