Good to know
Good to Know
- You do not need a Greek or local partner to incorporate — foreigners (EU and non-EU alike) can own 100% of an IKE, EPE, or AE and be the sole director.
- The IKE is the overwhelming default choice for foreign founders on the islands: only €1 minimum capital, no notary needed, and it can be filed almost entirely online.
- Because Ios itself has no notary, GEMI branch office, or major bank headquarters, most nomads/founders handle the paperwork-heavy steps (AFM, notary, bank KYC) remotely via a lawyer/accountant holding power of attorney, or during a trip to Athens or a larger Cycladic hub like Naxos or Syros.
- Non-EU citizens need a separate visa or residence permit to actually live in Greece and personally manage the company day-to-day — owning shares remotely does not require one, but running the business on the ground does.
- Bank account opening is consistently the slowest and most unpredictable step — budget extra time for compliance checks, especially for non-resident founders.
- There is no incorporation office or tax office on Ios itself for company matters — practically all of this (AFM, GEMI registration, VAT, myDATA) is done online through AADE and Gov.gr, or via a mainland-based accountant/lawyer, so being physically on Ios is not a barrier to setting up a business structure.
- If you're just invoicing foreign clients as a solo remote worker, most nomads find the sole proprietorship (Atomiki Epicheirisi) simpler to start with; only move to an IKE if you need liability protection or plan to scale, since Greek tax authorities specifically watch for freelancers who incorporate purely to cut their tax bill.
- Whichever structure you choose, Greece's myDATA e-invoicing system means your invoices must be reported electronically to the tax authority in near-real time — factor this into whatever invoicing/accounting tool you use.
Business Tax And Structure Options
- Sole Proprietor Vs Company Summary
- For most solo digital nomads/freelancers, the sole proprietorship is the simplest and cheapest entry point with no capital requirement, but it comes with unlimited personal liability and taxes profits at personal progressive rates (9–44%) plus social security. An IKE costs a bit more to set up and maintain (corporate bookkeeping, GEMI filings) but offers a flat 22% corporate tax rate, limited liability, and is generally considered the practical 'upgrade' once a business has real risk exposure, employees, or growth plans.
- Jurisdiction Note
- Ios has no separate municipal business-tax regime — company/tax rules for foreigners here are entirely national Greek law, administered digitally through AADE (tax authority) and GEMI (company registry), so a business set up while based on Ios follows the exact same rules as anywhere else in Greece. There is no local Ios-specific incorporation office; foreigners typically handle registration online or via a lawyer/accountant, often without needing to visit an office on the island at all.
Structure Options
Sole Proprietorship / Freelancer Registration
- Liability
- Unlimited personal liability for all business debts.
- Local Term
- Ατομική Επιχείρηση (Atomiki Epicheirisi)
- Min Capital
- None required.
- Legal Personality
- None — owner and business are legally the same entity.
- Practical Note For Foreigners
- Best suited to people who are actually EU citizens residing in Greece; opening this structure without living in Greece is difficult in practice, and non-EU applicants generally need a valid residence/work permit first.
Taxation
- VAT
- VAT registration required once activity is VAT-liable; a small-business VAT exemption exists for annual turnover up to €10,000, though most working freelancers exceed this quickly
- Type
- Personal progressive income tax on net business profits (no separate corporate tax)
- Brackets 2025
- 9% up to €10,000; 22% from €10,001–20,000; 28% from €20,001–30,000; 36% from €30,001–40,000; 44% above €40,000
- Social Security
- Additional monthly e-EFKA self-employed social security contributions (roughly ~27% of income is commonly cited alongside income tax)
Filing Obligations
- Declaration of Business Commencement (forms M3/M7) with the tax office before invoicing clients
- Sequentially numbered invoices reported through AADE's myDATA e-books platform
- Annual personal income tax return (Form E1) declaring business profits
- Records/invoices kept for at least 5 years
Private Capital Company (Most Common Company Form for Foreign Founders)
- Liability
- Limited to capital contributed.
- Local Term
- Ιδιωτική Κεφαλαιουχική Εταιρεία (IKE), including single-member Μονοπρόσωπη ΙΚΕ
- Min Capital
- €1.00
- Legal Personality
- Separate legal entity from its owner(s).
- Typical Setup Cost
- €1,000
Low end of a commonly cited range of roughly €1,000–€5,000+ depending on legal/accounting fees; upper end could exceed $5,450 USD
- Practical Note For Foreigners
- This is the default recommendation for most foreign/non-EU founders wanting liability protection or planning to scale, since it needs almost no capital and can now be incorporated largely online.
Taxation
- Corporate Income Tax Rate
- 22% flat on company profits
- Dividend Withholding Tax
- Typically 5% withholding if profits are distributed to the owner as dividends
- Annual Registered Business Levy
- A legacy annual business duty (Τέλος Επιτηδεύματος) has been abolished for individual freelancers/sole proprietors from 2025, but it still applies to legal entities such as IKE companies and their branches, historically up to roughly €650–€1,000/year
Filing Obligations
- Registration through GEMI (General Commercial Registry), now largely doable online via the Gov.gr Business Portal
- Articles of association (can be drafted privately for an IKE, without notarisation)
- VAT registration and mandatory myDATA e-invoicing/e-books with AADE
- Annual corporate tax return and financial statements
- Statutory audit only once the company exceeds certain EU-directive size thresholds (turnover/assets/employee count) — small IKEs are generally exempt
- Ongoing corporate bookkeeping (double-entry accounts), unlike the simpler single-entry records allowed for sole proprietors
Société Anonyme (Only Relevant for Larger Operations)
- Taxation
- Same 22% corporate tax rate as an IKE, but with heavier statutory audit, board, and governance requirements.
