Digital Nomad Visa Or FIP? Choosing The Right Route To Live In Greece

If you are considering moving to Greece, one of the first questions is likely to be: Which residence route is right for me?

Two options that often come up are the Digital Nomad Visa and the Financially Independent Person (FIP) route. From the outside, they can look quite similar. Both can allow non-EU citizens to live in Greece, both have financial requirements and both can include family members.

But there is one important distinction that is often misunderstood: the choice is not simply about how much money you earn. It is about where that money comes from and what you intend to do once you are living in Greece.

Before choosing a route, ask yourself three simple questions:

The answers can make the difference between the Digital Nomad and FIP routes much clearer.

 

The Digital Nomad Visa is designed for people who work remotely for employers or clients outside Greece.

In simple terms, you can continue working remotely while living in Greece, but you cannot use this residence route to work for a Greek employer or provide services to Greek clients.

This makes it particularly relevant to employees, freelancers and business owners whose professional activity remains connected to another country.

The Financially Independent Person (FIP) route is designed for people whose income does not depend on working.

This can include income from:

• pensions;
• rental properties;
• dividends;
• investments;
• savings and other financial resources.

It is sometimes described as a "retirement visa", but that is not quite accurate. You do not necessarily have to be retired. The important point is that your financial resources do not depend on employment or active work.

The FIP route does not allow you to work in Greece.

Currently, both routes start from a stable monthly income of €3,500 net, increased by 20% for a spouse and 15% for each child.

The important difference is not necessarily the amount but the source of the income and how you prove it.

For a Digital Nomad application, this may involve employment contracts, payslips, invoices or other evidence of remote professional activity.

For an FIP application, the evidence may instead include pension statements, bank statements, investment records or documentation demonstrating other stable financial resources.

This is why simply comparing your monthly income with the required figure is not enough. The origin of that income matters.

One of the most important practical points is that the process generally begins outside Greece.

Both routes normally involve applying for a national visa through the Greek consulate in the applicant's country of residence, followed by the residence permit process in Greece.

The consular stage is often where avoidable delays can occur. Documents need to be prepared in the correct format, and requirements such as apostilles, translations, health insurance and criminal record certificates need to be considered in advance.

Getting the order right can make a significant difference to the overall process.

Lawyer Nikos Paterakis handles both stages, from the consular application to the residence permit application in Greece. 

 

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Not sure which route fits your plans? It is worth having your circumstances reviewed before you apply. 

You can contact Nikos Paterakis at info@paterakislegal.com or +30 694 760 1994 (WhatsApp and Viber), or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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The Digital Nomad Visa is granted for one year and leads to a two-year residence permit, which can be renewed as long as the relevant conditions continue to be met.

The FIP visa is also issued for one year, after which the FIP residence permit is granted for a longer initial period and can be renewed under the applicable conditions.

For both routes, the financial requirements do not simply disappear after the initial application. You need to continue meeting the relevant conditions when renewing your residence permit.

This is perhaps the most important distinction between the two routes.

An FIP residence permit does not allow you to work in Greece.

The Digital Nomad route allows remote work for foreign employers or clients, but does not allow you to take employment with a Greek company or work for Greek clients under that permit.

So imagine you move to Greece as an FIP because you have sufficient passive income. A year later, you decide you would like to take a job with a company in Athens. Your FIP permit does not simply give you that right.

Equally, someone who applies as a Digital Nomad while already planning to build a client base in Greece may have chosen the wrong route from the beginning.

This is why thinking about your plans two or three years ahead, rather than only looking at your circumstances today, is important.

Both routes can accommodate eligible family members, including a spouse and children.

However, bringing family members changes the financial requirements and the documentation needed.

It is also important to understand that family members do not automatically acquire a right to work simply because the main applicant has a Digital Nomad or FIP residence permit.

If one partner may want to work in Greece in the future, this should be considered before choosing the initial residence route.

Immigration status and tax residence are not the same thing.

If you spend more than half of the year in Greece, you may generally become a Greek tax resident, depending on your individual circumstances and the applicable rules.

This is why tax planning should happen before moving rather than after you have already established your life in Greece.

