- Visa-free stay
- Up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period
- Digital nomad visa
- Yes
Greece Digital Nomad Visa
Overall6/10Easier visas than about 55% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- The 90 days are shared across ALL Schengen countries combined — time spent in Italy, France, Spain, etc. earlier in the same 180-day window counts against your Greek stay too, so track your days carefully if you're hopping between EU cities.
- Overstaying even by a little is now much easier for authorities to catch: Greece's airports use the EU's new digital Entry/Exit System, which records biometric entry and exit rather than relying on passport stamps.
- Extensions of the 90-day tourist stay are rarely approved for tourism purposes, so most long-term nomads plan ahead for a proper long-stay visa (e.g. Greece's Digital Nomad Visa) rather than hoping to extend at the Aliens Bureau.
- ETIAS (a small online pre-travel authorization, not a visa) is expected to become mandatory for currently visa-exempt nationals sometime in Q4 2026 — worth checking the official ETIAS site closer to your travel date since the exact rollout date keeps shifting.
- Greece's €3,500/month net income requirement is on the higher end among European digital nomad visas, and as of January 2026 you must show 6 consecutive months of qualifying income rather than 3.
- Since 5 February 2026 you can no longer fly in on a tourist stay and apply for the Digital Nomad residence permit from inside Greece — the application must go through a Greek consulate, embassy, or VFS center before you arrive.
- Track every day spent in Greece: crossing 183 days in a 12-month period triggers Greek tax residency on your worldwide income, even if all your clients/employer are abroad.
- The widely-advertised '50% tax break for 7 years' is genuinely valuable but is not automatic for someone simply working remotely for a foreign employer on this visa — get Greek tax/legal advice before assuming you'll qualify, since it typically requires setting up a local business structure.
- Fee figures vary by source (some cite a ~€75 visa fee plus admin costs, others cite a ~€1,000+ residence permit fee) — confirm current costs directly with your consulate before applying.
Tax Notes
- Tax Residency Trigger
- More than 183 days of physical presence in Greece within a 12-month/calendar-year period (or having your 'center of vital interests' in Greece) makes you a Greek tax resident, taxed on worldwide income; under 183 days generally means no Greek tax liability on foreign-source income.
Special Regime 50 Percent Reduction
- Legal Basis
- Article 5C of the Income Tax Code (Law 4172/2013), amended by Law 4916/2022
- Important Caveat
- This benefit is not automatically available to Digital Nomad Visa holders who work purely for foreign employers/clients without any Greek-registered business or local employment structure, because the visa requires income to originate entirely outside Greece while Article 5C traditionally presupposes a Greek employment/business link — resolving this typically requires setting up a Greek sole proprietorship or similar structure with professional tax advice.
- Description
- Qualifying new tax residents can have 50% of employment or self-employment income exempted from tax for up to 7 consecutive years, effectively capping the top marginal rate at 22%.
Eligibility Conditions
- Must not have been a Greek tax resident for 5 of the prior 6 years
- Must transfer tax residency from an EU/EEA state or a state with an administrative cooperation agreement with Greece
- Must secure an employment contract with a Greek entity/Greek permanent establishment of a foreign company, or be self-employed IN Greece (i.e., have a locally registered business activity)
- Must declare intent to remain in Greece for at least 2 years
Standard Progressive Income Tax Rates
up to €10,000
- Rate Percent
- 9
€10,001–€20,000
- Rate Percent
- 22
€20,001–€30,000
- Rate Percent
- 28
€30,001–€40,000
- Rate Percent
- 36
over €40,000
- Rate Percent
- 44
Application Path
- Where To Apply
- As of 5 February 2026, under Law 5275/2026, in-country applications have been abolished; applicants must apply through a Greek consulate, embassy, or VFS Global center in their home country/region before entering Greece.
- Processing Time
- Official processing target is around 10 working days, but real-world total time from submission to visa-in-hand commonly runs 1 to 3 months depending on consulate workload.
- Visa Type Issued
- Type D national long-stay visa, initially valid 12 months
Fees
- National Visa Fee
- €75
- Residence Permit Fee Approx
- €1,000
- Family Member Admin Fee Each
- €150
Visa Free Entry
- Country
- Greece
- Days Allowed
- Up to 90 days within any rolling 180-day period, counted across the ENTIRE Schengen Area combined (not 90 days in Greece specifically plus 90 elsewhere).
- Baseline Rule
- Greece is a full Schengen Area member, so the default entry rule for most nomads is the Schengen 90/180-day rule rather than a Greece-specific rule.
