Greece Retirement Visa 2026: Financially Independent Person

This is residence by financial means. Nothing is invested, donated or deposited with the state: you show that a foreign pension, or other stable income of your own, covers your living costs in Greece, and it stays yours. The permit is for third-country nationals only; EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not use it, as free-movement registration applies to them.

What is the Greece Financially Independent Person permit?

The Financially Independent Person permit is Greece's residence permit for third-country nationals with sufficient means of subsistence: permit type I.8 under article 163, paragraph 8 of Law 5038/2023, the Migration Code (Gov. Gazette A' 81), in force since 31 March 2024 (article 179). It is meant for a person who lives on stable income, such as a foreign pension, without working in Greece. The amount and its proof are set by Joint Ministerial Decision oik. 225679/2024 (Gov. Gazette B' 5223 of 17 September 2024), article 1, clause (i).

Under the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, a Greek consulate issues the national visa and the Decentralised Administration the permit. We read the codified text of article 163 and a University of Athens copy of the ministerial decision on 11 October 2026; neither is the official gazette itself, so some points below are marked as not yet officially confirmed. The permit gives the right to live in Greece, and residence is not nationality.

Who qualifies, and how much income do you need?

Greece's test is stable income of your own, not capital, under article 163(8) and the ministerial decision.

• Nationality: third-country nationals only; EU, EEA and Swiss nationals use free-movement registration instead.
• Income: stable income at the level set by the ministerial decision for the main applicant. We have read the figure only in a third-party copy of the Gazette, so it is not yet officially confirmed and we do not print it; we confirm it before you file.
• Family: 20% more for a spouse and 15% more for each child. Family means may be shown per member or in aggregate (article 163(8)(b)).
• Accepted proof: a foreign pension, a bank account or other own means of lawful origin. A pension from abroad is assessed monthly; income such as bank deposits, annually.
• Health insurance: full cover for all the risks covered for Greek nationals (article 8(1)(e)).
• National visa first: from a Greek consulate, for the same purpose.
• No work: neither you nor your spouse or family may take employment or carry on economic activity of any form in Greece (article 163(8)(c)).
• No investment: no investment, deposit or property purchase is a condition.

The permit does not fit EU, EEA or Swiss nationals, who never use it; anyone who plans to work in Greece; or anyone who needs a published income figure and decision time before planning. It suits a pensioner better than someone living on dividends, deposits or rent alone, because the 7% tax election below is open only to foreign pension beneficiaries.

Is Greece's retirement visa a golden retirement visa?

Not fully: it is rated Partial, 63 out of 100, with confidence grade B, in the Mirabello Golden Retirement Index, scored on 11 October 2026 under methodology 1.1. Partial means the route meets most of the standard, with one gap. No specific reason is recorded: the route is Partial because its score is below the Golden line of 70. Its weakest pillars are processing, because no official decision time is published, and the long-term pillars: durability, because the permit runs three years at a time and must be renewed, and the path to permanent status. Its strongest pillar is the financial test, with full marks: you show income, and nothing is invested or locked away. Its renewal category is "1 renewal, then permanent residence". The standard is Mirabello's own: Golden means at least 70 out of 100, confidence grade A or B and no fail on tax of foreign income, physical presence or renewal, and every route is scored from official sources.

Do you have to live in Greece?

No minimum stay is set for the permit. Under article 18(6) of the Migration Code, the validity of a residence permit is not affected by temporary absences of up to six months per year, nor by one absence of up to 12 consecutive months for serious reasons, and the revocation grounds in article 15(1) do not list absence (codified text of article 18, read 11 October 2026). How strictly the allowance is applied in practice is not yet officially confirmed. Long-term resident status under article 144 is stricter: absences must stay under 6 consecutive months and total 10 months or less within the 5 years, so keep within those limits if you may want that status later.

Tax residence is a separate test. Under article 4 of the Income Tax Code you become a Greek tax resident if your permanent or principal residence, habitual abode or centre of vital interests is in Greece, or if you spend more than 183 days in Greece in any 12 months. That is a tax rule, not a permit condition. To compare routes with light presence rules, see our guide to residency without relocating.

Does Greece tax a foreign pension?

Yes, once you are a Greek tax resident. Greece taxes residents on worldwide income, so a foreign pension is taxed on the ordinary scale: 9% up to EUR 10,000, 22% up to 20,000, 28% up to 30,000, 36% up to 40,000 and 44% above.