- Liability
- Limited to shareholding.
- Local Term
- Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία (AE)
- Min Capital
- €25,000
- Legal Personality
- Separate legal entity.
- Note
- Overkill for a solo digital-nomad-run business; relevant only if planning to raise institutional capital or eventually list shares.
Foreigner Specific Practicalities
- Every founder — Greek, EU, or non-EU — needs a Greek Tax ID (AFM) before any registration step; EU citizens can often get this remotely via AADE's myAADElive service, while non-EU citizens typically need a notarised, apostilled power of attorney to a Greek lawyer/accountant to handle it locally.
- Non-EU founders forming a company still separately need an appropriate residence/work permit to actually run day-to-day operations in Greece — company incorporation itself does not grant residency rights.
- Greek authorities have anti-avoidance rules discouraging someone from closing a sole-proprietorship and opening a single-member company purely to dodge the freelancer 'imputed income' minimum-tax rules — incorporation should reflect genuine business need, not just tax planning.
Typical Cost
Government Registration Fee Online
- Currency Local
- EUR
- Amount USD Range
- 21–91
- Amount Local Range
- 18–80
- Note
- This is the narrow GEMI/e-YMS filing fee only.
Total Realistic First Year Setup Cost
- Currency Local
- EUR
- Amount USD Range
- 1,140–5,700+
- Amount Local Range
- 1,000–5,000+
- Note
- Depends heavily on entity type and how much notary, translation, apostille, registered-office, and accounting/legal assistance is used.
Common Entity Types
IKE (Idiotiki Kefalaiouchiki Etaireia / Private Capital Company)
- Min Capital
- €1.00
- Notary Required
- No
- Description
- The most popular choice for foreign founders and startups, offering limited liability, a minimum capital requirement starting from €1, the option for a single member, and full online formation.
EPE (Limited Liability Company)
- Min Capital
- €4,500
- Notary Required
- Yes
- Description
- Sources vary on the exact figure (some cite €4,500, others €4,800); largely superseded by the IKE since 2012, with heavier governance formalities.
AE (Anonymos Etaireia / Société Anonyme)
- Min Capital
- €25,000
- Notary Required
- Yes
- Paid In Requirement
- One quarter of the minimum capital must be paid in at the time of incorporation.
- Description
- Used for larger businesses, public listings, or regulated sectors (banking, insurance). Requires at least one shareholder and typically three directors.
Branch of a Foreign Company
- Description
- A branch is not a separate company but an extension of the parent, so no new share capital is required, though the parent remains fully responsible for the branch's debts and obligations.
Official Links
Official Links
- GEMI (General Commercial Registry): https://www.gemi.gr
- Gov.gr Business Registration Portal / e-YMS one-stop-shop: https://www.businessportal.gr
- AADE (Independent Authority for Public Revenue — tax/AFM/VAT/myDATA): https://www.aade.gr
- e-EFKA (social security registration): https://www.efka.gov.gr
Typical Timeline
- GEMI Processing Only
- 1 to 3 business days for a straightforward IKE filed digitally via e-YMS.
- EU Citizen End To End
- Roughly 2 to 4 weeks once AFM, bank account, and tax/VAT registration are factored in.
- Non EU Founder End To End
- Approximately 2 to 3 months when factoring in AFM acquisition via power of attorney, bank-account opening, and any required visa/residence-permit application.
Jurisdiction Note
Company incorporation is governed entirely by national Greek law and the national GEMI/e-YMS one-stop-shop system — there is no separate Ios-specific business registry or local permit regime. Ios (Cyclades, part of the South Aegean region) uses the exact same national process as Athens; the only local factor is that in-person steps (notary, bank KYC, DOY tax office visits) are easiest to arrange on the mainland or a larger island, or handled remotely via power of attorney to a lawyer/accountant.
Incorporation Steps
Incorporation Steps
- Obtain a Greek Tax Identification Number (AFM) for each founder/director/shareholder — non-EU citizens generally need to apply through a tax office (or via a Greek tax representative/power of attorney) and provide additional documentation.
- Check and reserve the company name through the GEMI (General Commercial Registry) online system.
- Draft the Articles of Association: for an IKE this can be a private document using a standard template (no notary), while AE and most EPE formations require a notarial deed.
- Submit the registration application (statute, founder ID documents, proof of a registered business address) electronically through the e-YMS one-stop-shop / Gov.gr Business Portal, which is run under GEMI.
- Receive the GEMI registration number; the company is then automatically issued a corporate AFM (tax number) with the tax authority (AADE).
- Open a Greek corporate bank account and deposit the required share capital — banks conduct KYC/AML checks and this step often takes the longest.
- Register for VAT and activate myDATA e-Books (Greece's mandatory digital bookkeeping/e-invoicing platform) with AADE.
- Register the company and its legal representative with EFKA, the Greek social security fund, especially if the representative plans to draw a salary.
- Non-EU founders who intend to live in and personally manage the business must separately secure an appropriate residence/work or investor visa; EU/EEA citizens can establish and operate a business freely under EU freedom-of-establishment rules.
Local Partner Or Sponsor Requirement
- Partnerships OE EE
- Only Greek citizens, EU/EEA nationals and third-country nationals holding a valid residence permit may participate as general (unlimited-liability) partners in an OE or EE. This restriction does not apply to capital companies (IKE, EPE, AE), where any natural or legal person, regardless of nationality, may be a shareholder.
- Practical Requirement
- The only practical requirement is a Greek tax number (AFM) for each shareholder and director, obtained through a Greek tax representative if the founder is non-resident.
- Capital Companies IKE EPE AE
- None required. A non-resident individual or foreign company can hold 100% of the shares in a Greek IKE, EPE, or AE and can sit as the sole director.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.