What is Greece's Digital Nomad Visa?

Remote employees, freelancers and owners of non-Greek businesses who want to be based in Greece. You may not work for a Greek employer or serve Greek clients on it. It lasts 12-month visa first, which converts to a 2-year residence permit that is then renewable. Time counts toward long-term residence at 5 years. Citizenship requires 7 years of lawful residence plus a language and integration exam, so this is a slower route to a passport than Portugal or Spain.

What is Greece's Golden Visa (residence by investment)?

Investors buying Greek property, and their families. The most-used investment residence programme in the EU after Portugal narrowed its own. It lasts 5-year renewable residence permit, renewed as long as the investment is held. It grants residence, not a fast track to citizenship: naturalisation still needs 7 years of *actual* lawful residence, and the Golden Visa imposes no stay requirement — so holders who never live in Greece never start that clock.

What is Greece's Financially Independent Person (FIP) visa?

Retirees and people living on passive income who do not intend to work. It lasts 2 years initially, renewable in 3-year blocks. Counts toward long-term residence at 5 years, with the same 7-year citizenship clock.

What is Greece's Employment residence permit?

People with a Greek job offer — the least-used of Greece's routes among internationals, by some distance. It lasts typically issued for the contract term, renewable. Counts toward long-term residence at 5 years.

GlobeQuest

Moving from New Zealand to Greece

What your passport gets you at the border — and what it takes to actually stay.

New Zealand

GreeceShort stay

Visa-free · 90 days

New Zealand passport holders can enter Greece without a visa and stay up to 90 days.

This is short-stay visitor policy only. It does not let you work, study or settle in Greece — that needs a residence permit.

Passport Index · updated 17 February 2026Greece's official immigration service

Long stay

How you actually move to Greece

Digital nomadHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Digital Nomad Visa

Remote employees, freelancers and owners of non-Greek businesses who want to be based in Greece. You may not work for a Greek employer or serve Greek clients on it.

What you need

Monthly income of at least €3,500 after tax, rising 20% for a spouse or partner and 15% for each dependent child
Proof of remote work: an employment contract, client contracts, or company ownership outside Greece
Private health insurance
Clean criminal record certificate
Proof of accommodation in Greece
A declaration that you will not provide services to Greek employers or clients

How long it lasts: 12-month visa first, which converts to a 2-year residence permit that is then renewable.
Path to permanent residence: Time counts toward long-term residence at 5 years. Citizenship requires 7 years of lawful residence plus a language and integration exam, so this is a slower route to a passport than Portugal or Spain.
Cost: €1,000 application fee, plus €150 per accompanying family member.
Processing time: Consulates target around 10 working days for the visa; the residence-permit step in Greece takes considerably longer.

Worth knowing

The income figure is net, not gross — a distinction that catches out applicants comparing it against Portugal's or Spain's gross thresholds.
There is a 50% income-tax reduction available for the first seven years to new tax residents who relocate under qualifying conditions, but you must actually become Greek tax-resident to use it, which most nomads should model carefully.
Greek administrative timelines are slow and appointment-driven. Budget for months of overlap, not weeks.

Sources:Ministry of Migration and Asylum Greek MFA — Visas

InvestmentHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Golden Visa (residence by investment)

Investors buying Greek property, and their families. The most-used investment residence programme in the EU after Portugal narrowed its own.

What you need

Property investment of €800,000 in high-demand areas: the Attica region including Athens, the regional units of Thessaloniki, Mykonos and Santorini, and all islands with a population above 3,100
€400,000 in the rest of Greece
Alternative routes exist via shares, bonds and bank deposits at their own thresholds
Funds transferred from abroad through the Greek banking system

How long it lasts: 5-year renewable residence permit, renewed as long as the investment is held.
Path to permanent residence: It grants residence, not a fast track to citizenship: naturalisation still needs 7 years of *actual* lawful residence, and the Golden Visa imposes no stay requirement — so holders who never live in Greece never start that clock.
Cost: The investment itself, plus around €2,000 per main applicant in fees and the usual transaction taxes and legal costs.
Processing time: Several months; a blue receipt issued on filing lets you stay while it is processed.

Worth knowing

The two-tier geographic pricing is the whole story of the 2024–2025 reform. Confirm which tier a specific property falls into before committing — island population thresholds decide it.
There is no minimum stay, which makes it attractive as an EU access option but useless as a citizenship route unless you genuinely relocate.
Short-term rental of Golden Visa property has been restricted under the reformed rules; assumptions about Airbnb yield may no longer hold.

Sources:Ministry of Migration and Asylum

RetirementMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Financially Independent Person (FIP) visa

Retirees and people living on passive income who do not intend to work.

What you need

Stable annual passive income — commonly cited around €3,500 per month, with uplifts for dependants
Private health insurance
Proof of accommodation
A commitment not to work in Greece

How long it lasts: 2 years initially, renewable in 3-year blocks.
Path to permanent residence: Counts toward long-term residence at 5 years, with the same 7-year citizenship clock.
Cost: Around €1,000 in fees plus the residence-permit costs.
Processing time: Two to three months.

Worth knowing

The FIP and the Digital Nomad Visa are often confused. FIP forbids work entirely; the nomad visa permits foreign work. Applying for the wrong one is a common and consequential error.
Greece offers a flat 7% tax rate on foreign pension income for qualifying retirees who relocate — a genuine draw, but it requires becoming tax-resident.

Sources:Greek MFA — Visas Ministry of Migration and Asylum

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Employment residence permit

People with a Greek job offer — the least-used of Greece's routes among internationals, by some distance.

What you need

Job offer from a Greek employer
A position within the annual labour-needs quota set per region and occupation
Approval from the labour authorities before the visa is issued

How long it lasts: Typically issued for the contract term, renewable.
Path to permanent residence: Counts toward long-term residence at 5 years.
Cost: Permit fees plus employer-side costs.
Processing time: Slow — the quota and pre-approval steps commonly add months.

Worth knowing

The quota system means an offer alone is not enough; if the regional quota for your occupation is exhausted, the answer is no regardless of merit.
Greek salaries are low relative to Western Europe, so this route rarely competes with the nomad visa for remote workers.

Sources:Ministry of Migration and Asylum

On the ground