Country guide
Moving to Greece in 2026: the numbers, the permits, the catch
A couple lives comfortably here on about $2,600 a month, and Greece taxes a qualifying foreign pension at a flat 7 percent. The hard part is the paperwork, and it changed this year.
Plenty of Greece guides are selling you a view. This one starts with what a month costs, which permit fits your situation, and what the rules rewritten in 2026 ask of you before you book a flight.
Reviewed and updated September 17, 2026 · 14 min read
01 · The case for Greece
Cheap enough to be interesting, EU enough to be serious
Greece turns up on two lists that rarely overlap: the affordable-retirement list and the serious-EU-country list. You get EU healthcare, EU consumer law, a Schengen passport at the end of a long road, and about 250 sunny days a year, at a price the next chapter lays out in full.
The tax code does some of the selling. A qualifying foreign pension is taxed at a flat 7 percent for 15 years; in January 2026, the ordinary scale got cheaper in every middle band. Greece is openly shopping for people whose money arrives from somewhere else.
The people Greece suits
Anyone whose income is already settled: a pension, a portfolio, rent from somewhere else. Remote workers who can document about $4,100 a month and would rather have Athens than Lisbon. Buyers with real capital who want an EU residence card with no residency requirement attached. And anyone who wants a slow, social, outdoor life more than career momentum, because Greece is much better at the first one.
Here's the catch
Greek wages are low. The minimum wage sits around 830 to 968 euros a month and average take-home pay is near 1,100 euros, which cuts both ways: your dollars stretch, but a local job will not pay like home. The paperwork is slow and relentlessly physical, in Greek, with apostilles. Athens rents climbed roughly 8 percent in a year. The summers have also turned hard, with a wildfire season the State Department dates from April to October and heat that closes the Acropolis at midday.
- Safety index
- 60/100
- Internet speed
- 55 Mbps
- English proficiency
- 65/100
- Capital
- Athens
- Population
- 10.3M
What a month costs
$2,600
Monthly budget for a couple
Comfortable, not lavish
$1,500
Monthly budget for one person
Athens pushes this up
$550
One-bedroom rent in the center
A national average, and the capital is roughly double
$34
Home internet, per month
Fiber is normal in the cities and patchy on small islands
02 · The money
Where those averages break down
Those four figures are national, and Greece isn't. Independent 2026 reporting from Greek Reporter puts a comfortable single person in Athens at 1,500 to 2,300 euros a month, roughly $1,750 to $2,700, and the same life in Crete or the Peloponnese at 1,200 to 1,800 euros. Rent moves the number.
Housing is the part that has changed fastest. A one-bedroom in Athens now averages around 690 euros a month, about $810, with a realistic range of 560 to 850 euros. Ask for a renovated place in Koukaki, Pangrati, Kolonaki or out on the coast at Glyfada and you're looking at 800 to 1,400 euros. Athens rents rose about 8 percent year on year going into 2026 and vacancy in the priciest neighborhoods runs at two or three percent, so good apartments go in weeks. Kypseli, Kato Patissia and parts of Neos Kosmos are where the value still is.
Everything else behaves the way the brochures say. Utilities land between 120 and 200 euros a month, with summer air conditioning and winter heating doing the damage in badly insulated buildings. Groceries run 250 to 400 euros for one person, and the neighborhood street market beats the supermarket on both price and quality. The expensive surprise for families is school: international schools charge 8,000 to 14,000 euros a year per child. Since you'll be turning dollars into euros every month, a specialist like Moneycorp will usually beat a retail bank on the spread.
Why the income test looks so high
Greece asks a retiree or a remote worker to show 3,500 euros a month, about $4,100. The cost cards above put a comfortable couple well under that. The gap is not a mistake. That floor is a filter, not a budget: the ministry is screening for people who'll never need Greek public money, not costing out your groceries. Plan your life on the budget and your application on the floor.
03 · Everyday life
Sun, paperwork, and lunch at three in the afternoon
Greek days run late. Shops shut in the afternoon and reopen in the evening; dinner starts when Americans are thinking about bed, and nobody here treats that as a problem to solve. It takes about a month to stop fighting it.
