Greece digital nomad visa 2026: the consular D visa is now a mandatory first step

A 2026 law has changed how non-EU remote workers enter Greece’s digital nomad route. The income, fee and insurance rules are the same, but the order of steps is not.

What Law 5275/2026 changed

Law 5275/2026 (Gazette A’ 17, published 6 February 2026, in force from publication) repealed Article 12(7) of the Migration Code. That article had allowed digital nomads already in Greece, whether they entered visa-free or on a Schengen C visa, to apply directly for the residence permit without first obtaining a national visa.

With that route removed, a national D visa, the Greek digital nomad entry visa coded “Z.1”, obtained from a Greek consulate is now a mandatory first step. You enter Greece on that visa and then apply for the residence permit before the visa expires. The previous option of “switching” to permit status from inside Greece on a tourist entry no longer exists.

The same law also extended the general grace period for late permit renewals to three months after a permit expires, with a fine of EUR 100 per month (Article 12 of Law 5275/2026, amending Article 11 of the Code).

What did not change

Law 5275/2026 contains no amendment to Article 68 of Law 5038/2023, which sets the core terms of the scheme. So the numbers a digital nomad plans around are unchanged:

• Income: EUR 3,500 per month, net of taxes where the income comes from salaried or contract work. Add 20% for a spouse or partner and 15% for each child.
• Visa fee: EUR 75.
• Insurance: still required. At the visa stage, the supporting documents for a Greek national (D) visa include travel insurance valid for the full period of the visa requested. At the residence-permit stage, full sickness insurance covering the risks covered for Greek nationals is a general condition of residence.

The national visa is issued for 12 months, and the consulate is required to respond within 10 days under a one-stop process, which is the basis for the roughly 1.5-week minimum processing time. Real-world timelines vary by consulate.

What this means in practice

If you are planning a move to Greece as a digital nomad, the practical takeaway is to build the consular step into your timeline. You apply at the Greek consulate of your country of main residence, in person, by email or by registered letter, before you travel, rather than entering first and regularising your status on the ground.

For the full requirements, current figures and official sources, see the Greece country guide.