Athens
EUR
Greek
UTC+2
Daily life
- Climate: Mediterranean: hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters, colder in the north and the mountains. Wildfire risk from April to October and heatwaves in summer.
- Safety: Low violent crime. Theft on the metro and in crowded parts of central Athens is the main risk; wildfires, heat and earthquakes are the natural hazards.
- English: widely spoken
- Expat community: medium
Sources: UK travel advice: Greece, safety and security (checked 2026-10-22) · EF EPI 2025: Greece (20th, high) (checked 2026-10-22) · Hellenic National Meteorological Service (checked 2026-10-22)
Cost of living
| Monthly, EUR | Athens | Thessaloniki | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | Couple | Single | Couple | |
| Rent | 580 | 800 | 440 | 595 |
| Food | 470 | 840 | 470 | 840 |
| Utilities | 210 | 225 | 220 | 235 |
| Transport | 27 | 54 | 16 | 32 |
| Health cover | 140 | 280 | 140 | 280 |
| Leisure | 220 | 380 | 210 | 360 |
| Total | 1,647 | 2,579 | 1,496 | 2,342 |
Rent: a one-bedroom flat outside the centre for one person, between one and three bedrooms for a couple. Health: private insurance at 65–74, required for the residence permit. Utilities include internet. Islands cost more in summer.
Sources: Numbeo: cost of living in Athens (updated Oct 2026) (checked 2026-10-22) · Numbeo: cost of living in Thessaloniki (updated Oct 2026) (checked 2026-10-22)
Visas and residence
Residence permit for financially independent persons
For people living on a foreign pension or their own funds, without working in Greece. You show at least €3,500 a month net (2024 ministerial decision), plus 20% for a spouse and 15% per child, proven by a foreign pension or bank funds; private health insurance is required. You first get a national visa at a Greek consulate, then the residence permit in Greece.
- Minimum income: 3,500 EUR a month
- A couple needs €4,200 a month net.
- Spouse can be included
- Official page
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens: registration certificate
No visa needed. After 3 months you request a registration certificate from the police, with proof of resources and health cover.
Trying it first: United States passport: 90 days in any 180 without a visa; United Kingdom passport: 90 days in any 180 without a visa; Canada passport: 90 days in any 180 without a visa.
Sources: Joint ministerial decision 225679/2024 on sufficient resources (Article 1(1)(ι)) (checked 2026-10-22) · Ministry of Migration and Asylum (checked 2026-10-22) · European Commission: Schengen visa policy (90 days in any 180) (checked 2026-10-22)
Healthcare
The financially independent permit requires private health insurance at issue and at each renewal; it does not give access to the public system (EOPYY) without social security contributions.
- Public system: Public cover through EOPYY depends on paying social security contributions; check with EFKA once you are resident. Keep private insurance meanwhile, as the permit requires it.
- Private insurance, monthly (EUR): age 55-64: 90 · age 65-74: 140 · age 75+: 210
- Pre-existing conditions: varies by insurer
Sources: Expat Focus: retiring in Greece (healthcare and insurance) (checked 2026-10-22) · AMKA (Greek social security number) (checked 2026-10-22)
Taxes
Residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates (9–44%). There is no general wealth tax (property is taxed through ENFIA), and inheritance tax applies with low rates for close family.
- When you become tax resident: More than 183 days in Greece in a 12-month period, or your centre of vital interests (home, family, economic ties) is in Greece.
- 7% flat tax for foreign pensioners (article 5B): If you receive a foreign pension, were not tax resident in Greece in 5 of the previous 6 years and come from a country with a tax cooperation agreement, you can pay 7% on all foreign income for up to 15 years. Apply through myAADE and pay by the yearly deadline, or you lose the regime.
Coming from United States
The US keeps taxing its citizens wherever they live (the treaty's saving clause); foreign tax credits are what prevent paying twice. Ask an adviser who knows both systems before you move.