Greek, and how far English gets you
Greek is the only official language, whatever some country profiles claim. In Athens, Thessaloniki, on the tourist islands and inside any professional office, English will carry you. It stops being true at the tax office, the immigration desk, the plumber and the village. You'll also be learning a new alphabet before you learn a new language, which slows the first few months more than people expect.
The summer problem
This is the environmental catch and it's getting bigger. Wildfire season runs April to October; starting one even by accident is a crime, and 112 pushes location-based evacuation alerts to your phone. Heatwaves clear 100F often enough that authorities close archaeological sites in the afternoon, telling everyone to stay indoors between 11 and 5. Greece also sits on live seismic zones. Heavy rain floods streets between October and February.
Getting around
Athens has a clean, cheap metro and Thessaloniki opened one. Between cities there's buses, a thin rail network and very good ferry system that thins right out in winter. The real warning belongs to the road: Greece has one of the highest traffic fatality rates in the European Union. The State Department is blunt about fast, chaotic driving and motorbikes appearing between lanes. After 185 days of residence, you need a Greek license, so start that conversion early.
Who struggles here
People who need a career, people who need things to happen on schedule, and people who use a wheelchair. Greek law requires accessible buildings and doesn't consistently get them, sidewalks are narrow and broken, and only a small share of public buildings in Athens are fully accessible. The two metro systems and Athens airport are the bright spots.
Six things to know before you plan a trip
Seven hours ahead
Athens sits seven hours ahead of Washington, and the flight there almost always involves one European connection.
Level 1 advisory
The State Department's lowest of four tiers, reissued October 2025. France, Spain and Italy all sit a tier higher.
About 6.3 doctors per 1,000
The highest ratio in the OECD, which is not the same as a well-funded hospital system.
In Schengen, fully
Your 90 days in any 180 start ticking the moment you land, so a tourist stamp is not a soft landing.
Thousands of islands
Only a couple of hundred are inhabited, and winter ferry schedules to the small ones get very thin.
Marriage equality since 2024
Greece was the first Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex marriage. Rural attitudes still lag the statute.
04 · The ways in
Four routes, and what each one asks of you
Every route below starts the same way: a national type D visa from a Greek consulate in the United States, then a residence permit application after you land. Law 5275/2026 closed the old side door, so flying in and filing from Athens is no longer an option for any of them.
Living on passive income, the FIP permit
Officially the permit for people with sufficient financial means, and what the table below calls the retirement visa. You show about $4,100 a month (3,500 euros) in passive income, plus 20 percent for a spouse and 15 percent for each child, so a couple with one child is tested at about 4,830 euros. Pensions, dividends, rent and interest count. A salary doesn't, and that trips people up. The permit runs three years and renews in three-year blocks. You can't work in Greece on it and have to be in the country at least 183 days a year, making you a Greek tax resident by default.
Working remotely, the digital nomad permit
Same income test, 3,500 euros net a month, but for work you do for employers or clients outside Greece. No Greek employer, no Greek clients. The visa runs 12 months and converts to a two-year renewable permit. This is the route hit hardest by the 2026 law: the in-country application is gone, leaving the consulate as the only door.
Buying in, the Golden Visa
Greece is the last big EU program that still takes direct residential real estate, and the price of admission moved a long way in 2024. A standard apartment costs 800,000 euros in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Santorini and every island over 3,100 residents, and 400,000 euros in the rest of the country, in one property with at least 120 square meters of main space. The famous 250,000 euro entry survives only for a commercial building you convert to housing or a listed building you restore; the work must be finished before you file. Paper routes exist too, from 350,000 euros into a Greek-focused fund up to 800,000 in listed securities. The permit runs five years, renews while you hold the investment, and asks for no minimum stay. That last part is the trap: no stay requirement also means no clock running toward citizenship.
Work, study and family
A job offer still works, and the 2026 law made it simpler: one combined residence and work permit, issued for three years and renewed in five-year blocks. Students now get a permit for the length of their program, 20 hours a week of legal work, and a year afterwards to job-hunt. There is a new twelve-month talent visa for people with a master's or a doctorate from a highly ranked university, and family reunification and the EU Blue Card both exist even though neither has a row in the table below.