Your immigration route, income sources, existing investments, property and country of origin can all affect the tax implications of your move.

Nikos coordinates the tax side with the accountants he works with, so that the tax position and the residence application are planned together. 

The residence permit gives you the right to reside in Greece and provides freedom of movement within the Schengen area, subject to the applicable rules.

However, it does not automatically lead to Greek citizenship.

For renewal purposes, the amount of time you spend in Greece also matters. You generally need to spend at least six months of each year in Greece to maintain the relevant residence status.

If your goal is long-term residence or citizenship, your physical presence and absences from Greece become even more important.

Choosing the Digital Nomad or FIP route does not necessarily mean you will always have the same restrictions.

Under the applicable conditions, lawful residents can eventually move towards long-term resident status, which can provide broader rights, including access to work in Greece.

The long-term residence route generally requires five years of lawful and continuous residence in Greece together with the required Greek-language certificate, or twelve years of lawful residence without the language certificate. Other requirements also apply, including sufficient income, health insurance and limits on absences from Greece.

There are also longer-term residence options for people who have established their life in Greece.

For someone who starts on an FIP route but later wants to work, or a remote worker who eventually wants to take on Greek clients, this can be particularly relevant. Your first residence permit does not necessarily have to define your entire future in Greece.

For those who eventually want Greek citizenship, further requirements apply, including the relevant period of lawful residence and the naturalisation examination covering Greek language, history and institutions. Following recent rulings of the Council of State and a Ministry of Interior circular, income on its own is no longer a reason to accept or refuse an application. It is now one of several indicators of economic integration, assessed together with stable work or other lawful economic activity in Greece and consistent compliance with tax and social security obligations.

Even when someone clearly meets the financial requirements, documentation can create delays.

Common areas that need careful preparation include:

• proof of income in the correct form;
• health insurance meeting the applicable requirements;
• a clean criminal record certificate;
• apostilles and official translations;
• proof of accommodation or a Greek address;
• documentation supporting the source of your income.

The order in which documents are prepared can be just as important as the documents themselves.

There are a few mistakes that can make the process unnecessarily complicated.

Choosing a route because a friend recommended it.
Your friend's financial situation and future plans may be completely different from yours.

Applying as a Digital Nomad while planning to work with Greek clients.
The Digital Nomad route is specifically structured around remote work connected to employers or clients outside Greece.

Using the FIP route when your income actually depends on active employment.
The source and nature of your income matter, not simply the amount appearing in your bank account.

Submitting documents without the required apostille or translation.
A document can be genuine but still unusable for the application if it has not been prepared in the required format.

Arriving as a tourist and assuming you can simply convert your stay into a residence permit.
For these routes, the process normally starts through the Greek consulate abroad.

Ignoring tax planning.
Moving to Greece can change your tax residence and create obligations that extend beyond the immigration application.

Consider a couple who chose the FIP route because their rental income met the financial requirement. 

One of them, however, already worked remotely for clients abroad and planned to continue after the move. 

The problem? Their FIP permit did not allow it. 

The Digital Nomad route would have suited their plans from the start. 

It is a good example of why choosing a residence route is about more than meeting an income threshold. Your plans for your life in Greece matter just as much.

The first question is not how much you earn.

Instead, ask:

If your income comes from remote employment or clients outside Greece and you intend to continue working remotely, the Digital Nomad route may be the relevant option to explore.

If you have sufficient independent financial resources and do not need to work, the FIP route may be more appropriate.

But everyone's circumstances are different, particularly when family members, multiple income sources, property, investments or future employment plans are involved.

If you are unsure which option fits your circumstances, getting professional advice before you begin the application can save considerable time and avoid problems later.

For assistance with the Greek residence process, including the Digital Nomad and FIP routes, Nikos Paterakis can help you discuss your circumstances and understand which route may be appropriate for your plans.

To get started, simply send Nikos a short email saying where your income comes from, who is moving with you and when you hope to arrive, and he can advise you on the next steps. 

You can contact Nikos at info@paterakislegal.com or +30 694 760 1994 (WhatsApp and Viber), or connect with him on LinkedIn. His office is located at 64 Panepistimiou Street, Athens 106 77, 3rd floor.