Guide

Greece Digital Nomad Visa: the EUR 3,500 Income Threshold, Documents, Fees and Tax

What the Greek digital nomad route requires in monthly income, documents and official fees, how long the visa and the permit that follows last, and where the 50 percent tax exemption does and does not apply.

Published: 2026-10-16 · Last verified: 2026-10-16 · Numbers apply to US passport holders

The income threshold in numbers

The Greek digital nomad route requires EUR 3,500 per month of stable income. Joint Ministerial Decision 95391/2024 (FEK B 1807, 22 March 2024) sets the figure under Art. 68 para 2(e) of Law 5038/2023, the Migration Code. Income can be assessed month by month or as an annual average. As an annual average the threshold is EUR 42,000 (EUR 3,500 x 12).

The figure is net only when the income comes from salaried work. If you are an employee, your take home pay after your employer's withholding has to reach EUR 3,500. The decision does not label the figure net for freelance or business income. If you invoice clients, do not assume the gross amount on your invoices is the number a consulate will compare against the threshold.

The requirement goes up with each family member: 20 percent more for a spouse or partner and 15 percent more for each child. Family members may not work in Greece.

• Applicant alone: EUR 3,500 per month, EUR 42,000 per year.
• Applicant plus spouse or partner: EUR 3,500 + EUR 700 = EUR 4,200 per month, EUR 50,400 per year.
• Applicant, spouse and 1 child: EUR 4,200 + EUR 525 = EUR 4,725 per month, EUR 56,700 per year.
• Applicant, spouse and 2 children: EUR 4,725 + EUR 525 = EUR 5,250 per month, EUR 63,000 per year.

Who qualifies

The route covers remote work for employers or clients outside Greece. You must declare that you will not work for a Greek employer. No investment is required. Full route data is on the Greece country page.

Documents for the consulate file

Joint Ministerial Decision 95391/2024 lists the documents for this route. Our verified data confirms these core items:

• Proof of remote work for an employer, client or business established outside Greece, such as an employment contract or client agreements.
• Proof of EUR 3,500 per month in stable income, plus the family uplift if relatives apply with you.
• A signed declaration that you will not work for a Greek employer.
• Proof of accommodation in Greece.
• Private health insurance.
• For family members: proof of the relationship, such as a marriage or birth certificate.

Get the checklist from the Greek consulate that covers your US place of residence and follow it. It is the binding list for your file.

Visa length, permit length and renewal

This route is often described as a one year renewable permit, but it has two stages. The first is the national (type D) visa, category Z.1. Under Art. 68 para 1 of Law 5038/2023 it runs up to 12 months. If you then apply for the residence permit for digital nomads (type I.8), that permit runs 2 years under Art. 68 para 4. Renewal follows Art. 163 para 8 and is available while the remote work and income conditions still hold.

No official processing time is published. Neither the Migration Code nor Joint Ministerial Decision 95391/2024 sets a decision deadline for this route, and the ministry's Mitos registry has no procedure page for it.

Entry paths and official fees

Joint Ministerial Decision 95391/2024 originally listed two entry paths for US passport holders. Only one remains. Article 13 of Law 5275/2026 (FEK A 17, 6 February 2026) repealed Article 12(7) of the Migration Code, the paragraph that allowed people who had entered visa free to apply for the digital nomad permit from inside Greece. Since 6 February 2026 the only path is the Z.1 visa at a Greek consulate before travel, followed by the application in Greece for the two year I.8 permit before that visa expires. The official fees are:

• Consulate route, the only route since 6 February 2026: EUR 75 consular fee + EUR 1,000 residence permit fee + EUR 16 residence card printing = EUR 1,091.
• Renewal of the I.8 permit: EUR 1,000 + EUR 16 = EUR 1,016.

Entering visa free no longer leads to this permit. Time spent in Greece visa free still counts against the Schengen limit of 90 days in any 180 day period. Track it with the Schengen calculator.

Tax residency: the 183 day trigger

Under Art. 4 of Law 4172/2013, as applied by AADE, you become a Greek tax resident if you are present in Greece for more than 183 days in any 12 month period. Residency then applies from your first day of presence, not from day 184. You can also become resident through a permanent or principal residence, a habitual abode, or a center of vital interests in Greece.

The math: a visa of up to 12 months covers as many as 365 days, about twice the 183 day limit. If you use the visa as intended, plan on becoming a Greek tax resident in your first year. The tourist exception, for stays made exclusively for touristic or private reasons, does not fit a stay for remote work. As a US citizen you still file US returns while resident in Greece.

The 50 percent exemption: what it actually covers

There is no flat 50 percent exemption tied to the digital nomad visa. The 50 percent relief is the Art. 5C regime of the Income Tax Code, and it has its own conditions. It exempts 50 percent of Greek source employment or business income from income tax for 7 tax years. It is open to people who move their tax residence to Greece from an EU or EEA state, or from a state with a tax cooperation agreement with Greece, and who were not Greek tax residents in 5 of the prior 6 years. The other 50 percent of qualifying income is taxed normally. Income that does not qualify gets no relief.

The regime is built around employment or business activity in Greece. Whether remote income from a US employer or US clients qualifies is not settled in the official texts we checked. Get a written answer from a Greek tax adviser or AADE before you count the exemption in your budget.

Longer term

The EU long term resident permit requires 5 years of lawful residence. Naturalization requires 7 years of legal residence. Both tracks and their absence rules are on the Greece country page.

Before you apply

Confirm the income figure, the family uplifts, the document list and the fees with the Greek consulate that covers your US residence. Check Joint Ministerial Decision 95391/2024 (FEK B 1807) and any amendments made since then. Ask specifically whether in country applications are still accepted after the 2026 changes. For Art. 5C, get AADE's current guide or written advice that addresses income from a foreign employer or foreign clients.

Country pages

Greece: every long stay route with the current math on the Greece country page.

Official sources

• Joint Ministerial Decision 95391/2024, FEK B 1807, 22 March 2024 (Government Gazette)
• AADE, Tax incentives to attract new tax residents (Articles 5A, 5B, 5C of the Income Tax Code)
• European Union, ETIAS official page

Facts in this guide last verified against the sources: 2026-10-16