Greece's residence routes, side by side
| Visa | Category | Application cost | Processing | Difficulty | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece Digital Nomad Visa | digital nomad | — | ~30 days | 2/10 | |
| Greece Employment Visa | skilled work | — | ~60 days | 4/10 | |
| Greece Golden Visa | investment | $250,000 | ~60 days | 3/10 | |
| Greece Retirement Visa | retirement | — | ~30 days | 2/10 | |
| Greece Student Visa | student | — | ~30 days | 2/10 |
About that data card
Some of the table above needs a footnote, starting with the lines people plan around. The Golden Visa row still shows a minimum property investment of 250,000 euros. Under Law 5100/2024 that price now buys you in only on a conversion or a listed-building restoration; an ordinary apartment is 400,000 or 800,000 euros depending on where it sits. The digital nomad row says the monthly income requirement varies. It does not vary: it is 3,500 euros net, about $4,100, with the same family uplifts as the passive-income permit. The retirement row shows a one-year term, which Law 5038/2023 extended to three years, renewable in three-year blocks. All three are flagged for our data team.
05 · The practical chapter
Doctors, tax, deeds and the long road to a passport
Healthcare
Greece runs a national health system, ESY, with benefits administered through EOPYY. The key that opens it is an AMKA, the social security number, and access follows contributions rather than your permit. Work or run a business here and you pay into EFKA and you are in. Arrive on a Golden Visa or passive-income permit, contribute nothing, and you're generally on private insurance, which those permits require anyway. Every long-stay application wants a policy showing at least 30,000 euros of medical coverage plus repatriation. Inside the public system you pay small copays, roughly 5 to 15 euros to see a contracted doctor and 10 to 25 percent of a prescription, and emergency care is free to everyone regardless of status. Private specialist visits run about 50 to 120 euros. The quality problem is not the doctors, it is the funding: expect waits, expect to be asked for payment up front at private hospitals, and expect thin provision on small islands. ExpatInsure is one place to price a policy that satisfies the consulate and works on the ground.
The tax picture
Cross 183 days and Greece taxes your worldwide income. The 2026 scale, cut under Law 5246/2025, runs 9 percent on the first 10,000 euros, 20 up to 20,000, 26 up to 30,000, 34 up to 40,000, 39 up to 60,000 and 44 above that. Three special regimes sit alongside it, and all three are elections you apply for, not defaults. Article 5B taxes all foreign-source income of a qualifying retiree at a flat 7 percent for fifteen years, if you have not been a Greek tax resident for five of the past six and you file by 31 March. Article 5A is a 100,000 euro annual lump sum for investors who put 500,000 euros into Greece. Article 5C halves income tax for seven years for people filling a new job here. Americans keep filing a 1040, FBAR and FATCA no matter which one applies, and the US-Greece treaty dates to 1950 with a savings clause and no modern carve-outs, so the foreign tax credit does most of the work. This is a conversation for a cross-border accountant like MyExpatTaxes before you move, not after.
Buying, and the rule that catches investors
Foreigners can buy freely in most of the country. What has changed is what you may do with the property afterwards. Every short-term rental needs an AMA registration number displayed on every listing, and new registrations are frozen in the first three municipal districts of central Athens through December 2026, with Thessaloniki's historic core joining in March 2026. Renting out a Golden Visa property on a short-term basis is prohibited outright, at a 50,000 euro fine plus loss of the permit. Long-term letting is fine. From January 2026, the ENFIA property tax was cut in half on primary homes in settlements under 1,500 residents, which does not include Attica or the tourist islands.
Citizenship is a long road
Seven years of legal residence, at least 183 days inside the country in each of them, then the PEGP exam: B1 Greek plus Greek history, geography and institutions, scored around 70 percent to pass, held roughly twice a year. Then an interview, then a wait that practitioners put at two to four years after filing. Greece allows dual citizenship. One warning worth reading twice if you are of Greek descent: Greek men aged 19 to 45 owe military service. If Greece considers you a citizen, the obligation applies whether or not you carry a U.S. passport. This obligation can stop you leaving the country until it is settled.