- Extending Stay
- Visa-exempt tourists wishing to stay beyond 90 days must apply for an extension at the local Aliens Bureau at least two weeks before their 90-day limit expires; extensions are evaluated case-by-case and are typically not granted for tourism purposes — most nomads instead need a proper long-stay national visa (e.g., the Greek Digital Nomad Visa) arranged in advance.
- Schengen Member
- Yes
- How The Clock Works
- It is a rolling window, not a fixed annual quota: every day spent anywhere in the 29 Schengen countries counts toward the same 90-day total, and both entry and exit days count as full days.
- Entry Exit System EES
- The EU's biometric Entry/Exit System (EES), which digitally records entries/exits and enforces the 90/180 count automatically, is already operational at Greek airports including Athens, replacing manual passport stamping.
Who Qualifies
- EU EEA Swiss Citizens
- No time limit — free movement, can stay indefinitely.
- All Other Nationalities
- Must obtain a Schengen 'C' visa from a Greek consulate/embassy before travel; long-term stays require a national 'D' type visa instead.
- Visa Exempt Third Country Nationals
- Citizens of roughly 60 non-EU countries (including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and most of Latin America) can enter without a visa for short stays.
Official Sources
Overstay Consequences
- Other Penalties
- Possible entry ban of up to 90 days from re-entering any Schengen country, plus the overstay is now permanently logged in EES/SIS II records.
Fine Range
- Max
- €1,200
- Min
- €600
Upcoming Change ETIAS
- Visa fee
- €7.00
- Status
- Not yet in effect as of mid-2026
- Validity
- Once introduced, expected to be valid for 3 years or until passport expiry, covering multiple entries within the same 90/180 limit.
- Expected Launch
- Q4 2026 (exact date not yet confirmed)
- Description
- ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) is a forthcoming online pre-travel authorization — not a visa — that will become mandatory for currently visa-exempt nationals (including US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea citizens) before entering Greece and the rest of Schengen.
Process For Visa Exempt Travelers
- No advance application currently required — just present a valid passport at the border.
- Passport should be valid for at least 3 months beyond your intended departure date from Greece/Schengen (some sources cite a 6-month buffer as a safer margin).
- Border officers may ask for proof of onward/return travel, accommodation details, and sufficient funds to support the stay.
Visa Name
Greece Digital Nomad Visa (Type D national visa, transitioning to a Digital Nomad Residence Permit)
Eligibility
- Citizenship
- Non-EU, non-EEA, non-Swiss nationals only
- Work Requirement
- Must work remotely for an employer or clients based outside Greece, or run a non-Greek online business; cannot work for a Greek-registered company or provide services to Greek clients while on this visa
Legal Basis
Law 4825/2021 (Article 12), Income Tax Code Law 4172/2013 (tax provisions), amended by Law 5275/2026 (application-route changes effective 5 February 2026)
Renewal Path
After the initial 12-month Type D visa, holders apply for a Digital Nomad Residence Permit valid for up to 2 years, which is renewable as long as eligibility (income, insurance, accommodation) continues to be met; several sources describe an eventual path toward permanent residency after 5 years of qualifying stay, and citizenship after further years as a permanent resident.
Income Requirement
- Spouse Or Partner Addon Percent
- 20
- Per Dependent Child Addon Percent
- 15
- Primary Applicant
- €3,500
- Proof Period Required
- As of a January 2026 update, applicants must show 6 consecutive months of qualifying income (previously 3 months), via payslips, client invoices/contracts, or bank statements.
- Note On Amount
- This is a net (after-tax) monthly income figure, roughly €42,000/year.
Required Documents
Required Documents
- Valid passport (valid at least 3 months beyond intended stay)
- Proof of remote employment or self-employment with income sourced entirely outside Greece (contracts, invoices, or payslips)
- 6 months of bank statements or payslips showing the required income level
- Signed declaration letter stating you will not work for a Greece-registered employer or serve Greek clients
- Private health insurance valid for Greece
- Clean criminal record certificate (apostilled/translated) from country/countries of residence in the last 5 years
- Proof of accommodation in Greece (rental agreement or booking confirmation)
- Medical certificate of good health (required by some sources/consulates)
Visa Ease Tier
moderate
Visa Ease Tier Rationale
A workable, well-established Schengen-country digital nomad path exists, but the €3,500/month net income threshold is high by European standards, the February 2026 rule change now requires consulate-only applications from abroad, and the flagship 50% tax break sits in genuine legal tension with the visa's foreign-income-only structure.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this visas research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Thessaloniki
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.