- Tax treaty: yes
- Public pension: The 1950 US–Greece treaty does not deal with Social Security explicitly; in practice the US taxes it for citizens, and how Greece treats it (or whether the 7% regime covers it) needs advice.
- Private pension: Private pensions and life annuities are exempt in the country they come from (Article XI), so they are taxed in Greece as your country of residence; the 7% regime can apply.
Sources: US–Greece income tax treaty (IRS) (checked 2026-10-22)
Coming from United Kingdom
The old 1953 treaty uses broad wording ("any pension"); Greece taxes the pensions, or 7% under its regime for foreign pensioners. Your UK State Pension rises each year while you live there (EEA country or social security agreement).
- Tax treaty: yes
- Public pension: Exempt from UK tax if you are resident in Greece and subject to Greek tax on it (1953 treaty, Article X).
- Private pension: Same rule: pensions and annuities from the UK are exempt from UK tax for Greek residents taxed in Greece. Most UK government pensions (such as civil service pensions) are taxed only in the UK.
Sources: GOV.UK: Greece tax treaties (checked 2026-10-22) · GOV.UK: countries where the State Pension is increased each year (checked 2026-10-22) · GOV.UK: tax on your UK income if you live abroad (State Pension, Personal Allowance, government pensions) (checked 2026-10-22) · HMRC International Manual INTM343190: pensions and annuities (State Pension under tax treaties) (checked 2026-10-22)
Coming from France
A new treaty (signed 2022, applied from 2024) replaced the 1963 one; Greece taxes French non-government pensions, or 7% under its regime for foreign pensioners.
- Tax treaty: yes
- Public pension: Basic state pension: Taxable only in Greece, as your country of residence (pensions for past employment). (2022 treaty, Article 17). Civil-service and military pensions are taxed only in France, unless you are Greek and not French. (Article 18)
- Private pension: Taxable only in Greece, as your country of residence (pensions for past employment). (Article 17).
Sources: French Senate: France–Greece tax treaty of 11 May 2022 (text), Articles 17 and 18 (checked 2026-10-22) · Deloitte Société d'Avocats: the France–Greece treaty entered into force on 30 December 2023 (checked 2026-10-22) · economie.gouv.fr: income tax for residents abroad (minimum rates, non-resident withholding on pensions) (checked 2026-10-22)
Coming from somewhere else? The general rules above apply; check your home country's tax treaty with Greece or ask a licensed advisor.
Sources: AADE (Greek tax authority) (checked 2026-10-22) · To Vima: the foreign pensioner regime (checked 2026-10-22)
Housing
Foreigners can buy, with a permit in border areas for non-EU citizens. Transfer tax is about 3.09%; with notary, lawyer, registry and agency fees, budget about 8–10% of the price.
- Can foreigners buy? With restrictions: Non-EU buyers need a permit to buy in border areas, which include several Aegean and Dodecanese islands and regions near the northern borders; elsewhere there is no restriction.
- Purchase costs: about 9% of the price (taxes and fees)
- Renting: Long-term rentals are cheap outside Athens and the islands; island rents rise sharply in summer.
Sources: Decentralised Administration of the Aegean: committee lifting the ban on transactions in border areas (non-EU buyers) (checked 2026-10-22) · Global Citizen Solutions: buying property in Greece (checked 2026-10-22)
Settling in
Once you choose Greece, the settling plan takes you through 7 steps, from a year before the move to your first year there. The first ones:
- Get a Greek tax number (AFM): Needed to rent, open a bank account and buy; a lawyer can request it for you.
- Take out private health insurance: Full medical cover in Greece is required for the permit and at every renewal.
- Apply for the national visa: At the Greek consulate for where you live, with proof of €3,500 a month net (plus 20% for a spouse), insurance and a criminal record certificate.
- Apply for the residence permit: Before the national visa expires, apply for the financially independent persons permit through the Ministry of Migration.
The full plan, with costs, delays and official links, is in your personal space (coming soon).
Rules and figures change and we can make mistakes: confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor before acting.