This guide is dated on purpose
Written in September 2026, converting at about $1.17 to the euro. Three things here are actively moving: Law 5275/2026 only took effect on 6 February and its implementing circulars are still landing, the central Athens short-term rental freeze is written to expire on 31 December 2026, and the Golden Visa thresholds have already been rewritten once. Statutory figures are set in euros, so treat the dollar amounts here as a dated reference and run the rate again on the day you file.
Where Americans actually land
Athens
The capital carries the hospitals, the consulates, the international schools, the flight connections and the bulk of the work that pays in euros. Rents run about $700 to $1,400 a month (600 to 1,200 euros) and the city is a collection of villages rather than one place: Koukaki and Pangrati for walkable and central, Kifisia for leafy and expensive, Glyfada and the coast for people who want the sea on a tram line.
Thessaloniki
The second city, younger, cheaper and more Balkan, with a huge student population and a waterfront people use year-round. Roughly $580 to $1,170 a month (500 to 1,000 euros) for a rental. Winters are properly cold by Greek standards, which some Americans treat as a feature.
Crete
Big enough to have a real year-round economy, an airport with European connections and hospitals that do not close in October. Heraklion runs about $525 to $1,050 (450 to 900 euros) and Chania, the prettier Venetian option, about $580 to $1,170. Crete is the usual compromise between island life and island isolation.
Patras
A working port on the western Peloponnese, a university town, and the cheapest city on this list at around $465 to $930 (400 to 800 euros). Ferries to Italy leave from here, and Athens is a bit under three hours away by road.
The small islands, in winter
A Cycladic village in June is the reason people come. The same village in January has one doctor, a reduced ferry timetable and half the restaurants shut. Rent one for a winter before you buy one.
07 · Help
Who to call before you file
Greece is a country where the right local contact saves months because the friction here is administrative more than it is legal. These are partners we work with, sorted by the problem they solve. Start with whoever owns your biggest unknown, not with whoever quotes cheapest.
Go deeper
Three things from our library that map onto the decisions on this page.
Greece Healthcare Report
Healthcare guide for Greece
Our country report on how Greek healthcare works in practice, and what it costs when you are outside the public system.
Greece Golden Visa & Real Estate Investment
Thinking about Greece as a path to Europe through real estate? In this webinar, we’ll cover how Greece’s Golden Visa works, current investment thresholds, and what to know about buying property as a foreigner. You’ll learn how real estate fits into a residency strategy, potential returns, risks, and what to expect from the purchase process so you can decide if Greece is the right move for your lifestyle and investment goals.
A webinar on the Golden Visa and buying property as a foreigner, including how the investment thresholds interact with a residency plan.
Do I have enough money?
Our partners at Beacon Financial outline how much money a move abroad could cost you as well as how much you may need to retire.
The money session, for working out whether your income clears the bar before you fall in love with a village.
Compare notes with people already there
Greece
Expatsi Community
Our Greece group is where members swap consulate experiences, landlord horror stories and the name of the one accountant in their town who answers email.
Join the communityQuestions Americans ask about Greece
What is the 7 percent tax for retirees in Greece?
Article 5B of the Greek income tax code lets a qualifying foreign pensioner elect a flat 7 percent on all foreign-source income, including pensions, dividends and interest, for fifteen years. You must not have been a Greek tax resident for five of the previous six years, you must move from a country with a tax information exchange agreement, and the application is due by 31 March. It is an election, not an automatic benefit, and the US still taxes its citizens.
Is Greece safe for Americans?
The State Department rates Greece Level 1, exercise normal precautions, which is its lowest tier and a tier below France, Spain and Italy. The realistic risks are pickpocketing on the Athens metro and at tourist sites, demonstrations in central Athens, transport strikes called at short notice, and summer wildfires between April and October. Greece also has one of the highest road fatality rates in the EU, which is the statistic worth taking seriously. Our own country data scores Greece 60 out of 100 for safety, a more cautious read than the advisory, and the gap is mostly petty theft.
