You step off the plane with a suitcase, a passport and a vague sense that the hard part is over. It is not. Moving to Greece is easy on paper, since EU citizens need no visa and no permit, but the paperwork has its own order, and a few documents unlock all the others. Get the order right and the whole thing takes weeks. Get it wrong and you spend a month queueing for papers you cannot yet obtain.
What do you need to move to Greece as an EU citizen?
For your first three months you only need your passport or a valid national ID card. The state cannot ask you to apply for a residence document during that period. After three months you register with the police and receive a certificate. Swiss and EEA citizens follow the same route.
What you need in practice is three numbers or papers: the AFM (Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου, the tax number), the registration certificate from the police, and the AMKA (Αριθμός Μητρώου Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, the social security number). Everything else, from a bank account to a lease to a job contract, hangs off them. If you are British, the picture is different, and you should read moving to Greece from the UK instead.
In which order should you do the paperwork?
- Get your AFM. It is free and the application is filed online on the tax authority portal, myAADE. Then you prove your identity by video call or in person at a tax office. Our guide to the AFM tax number walks you through it. Do this first: landlords, banks and employers all ask for it.
- Find a home and a written lease. A lease is also your proof of address for the police and for the AMKA. The landlord must declare it to the tax authority. See renting in Greece.
- Register with the police after three months. In person, with ID, three 4 x 4 cm photos, proof of address and, if you are not working, proof of resources and health insurance. The stamp costs €0.50. Details in residence registration in Greece.
- Activate your AMKA at an e-EFKA office or a KEP (citizens' service centre), then register with a family doctor. More in healthcare in Greece.
- Open a bank account and give the IBAN to your employer: salaries must be paid into a bank account in Greece. See opening a bank account in Greece.
What can you do online, and what needs a visit?
Greece has put a lot of services behind gov.gr, the single government portal, and myAADE, the tax portal. Once you have your AFM you receive access codes (called TAXISnet codes) that open most of them. Many procedures, including the creation of a company, are fully digital.
The first steps are the exception. The police registration and the AMKA activation have to be done in person. Forms are mostly in Greek, and the national register of procedures, MITOS, is only partly translated into English. For anything with money or a deadline, ask someone to check the Greek.
How much does it cost to move to Greece in official fees?
Very little. The AFM is free. The AMKA is free. The police stamp is €0.50. The expensive parts are elsewhere: a deposit that is usually two months of rent, the first month's rent, and the move itself. For a feel of monthly spending, read the cost of living in Greece.
What should you bring from your home country?
- Your passport or ID card, with a photocopy.
- Several 4 x 4 cm colour photos.
- Your European Health Insurance Card. It covers care that cannot wait during a temporary stay, but it is not a substitute for cover once you live here.
- If you are a pensioner, the S1 form from the institution that pays your pension, requested before you leave.
- Birth and marriage certificates if you will file for family members. Foreign public documents may need an apostille and an official translation.
- Your driving licence and, if you plan to bring a car, a relocation certificate from the Greek consulate in your home country (valid 12 months). Check the conditions with the Greek consulate before you ship anything.
What are the usual mistakes when moving to Greece?
- Looking for the residence procedure online. It does not exist. Go in person.
- Arriving without an address. No lease, no certificate, no AMKA.
- Thinking the AMKA is health insurance. It is only a number. Your right to care comes from contributions, an S1 form or private insurance.
- Waiting too long. Without the certificate you cannot activate the AMKA, so no family doctor and no normal access to public care.
- Paying someone for the AFM by default. It is free and can be done by video call. A professional is useful when your situation is complicated, not as a reflex.
Is the move different if you have a house or a car?
Yes. Buying a home requires an AFM even if you live abroad, and a notary is mandatory: see buying property in Greece. A car moved from abroad is subject to registration tax unless you qualify for the relocation exemption, which has strict conditions. Plan both before you decide the date of your move.
Greece is also a country where the paperwork changes quickly: tax rules for new residents were reformed in 2026, for instance. Check dates on the official page the week you act, not on a forum post from 2023.
How long does moving to Greece take?
The official procedures are short. The AFM is estimated at about 30 minutes in total once your file is complete, although a video-call or counter appointment can add some waiting. The AMKA takes 15 to 30 minutes on site, the family doctor registration about 15 minutes, and the police estimate about three hours for the registration visit. The slow part is the sequencing: the police certificate cannot come before three months, and the AMKA cannot come before the certificate.
A realistic calendar for an EU citizen is therefore this. In the first weeks, you apply for your AFM and sign a lease. Over the first three months, you open a bank account, receive the lease declaration on myAADE and accept it within 30 days. In the fourth month, you register with the police, then go straight to the AMKA office and the doctor. If you arrive with a job, your employer will need the AFM and the AMKA early, so you may reverse part of this order.
What should families think about when moving to Greece?
Each adult follows the same procedures, and family members have their own lists at the police. Children go to the public school for your address, and pre-primary school is compulsory from the age of four, so bring vaccination records and a proof of address; our guide to schools in Greece has the enrolment steps. If you plan to bring a car, ask the Greek consulate in your country for a relocation certificate before you move, not after.
Which official websites should you bookmark?
- gov.gr, the single portal for state services.
- myAADE, the tax authority portal, where you will receive your lease declaration.
- MITOS (mitos.gov.gr), the register of every administrative procedure, with documents, costs and delays. It is partly available in English.
- e-EFKA, the social security fund, for the AMKA and pensions.
- DYPA, the public employment service.
Use them as a first check. A procedure page on MITOS, with its last update date, is more reliable than a forum post.