Your offer says €1,400 a month. Your future employer says "fourteen salaries". Your calculator says that is not the same thing as €1,400 times twelve, and the calculator is right. Pay in Greece has its own rhythm, and working in Greece as an EU citizen is simple on the legal side, with the pitfalls in the detail.
Can you start working in Greece without a permit?
Yes. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens do not need a work permit. You register your stay with the police after three months, as described in residence registration in Greece. If you are British, you need a visa and a residence permit that allow work, unless your rights date from before 1 January 2021; see moving to Greece from the UK.
For a regulated profession such as medicine, law or engineering, you must have your qualifications recognised by the Greek authority before you start. The authority acknowledges receipt within one month and decides in principle within three, under EU rules. You cannot practise in the meantime.
How do you find a job and start working in Greece?
The public employment service is DYPA, with 115 local offices and EURES advisers. Private agencies licensed in Greece cannot charge you. You can look for work before leaving through the EURES portal and the DYPA site, and file your CV online once registered as a jobseeker.
You need two numbers: your AFM and your AMKA. Your employer uses them to declare you in ERGANI, the official register of employment contracts. See the AFM guide and healthcare in Greece.
What does a Greek employment contract involve?
- Written terms. Within two months of hiring, your employer must give you in writing your pay, hours and paid leave. Without this, the contract remains valid, but the employer risks a fine.
- Hours. 40 hours a week by contract, over 5 days. Extra hours from 41 to 45 a week (on a five-day week) are paid 20% more; overtime beyond that is paid 40% more, with a cap of 150 hours a year and 3 hours a day. Rest: at least 11 hours a day and 24 hours a week.
- Probation: six months at most, in line with the EU directive 2019/1152.
- Pay. €920 gross a month minimum since 1 April 2026, paid 14 times a year in the private sector: a 13th month at Christmas, half a month at Easter and half a month in summer. Check whether an offer speaks of 12 or 14 payments.
- Deductions. About 14 to 16% of gross pay for health, pension and unemployment, plus income tax.
- Paid leave. 20 working days in the first year on a five-day week, rising to 22, then 25 after 10 years with the same employer or 12 years of experience, and 26 after 25 years. A leave allowance of half a month is added in the private sector.
- Dismissal. One to four months' notice depending on seniority, with severance. The employer must report it electronically in ERGANI.
What happens if you lose your job?
Register as unemployed with DYPA, online or at your local office, with your AMKA and AFM, and apply for the benefit within 60 days of the end of the contract. The ordinary benefit is for employees who were dismissed or whose contract ended, not for those who resigned.
For a first claim you need at least 125 days of contributions in the 14 months before the end of the contract, or 200 days in the previous two years, and 80 days of employment per year in the previous two years. Length of payment runs from 5 to 12 months. DYPA shows a daily benefit of €22.60, or €565 a month, for the top bracket, with lower amounts for lower pay, 10% extra per dependant, plus Christmas and Easter bonuses. You must confirm your presence every three months, or the benefit is withheld.
A trial of a new benefit model has been running since 2025 on about 15,000 randomly chosen beneficiaries. When we checked in October 2026, it had not been extended to everyone and no date was published.
If you come from another EU country with unemployment rights, the U1 form helps count your previous periods, and the U2 form lets you export your benefit for at least three months (up to six, depending on the country) while you look for work in Greece, provided you register with DYPA within seven days. Request them before you leave.
How does self-employment work in Greece?
You declare the start of your activity to the AADE (έναρξη εργασιών), online, with your AFM and codes, choose your activity codes (KAD) and register with e-EFKA. You choose your contribution category; without a choice you are put in the first. Monthly contributions for 2026, including pension and health, run from €150.46 (special category, first five years of insurance) to €675.87 (sixth category), with €250.77 for the first category. Add €10 a month for unemployment insurance. They are due every month, even with no turnover, and unpaid contributions block the certificate of social security regularity needed for many procedures.
VAT is waived below €10,000 turnover, though you still register and invoice. Electronic invoicing via the myDATA platform is becoming mandatory, so pick compatible software from the start. The standard VAT rate is 24%. A company is easiest as an IKE (private company), created online in about three days for an €18 fee.
What is the 50% tax break for new residents?
Article 5C exempts 50% of your Greek salary or business profit for seven tax years, and exempts you from the deemed-income tax on lifestyle for the same period. Conditions: you were not a Greek tax resident for 5 of the previous 6 years; you come from the EU, the EEA or a country with a tax cooperation agreement; you work for a Greek company, a Greek branch of a foreign company, or on your own account in Greece, in a new position; and you declare that you will stay at least two years. Apply on myAADE: if you start by 2 July, you can apply by the end of that year, or during the following year for the following year. If, in a given year, you no longer work in Greece under these conditions, the regime ends from that year. See tax residency in Greece.
What are the common mistakes?
- Working without being declared in ERGANI. It is your proof of employment for residence, health and pension.
- Comparing a monthly figure without knowing whether it is 12 or 14 payments.
- Missing the 60-day deadline for unemployment benefit.
- Not asking for a U1 before leaving.
- Starting a regulated profession without recognition.
- Not asking about split working days. In shops the day is often split; ask the real timetable. See daily life in Greece.
If you work remotely for a foreign employer instead, the rules are different; read remote work in Greece.
What is the best way to start working in Greece?
Sequence matters. Look for a job before you leave and keep your U1 form. Get your AFM and AMKA early, so your employer can declare you in ERGANI. Ask for your contract in writing. Check whether you want the 50% exemption, and if you do, apply on myAADE within the deadline linked to your start date. Plan your health cover: contributions give you the right to public care. When you add the steps up, working in Greece as an EU citizen takes about the same paperwork as moving there, plus the contract.
How does pay compare with the cost of living when working in Greece?
The minimum wage of €920 gross is low against central Athens rent, and many employers pay above it for skilled roles. Do the sums before you accept: gross over 14 payments, minus roughly 14 to 16% in contributions and income tax, against rent and costs. Our guide to the cost of living in Greece has the housing figures. Before you choose between employment, self-employment and the 50% regime, have a tax adviser or an accountant in Greece confirm what fits your situation.