Moving to Greece
Visas and residency, citizenship, tax, company and banking, cost of living and the places to live in Greece, in one place.
Southern EuropeThinking about moving to Greece?
Here's how long you can stay, the ways to live there for good, what you'd pay in tax and what everyday life costs, each figure from an official source.
In this guide, I'll show you:
- How long you can stay, by passport
- The visas and residency routes that let you live there
- How long citizenship takes
- How tax works, with the rates
- What it costs, and the internet and safety
- The best places to live
- The basics: capital, currency and languages
Pick your passport at the top of the page, and the stay rule shows for you.
TL;DRKey takeaways
Greece at a glance
How long can you stay in Greece?
It depends on the passport you hold.
Here's the rule for the most common ones:
US passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
UK passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
EU passport (German)- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- –
Canadian passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
Australian passport- Rule
- Visa-free
- Stay
- 90 days
Indian passport- Rule
- Visa needed
- Stay
- –
For any other passport, pick yours at the top, or see every country on the visa-free countries map.
Greece is in the Schengen area.
Days here count toward your 90 in any 180 across all of Schengen; count them with the Schengen calculator.
Visas and residency in Greece
Greece has a visa for people who work remotely:
- Digital nomad national visa – an income of €3,500 a month, for 12 months
Compare them with every other country in the digital nomad visa finder.
These routes don't need a local job either:
- Golden Visa (residence permit for investors) (golden visa (residency by investment)) – Real estate: €800,000 in the most sought-after areas, €400,000 elsewhere, €250,000 for conversions to housing and listed buildings
- Residence permit for financially independent persons (FIP) (passive income visa) – Stable income from abroad, like a pension, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% for each child. The Attica office's page (updated November 2023) says €2,000 a month; €
See the investor routes side by side in the golden visa finder, and the ones for retirees in the retirement visa finder.
Citizenship in Greece
Naturalization takes about 7 years of residence.
Dual citizenship is allowed, so you can keep your passport.
Work out your own timeline with the second passport calculator.
Tax in Greece
Greece taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
See where it sits among every country on the territorial tax map.
The main rates:
- Lowest income tax band – 9%
- Top income tax rate – 44%
- Corporate tax – 22%
- VAT or sales tax – 24%
- Capital gains tax – 15%
New residents can use Half-tax on pay for people who move to Greece to work.
See how it works in tax breaks for new residents.
Where you're a tax resident usually comes down to days.
Count yours with the 183-day rule calculator.
Company and banking
Compare the banks and cards that work for people abroad in the bank account finder.
Move money for less with the money transfer comparison.
Many people who live abroad run a US LLC instead; check yours with the US LLC for non-residents checker.
Cost of living in Greece
Everyday prices in Greece are about 60% of US prices.
That's the World Bank's price level for 2025: its purchasing power conversion factor divided by the exchange rate.
It's cheaper than the US, though rent in the big cities can close the gap.
A night's stay in a whole place, by Inside Airbnb's median:
- Athens – $117
- Thessaloniki – $84
Convert what things cost with the currency converter.
Is Greece safe?
The US State Department rates Greece Level 1 ("Exercise normal precautions", updated 2025-10-23), the same level it gives Austria, Portugal, Japan and Australia. Level 1 is normal travel. Some advisories are stricter for parts of a country, so read the full advisory before you go.
For a second view, the UK has no warning against travel.
See every country's level on the travel advisory map.
Internet in Greece
In M-Lab's open speed tests across Greece over the last 12 months, half came in above 41 Mbps download.
The fastest quarter of lines came in above 96 Mbps, closer to a good fiber connection (1,812,840 tests).
By place:
- Athens – 47 Mbps typical
- Thessaloniki – 40 Mbps typical
- Chania – 23 Mbps typical
Test your own line when you arrive with my internet speed test.
The best places to live in Greece
Compare them with places everywhere in digital nomad locations.
Greece: the basics
| What | Greece |
|---|---|
| Capital | Athens |
| Currency | euro (EUR) |
| Languages | Greek, English, French |
| Population | about 10.7 million |
From GeoNames' country data (CC BY 4.0).
More tools for Greece
- Passport index and compare passports
- Time zone overlap calculator for calls with home
- eSIM finder for data when you land
- Card fees abroad calculator before you spend
Greece FAQs
Visa-free, for 90 days.
Pick another passport at the top of the page to see its rule.
It depends on your passport.
Pick yours at the top of the page to see the days, and whether you need a visa first.
Yes: Digital nomad national visa.
It asks for an income of €3,500 a month.
Yes: Golden Visa (residence permit for investors).
Real estate: €800,000 in the most sought-after areas, €400,000 elsewhere, €250,000 for conversions to housing and listed buildings
Yes, with Residence permit for financially independent persons (FIP).
Each asks for a steady income; the section above lists the amounts.
About 7 years of residence.
Yes.
Check that your own country allows it too.
Greece taxes its tax residents on their income from anywhere.
Check the details with a tax adviser before you move.
Everyday prices are about 60% of US prices, by the World Bank's price level for 2025.
Rent in the biggest cities can be higher than that suggests.
The US State Department rates it Level 1.
Levels 1 and 2 are everyday travel; read the full advisory for any regions it warns about.
Half of M-Lab's tests there came in above 41 Mbps download over the last 12 months.
The fastest quarter of lines passed 96 Mbps.
The places I cover there are Athens, Thessaloniki and Chania.
Each has its own guide with the weather by month, internet and costs.
The euro (EUR).
The main languages are Greek, English and French.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
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