Greece Digital Nomad Visa: Requirements and Steps to Apply

Summary: This post includes everything you’ll need to know about the Digital Nomad Visa in Greece, including requirements to apply, documents needed, the step-by-step process to apply, and first-hand experience getting the Greek Digital Nomad Visa.

Disclaimer: This is not intended to be legal advice. It’s simply meant to point you in the right direction because there aren’t many helpful sites that do this!

If you are a digital nomad or remote worker, I’m sure you’ve had this thought at one point or another: “why am I not working remotely in Greece right now?!” I know that crosses my mind nearly daily because you can!

Like many countries now, Greece has their own version of a Digital Nomad Visa that allows location-independent workers to pack up their laptops and work in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

My biggest frustration with Digital Nomad Visas is the lack of information you can find online. The official consulate websites are always incredible hard to follow, and most websites that have easy-to-understand information don’t link you back to the official websites to verify their information. Hopefully this post will help fill that gap! Keep reading for everything you’ll need to know about the Greece Digital Nomad Visa.

Greece Digital Nomad Visa: National Visa vs. Residence Permit

The first thing to understand is that there are a few different types of visas in Greece. If you’re coming from the US, I’m sure you’re aware that you can spend up to 90 days in Greece without actually applying for a visa. This is often referred to as the “Schengen Visa” or “travel visa.”

Next, we have Greece’s National Visa. This is a visa that you’d apply for at your local Greek Consulate Office in the US. It’s typically valid for up to one year and cannot be renewed.

Once you’ve been approved for the National Visa and are living in Greece, you can apply for the Resident Permit. These permits are valid for two years and can be renewed to extend your time in Greece. You’ll need to apply for this permit if you plan on living in Greece for over one year.

Technically, you can apply for the Resident Permit while you have the National Visa or the Schengen Visa. This means you can skip the National Visa step and skip right to the resident permit, but the caveat is that you’ll need to physically be in Greece to do this (i.e., have a valid travel visa). I’ll talk more about this option further down in the first-hand experience section.

When people say “Digital Nomad Visa” in reference to Greece, I find that they are usually referring to the Resident Permit. They’ll talk about the National Visa as a stepping stone to the “Digital Nomad Visa.”

Requirements to Apply for the Greece Digital Nomad Visa

I’ll dive deeper into the exact documents needed to apply below, but here are the base-level requirements that you’ll have to meet to get the Greece National Visa and/or Residence Permit:

• Hold a valid passport recognized by Greek authorities (a US passport is accepted).
• Have travel/health insurance that will cover you in Greece.
• Proof of work for a company located outside of Greece (freelancing is also an option).
• An income of at least 3,500 Euros monthly. If you plan on bringing a spouse with you, you’ll need to make at least 4,200 Euros monthly, and you’ll need to make an extra 525 Euros per child that will be coming.
• A lease agreement for the duration of your stay.

Step-by-Step Process to Apply

Step 1: Gather all the required documents

The Greek Consulate website lists all of the required documents you’ll need for your visa appointment. Use this list below as a reference, but always double check with the official information by using the links I provide below, or calling your local consulate directly. These links will also provide more information for each of the documents.

Documents required for the Greek National Visa:

• Official National Visa application (here is a link to it) with passport-sized photos.
• Valid US Passport (or a passport from another country recognized by Greek authorities)
• A certificate of a clean criminal record. This can be done through the FBI, but I’d call the consulate office or work with a lawyer to determine if this route is sufficient.
• A medical certificate stating that you don’t have any illnesses or diseases that can negatively impact the environment you’re moving to.
• Proof of travel health insurance that will cover your costs in Greece, and even cover repatriation, if necessary, due to illness.
• Proof of residence in that consulate office’s district (usually a driver’s license or state ID).
• Your local consulate office has the right to request more documents if needed.

In addition to these documents, you’ll also need to pay a fee of 75 Euros to apply for the National Visa.

Step 2: Schedule an appointment with your local Greek Consulate

The National Visa portion of the Greece Digital Nomad Visa process requires you to have an in-person interview with your local Greek Consulate office. This is where you’ll present all of the documents listed above.

It looks like some of the Greek Consulate offices in the US have online booking portals, but they aren’t very easy to use. I’d be safe and either call your consulate office, or send them an email to book your appointment. Here is the information for each office:

Step 3: Wait to be approved for the National Visa

Your next step is simply to wait to be approved for your National Visa. I’ve seen a few sources online say that you’ll hear whether or not it was approved within 10 days.

Step 4: Move to Greece and Apply for the Resident Permit

Once you’re in Greece, you’ll want to immediately start the process of applying for the Resident Permit. Like I mentioned above, you can apply for the Resident Permit if you have your National Visa or a general Schengen travel visa.

Luckily, you can apply for the Resident Permit online here!

This application process will cost 1000 Euros. Here are the documents you’ll need:

• Valid passport recognized by the Greek authorities
• Current National Visa or Schengen Visa
• Travel health insurance that will cover you in Greece
• Proof of remote employment outside of Greece
• Proof of income of at least 3,500 Euros monthly. If you plan on bringing a spouse with you, you’ll need to make at least 4,200 Euros monthly, and you’ll need to make an extra 525 Euros per child that will be coming.
• Residence details for where you’ll be staying
• A Greek Tax number
• In order to submit the application online, you’ll also need to provide a Greek phone number.

This Resident Permit will be valid for two years after you apply, after which you may choose to renew it using the same online portal that I linked to above. Keep reading in the next section for details on how long this process took and a major caveat that comes with waiting for your permit to be accepted.

First Hand Experience Applying for the Greek Digital Nomad Visa

I haven’t personally applied for the Greece Digital Nomad Visa, but I was able to find a few accounts online from people who have first hand experience.

The first one comes from Kathleen, the writer behind My Lonesome Roads. She applied for the Greek Resident Permit with the help of a lawyer while she was in Greece on the Schengen Visa. She said the lawyer was helpful in finding a translator for all of her documents (which is required), making sure she had the right documents, and making the appointment for the in-person interview.

Once her interview was done, Kathleen was given a “blue certificate,” which is now a digital document which allowed her to stay in Greece past the usual limit of 90 days on the Schengen Visa while her Resident Permit application was processing. It was a good thing she got this because her application took seven months to get approved!

It’s important to note that during that time it takes to officially be approved, you can travel between Greece and your home country (using the Blue Certificate to get back into Greece), but you can’t travel to any other countries. This can be difficult as she stated she’s heard of it taking even longer to be approved now as they are quite backed up.

I also came across a Reddit user who had applied for the National Visa, moved to Greece, and then applied for the Resident Permit. Everything worked out fine and he also used lawyers for the process. He stated that the lawyer fee was about 3,000 Euros that he paid after he got the Resident Permit. This was in addition to the 1,000 Euro fee for applying for the Resident Permit.

Even with the steep fees, he suggests using a lawyer because you will need to speak some Greek to converse with officials, the documents need official translating, and they can help you determine where to get insurance from, register for you Greek tax ID, etc. In theory, this can be done on your own, but it might be worth the money to hire help.

Read More About Working Remotely

If you’re considering different destinations in Europe, here are a few more articles you might find helpful:

• Digital Nomad Visa in Spain
• Everything to Know About Working Remotely Abroad
• Working Remotely in Spain as an American