How much money do you need to move to Greece?
Two different numbers. For living costs, our estimates start near $1,500 a month solo and $2,600 for a couple, while independent 2026 reporting puts a comfortable single person in Athens closer to 1,500 to 2,300 euros, or $1,750 to $2,700. To qualify for a residence permit on passive income or remote work, Greece tests you at 3,500 euros a month, about $4,100, plus 20 percent for a spouse and 15 percent per child.
How long does it take to get Greek citizenship?
Seven years of legal residence for most applicants, with at least 183 days a year physically in Greece, then the PEGP examination covering B1 Greek plus Greek history, geography and institutions, then an interview. Practitioners report another two to four years of processing after filing. Three years is possible for EU nationals and for spouses of Greek citizens who have a child together. Greece allows dual citizenship.
How much does the Greece Golden Visa cost in 2026?
It depends on where you buy. Since Law 5100/2024 the property threshold is 800,000 euros in Attica, the Thessaloniki regional unit, Mykonos, Santorini and islands with more than 3,100 residents, and 400,000 euros elsewhere, in a single property of at least 120 square meters. The old 250,000 euro figure now applies only to commercial conversions and listed-building restorations. Government fees run 2,000 euros for the main applicant plus 150 per family member.
Can I work remotely from Greece on a tourist stamp?
Not for long. Greece is in Schengen, so an American gets 90 days in any 180 and the clock starts on arrival. For anything longer you need the digital nomad permit, which asks for 3,500 euros a month net from employers or clients outside Greece. Since Law 5275/2026 took effect in February you must get the type D visa from a Greek consulate before you travel. Applying from inside Greece is no longer possible.
Can Americans get healthcare in Greece?
Yes, but access follows contributions rather than your permit. If you work or run a business in Greece you pay into EFKA, get an AMKA number and use the public system like anyone else, with copays of roughly 5 to 15 euros per visit. If you arrive on a Golden Visa or a passive-income permit and pay nothing in, you are on private insurance, which those permits require anyway. Emergency care is free to everyone.
Does Greece have a retirement visa?
Not under that name. Retirees use the residence permit for financially independent persons, usually called the FIP permit. You show about $4,100 a month (3,500 euros) in passive income such as a pension, dividends or rent, plus private health insurance and a Greek address. It runs three years and renews. You cannot work in Greece on it, and it owes you nothing unless you are in the country 183 days out of every year.
Sources
- Greece Travel Advisory, Level 1 · U.S. Department of State (checked 2026-09-16)
- Income Taxation, tax year 2026 scale · Hellenic Ministry of Economy and Finance (checked 2026-09-16)
- Greece: Other tax credits and incentives, articles 5A, 5B and 5C · PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (checked 2026-09-16)
- Law 5275/2026: legal migration policies and Directive (EU) 2024/1233 · EY Greece (checked 2026-09-16)
- New Immigration Law 5275/2026: key provisions and practical implications · Zepos & Yannopoulos (checked 2026-09-16)
- Residence permit for digital nomads: what changes under Law 5275/2026 · Dafni I. Siopi Law Office (checked 2026-09-16)
- Greece Golden Visa: 2026 thresholds and Circular No. 1/2026 · Golden Harbors (checked 2026-09-16)
- Financially Independent Person visa: 3,500 euros a month · Lincoln Global Partners (checked 2026-09-16)
- Greece's cost of living: how much you need to earn in 2026 · Greek Reporter (checked 2026-09-16)
- Updated rents in Athens, 2026 · Investropa (checked 2026-09-16)
- Athens extends ban on new short-term rentals through 2026 · Greek City Times (checked 2026-09-16)
- Healthcare in Greece: public system, private costs and expat insurance · Movingto (checked 2026-09-16)
- Greek citizenship by naturalization and the PEGP exam · Bridges Global (checked 2026-09-16)
Is Greece the one, or does it just photograph well?
Talk to an Expatsi advisor about your goals. We'll inform you about your options and how we can help.
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