Do you have aspirations of working overseas? All you need is an internet connection to work as a freelancer or self-employed person; after that, the world is your oyster.
Greece has got to be among the most alluring locations to live as a digital nomad. It offers something for everyone: warm Mediterranean weather, dozens of stunning islands to explore, welcoming locals, and delicious food.
Read More: Digital Nomad Visa Greece
When choosing a location, Greece is also an excellent option for remote workers.
Thanks to plenty of locations to work and reasonably strong internet (at least when compared to the rest of Greece), Crete, Athens, and Thessaloniki are important centers for digital nomads. Indeed, Crete has a special “Work from Crete” website and its own initiative to entice digital nomads to the island.
Internet connections may be slower in other regions of Greece, but the cheap cost of living more than makes up for it.
However, you must take care of your documentation before leaving on your Greek excursion. We’ll walk you through the process of obtaining a Greece digital nomad visa in this tutorial. You will then have the legal right to travel, reside, and work remotely.
What is a nomadic digital nomad?
For those who are not familiar with the term, a digital nomad is a person who works remotely and travels freely.
If you are self-employed or your employer permits remote work, all you need is a laptop and an internet connection. You may work whenever and wherever you like while traveling to a new nation and experiencing its culture. Of course, you also need to make money along the way to sustain yourself.
Public libraries, coworking spaces, and coffee shops are common places for digital nomads to work. While some individuals travel the world to see as much as they can, others choose to stay put for an extended period of time.
Remote work versus earning money in Greece
There’s a distinction between being a digital nomad and having a job in Greece for both tax and visa issues.
First, one should be aware of tax residence. Here, if you remain in a nation for a specific number of days each year, you are deemed to be a tax resident of that nation.
You are deemed a tax resident in Greece under the country’s tax regulations if you remain for six months or longer in any given year. If so, as soon as your annual income exceeds €12,000, you will have to pay income tax.³
The good news is that you could be able to receive a 50% income tax cut if you have a Greece digital nomad visa. You must reside in Greece for a minimum of two years in order to apply for this. ³
Furthermore, there is a double tax treaty between the UK and Greece.· You won’t have to pay tax on the same income twice as a result.
Types of visas for Greek digital nomads
Greece is among many European nations that have instituted a novel visa for digital nomads. This specific visa is intended for individuals who wish to temporarily reside and work in Greece.
Before, you had to apply for a tourist visa in order to work in Greece. Alternatively, you might apply for a Golden Visa to get resident privileges. However, given the peculiar conditions of remote workers, neither choice was optimal.
Greece is trying to draw in bright professionals and entrepreneurs to establish temporary residences in the nation with its new specialized digital nomad visa.
Digital Nomad Visa for Greece
The Greece digital nomad visa was first offered in 2021 and is good for a single year. Before it expires, though, you will have the opportunity to renew it for an additional year.³
The visa offers you a few extra alluring features in addition to the ability to work remotely lawfully in Greece. Among them are:³
a 50% income tax credit after two years of residency in Greece
entry to 26 European nations without a visa (but you have to stay in Greece for at least half of the visa’s validity time).
There are certain limitations, though.
Any type of employment is OK, however you cannot work for Greek clients or employers. Additionally, there’s a quite high minimum revenue criterion that would exclude some remote workers or freelancers.⁴ Next, we’ll examine these and additional qualifying conditions.