A separate election under article 5B of the Income Tax Code taxes all foreign-source income at 7% for 15 tax years. It is open only to beneficiaries of a foreign pension from a compulsory scheme, a statutory occupational fund or a group pension contract who were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the 6 years before the move and come from a state with an administrative cooperation agreement. You apply by 31 October of the arrival year or the next (AADE Decision A.1192/2026, read 11 October 2026). It is not part of the permit and not open to a holder living on dividends, deposits or rent alone.

Tax follows tax residence, not the permit: the treatment applies once you are tax-resident in Greece. The country that pays your pension may still tax it under the relevant double tax treaty. This is general information, not tax advice. See also our guide to countries that don't tax foreign pensions.

How long does it take, what does it cost, and what documents do you need?

The application has two steps: a national visa at a Greek consulate, then the permit from the Decentralised Administration. No statutory decision deadline for permit type I.8 appears in the Code articles we read (articles 10, 11, 13 and 14), and no official fee or procedure page was located, so processing time and government fees are not yet officially confirmed; we give you a current estimate for your case. The core file:

• A valid travel document and the national visa issued for the same purpose.
• Proof of means for you and each family member: a foreign pension, bank statements or other own means of lawful origin.
• Full health insurance covering all the risks covered for Greek nationals (article 8(1)(e)).

Translations, legalisation and any further documents the authority asks for are confirmed per case.

How does renewal work, and does the permit lead to long-term residence?

The permit is issued for 3 years and is renewable for equal periods (article 163(8)(a)). You request renewal at least 2 months before expiry (article 11), and the means test and health insurance must still be met, or the permit can be revoked (article 15(1)(a)). Exception: a holder who draws a pension from a Greek public insurer may renew without the means condition (article 163(8)(d)).

Long-term resident status is governed by article 144: five years of legal residence, within the absence limits above. The Index files the route under the renewal category "1 renewal, then permanent residence", but whether years on permit I.8 count towards those five years is not yet officially confirmed, so we check it before you rely on it.

What the market gets wrong

• "You must spend 183 days a year in Greece." The Migration Code sets no minimum stay; 183 days is the tax-residence presumption of article 4 of the Income Tax Code.
• "Every holder pays a 7% flat tax." The 7% is a separate article 5B election for foreign pension beneficiaries who become Greek tax residents and meet its conditions, not part of the permit.
• "The permit allows remote or freelance work in Greece." Article 163(8)(c) bars employment and economic activity of any form in Greece, for the holder and the family.
• "The income figure is settled." Guides quote different monthly figures. The amount is set by Joint Ministerial Decision oik. 225679/2024, and until we confirm it against the official gazette, it is not yet officially confirmed.

The Financially Independent Person permit or another route?

The permit suits a third-country retiree with a steady foreign pension who wants to live in Greece without investing or working. See our guides to moving to Greece from the UK and living in Greece. Greece also has a separate, investment-based residence route, described on our Greece residence by investment page. Elsewhere in the region, the Cyprus Category F retirement permit is also for third-country nationals and is rated Golden in the same Index, while the San Marino pensioner residence and Turkey's residence permit for retirees are the closest alternatives. The Golden Retirement Index and the retirement and passive-income residency guide set every route side by side.

What is not yet officially confirmed

• The monthly income figure: read only in a third-party copy of Gov. Gazette B' 5223/2024; not yet read on the official gazette site (et.gr).
• Whether Law 5275/2026, a partial amendment of the Migration Code, changed article 163(8); it was not read for that article.
• How many years of deposits must be shown, and whether a balance can replace the income.
• Official processing time and government fees, and how strictly the six-month absence allowance is applied.
• Whether years on permit I.8 count towards the five years for long-term resident status.
• Whether foreign capital gains and individual private annuities fall inside the 7% article 5B regime.
• Whether a Greek rental or purchase contract is required: some guides say so, but the statute and decision we read do not.
• Access to the Greek public health system for holders, not addressed in the articles we read.

Ask Mira, by Mirabello

For a first answer at any hour, ask Mira, by Mirabello, the AI advisor of Mirabello Immigration Intelligence, which reads the same verified programme data as this page and can compare this permit with the other options in our retirement and passive-income residency guide. A specialist then checks the details that decide your case.

How Mirabello Consultancy helps

Mirabello Consultancy checks your income against the means test for each family member, confirms the current figure and fees, prepares the consulate and permit files, and plans each renewal at least two months ahead. With your tax adviser, we check whether the article 5B election is open to you before its 31 October deadline. To find out whether your income qualifies, book a free, confidential consultation.

Information only, not legal or tax advice. Requirements were read from the official sources linked above on 11 October 2026 and can change; we confirm them for your case.