Greece
Digital Nomad Visa: health insurance requirements
Yes: health insurance is required
Yes, and it wants real health insurance. Greece's Digital Nomad Visa (Law 4825/2021) requires comprehensive health insurance valid in Greece for the full period, covering hospitalisation and repatriation, not a short-term travel policy. It is for non-EU nationals working for employers or clients outside Greece, on income of at least €3,500 a month, and runs 12 months before converting to a renewable two-year residence permit. There is no single published euro minimum for the visa itself.
The requirements at a glance
| Local-licensed insurer required | No: compliant international IPMI is accepted |
|---|---|
| Accepted proof | Comprehensive health insurance valid in Greece for the full stay, covering hospitalisation and repatriation. A short-term travel policy is not accepted; an international private health plan that covers Greece is. No single minimum coverage amount is published for the nomad visa (the €30,000 figure applies to Schengen short-stay visas, not this one). |
For non-EU nationals working remotely for employers or clients outside Greece (no Greek-source income). Income of at least €3,500/month net, with uplifts for a spouse and children. 12-month visa, convertible to a two-year residence permit, renewable. Apply at a Greek consulate. Separately, those who move their tax residence can claim a 50% income-tax exemption for up to seven years.
Who qualifies for the Greece nomad visa
The income bar is what decides most applications, and it is the number people look for first. Here is the current one, with the conditions that come attached to it.
- Income required
- €3,500/mo net (≈ $3,990)
- Length of permit
- 12 monthsrenewable
- Who can apply
- Employed remotely, Freelancer, Business owner
€3,500 is net (after tax). Add 20% for a spouse and 15% per child. Passive income is not accepted.
Tax
50% income-tax break for up to 7 years for qualifying new Greek tax residents.
That is a summary of the rule, not tax advice. Residence for immigration and residence for tax are decided separately, and the second one tends to arrive quietly, usually after you have been in the country long enough to stop thinking about it. Take proper advice before the year you need it.
What the income bar really means
Two things get people rejected on income even when they earn enough. The first is proving it: consulates want a documented, repeating history, usually bank statements and contracts covering several months, not a screenshot of a good quarter. Irregular freelance income clears the bar on average and fails on paper. The second is dependants, who almost always raise the threshold, and by a percentage of the base figure rather than a flat amount.
Treat the number above as the floor for the paperwork, not as a comfortable income for living there. It is set by the country’s own cost of living or minimum wage, which means it moves, and in several countries it is re-set every year.
Greece's Digital Nomad Visa requires comprehensive health insurance valid in Greece (covering hospitalisation and repatriation, not a short-term travel policy) and income of at least €3,500/month; it runs 12 months before converting to a renewable two-year residence permit.
Our take
The catch most people miss is 'not a travel policy'. Greece wants comprehensive health insurance valid in Greece with repatriation, so a cheap short-term plan that satisfies a Schengen tourist will not satisfy the nomad visa.
Buy a proper plan that names Greece and the full period, and do not anchor on €30,000, which is the Schengen short-stay number, not this visa's.
What happens if you get it wrong
Submitting a short-term travel policy, or one without repatriation, gets the application rejected.
Assuming the €30,000 Schengen-visa figure is the nomad-visa minimum: it is not, the nomad visa simply requires comprehensive cover valid in Greece.
Interactive
Verified pricesWhat would it cost in Greece without insurance?
A fever you assume is flu until the platelet count comes back. Common across the places nomads spend winters.
| The first doctor visit, before anyone worries | $45–$115 |
| Back again, this time to emergency | $175–$900 |
| Four nights on fluids and monitoring | $2,200 |
| You pay, out of pocket | $2,420–$3,215 |
Priced as one lump instead of itemised, a serious admission in Greece runs $1,700 to $6,000.
That is the bill you carry alone. Insurance exists for exactly this.
See what cover costsTypical private-care estimates for illustration, not a quote. Actual bills vary by hospital, city and severity.
FAQ
Comprehensive health insurance valid in Greece for the full period, covering hospitalisation and repatriation. A short-term travel policy is not accepted.
No. That is the Schengen short-stay visa rule. The digital nomad visa requires comprehensive cover valid in Greece, with no single published amount.
At least €3,500 a month net, with more required for a spouse or children.
A 12-month visa, convertible to a two-year residence permit, renewable.
Separately from the visa, people who move their tax residence to Greece can claim a 50% income-tax exemption for up to seven years.
How to apply
- Processing time
- About 10 days for the consular visa decision on a complete application.
- Government fee
- EUR 75 visa fee plus about EUR 150 administrative fee at the consulate. If you then convert to the two-year residence permit inside Greece, that permit costs EUR 1,000 (plus EUR 150 per family member) and a card fee.
- Where to apply
- A Greek consulate or embassy in your country of residence. As of 2026 you must apply from abroad, since in-country digital nomad visa applications are no longer accepted. After arrival, the 12-month visa can be converted into a two-year residence permit within Greece.
- 1
Book an appointment at your Greek consulate and prepare proof of at least EUR 3,500 a month net income, remote-work evidence tied to employers or clients outside Greece, health insurance, and a clean criminal-record certificate.
- 2
Submit the application in person and pay the EUR 75 visa fee plus the roughly EUR 150 administrative fee.
- 3
Collect the digital nomad visa (a national type D visa, valid 12 months) after the roughly 10-day decision, and travel to Greece.
- 4
If you want to stay beyond the visa, apply inside Greece for the two-year digital nomad residence permit before the visa expires; this is where the large EUR 1,000 permit fee (plus EUR 150 per family member) is charged.
- 5
Give biometrics for the residence permit and collect the permit card once issued.
Fees and processing times move, sometimes without announcement, and a consulate can add a document the published checklist does not mention. Treat the above as the shape of the process rather than a guarantee, and check the current requirement with the mission handling your application before you book anything.
What policy actually satisfies this visa
Greece does not publish a minimum figure, which sounds permissive and is not. It means you are judged against somebody's unwritten idea of adequate, and the safe reading of adequate is enough to cover a serious hospital admission in Greece, not the cheapest policy that technically exists.
A compliant international policy is accepted, so you are not forced into a local insurer. That matters more than it sounds: it means one policy can follow you when you leave, instead of expiring at the border.
Repatriation is not named as a condition, though it is the benefit you would most want to have if the worst happened, and it costs very little to add.
And the dates. The policy has to run for the whole permit, which a standard travel policy cannot do because it stops at around 90 days. An officer comparing your policy period with your permit period does not have to look hard to see it expire in the middle.
Ask your insurer for a certificate of cover that states your full name as it appears on your passport, the exact policy period, the territory covered, and the benefit amounts. That is a normal request and any decent insurer issues it without fuss. The insurance being real and the paperwork still failing is a more common way to lose an application than being uninsured.
The visa tells you the minimum. It does not tell you what to actually carry. Those are different questions, and the paperwork minimum is nearly always the smaller of the two answers.
Get a policy that satisfies this visa
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