On 20.03.2024, the Joint Ministerial Decision of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Immigration and Asylum No. 95391/20-03-2024 was issued, which defines the necessary documents for each individual category of national visa or residence permit, in accordance with the new Immigration Code (Law 5038/2023), which entered into force on 01.04.2024.
Therefore, according to the said ministerial decision, the following documents are required for applying for an entry visa (Visa), as well as for applying for a residence permit for digital nomads:
Ι. National Visa for digital nomads
α) An affidavit in which the applicant declares that he/she intends to reside in the country on the national entry visa to work remotely and that he/she will not in any way provide work or services or work to an employer based in Greece.
b) Information regarding the name, registered office, field of activity, corporate purpose and active and present operation of the business, located outside the Greek territory, in which the applicant is employed. The information concerns, in particular, registration with a service equivalent to the General Commercial Register (G.E.M.I.) in the country where the undertaking is established, information from the undertaking’s website or other public sources.
c) An active employment contract or project contract or proof of employment relationship with an employer, natural or legal person, established outside the Greek territory, for an indefinite period of time or, in case of a fixed-term contract with a remaining duration covering the period of the granted national visa and data showing the applicant’s status in the company and his/her ability to provide his/her work using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) outside Greece. If the applicant is a freelancer, more than one (1) employment or project contract is required.
d) If the applicant is self-employed in his/her own business, information on his/her status in the business, as well as information on the name, registered office, field of activity and corporate purpose of the business, which is located outside the Greek territory. The information relates in particular to registration with a service equivalent to the General Commercial Register (G.E.M.I.) in the country where the company is established, information from the company’s website or other public sources.
e) Evidence showing that it has sufficient resources as referred to in Article 68, par. 2(e), at the level of fixed income, to cover his/her living expenses during his/her stay in the country without becoming a burden on the national social security system. The amount of sufficient resources shall be fixed at three and a half thousand (3,500) euros per month, considered either on a monthly basis or on an annual average basis, and demonstrated by evidence, in particular:
i. An employment or project contract or proof of employment relationship, in the case of dependent employment, services or work or
ii. from a bank account, professional or personal, if self-employed, in all other cases.
If the sufficient resources are derived from salaried services, the above amount refers to net income within the meaning of point (e) of par. 2 of Article 68 of Law No. 5038/2023.
f) The general supporting documents according to the ministerial decision, which is issued under the authority of par. 8 of Article 176 of Law No. 176. 5038/2023.
g) Consular fee for a national visa of seventy-five (75) euros.
II. Type I.8 residence permit for digital nomads:
α) A certified copy of the travel document with the required national entry visa (VISA D) category Z1 or uniform entry visa or admission with visa waiver status,
b) A declaration by which the applicant declares that he/she intends to reside in the country on the national entry visa to work remotely and that he/she will not in any way provide work or services or work to an employer established in Greece,
c) Information regarding the name, registered office, field of activity, corporate purpose and active and present operation of the business, which is located outside the Greek territory, in which the applicant is employed. The information concerns, in particular, registration with a service equivalent to the General Commercial Register (G.E.M.I.) in the country where the undertaking is established, information from the undertaking’s website or other public sources.
d) An active employment contract or project contract or proof of employment with an employer, natural or legal person, established outside the Greek territory, for an indefinite period of time or in case of a fixed-term contract with a remaining duration covering the period of the granted national visa and evidence of the applicant’s status in the company and his/her ability to provide his/her work using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) outside Greece. If the applicant is a freelancer, more than one (1) employment or project contract is required.
e) If the applicant is a third country citizen who is self-employed in his/her own business, information on his/her status in the business, as well as information regarding the name, registered office, field of activity and corporate purpose of the business, which is located outside the Greek territory. The information relates in particular to registration with a service equivalent to the General Commercial Register (G.E.M.I.) in the country where the company is established, information from the company’s website or other public sources.
f) Evidence that it has sufficient resources as referred to in Article 68, par. 2, point (e)( at the level of fixed income, to cover his/her subsistence expenses during his/her stay in the country without becoming a burden on the national social security system. The amount of sufficient resources shall be fixed at three and a half thousand (3,500) euros per month, considered either on a monthly basis or on an annual basis, averaged over the year, and demonstrated in particular:
i. By an employment or project contract or proof of employment relationship, in the case of dependent employment, services or work; or
ii. by a bank account, professional or personal, if self-employed, in all other cases.
If the sufficient resources are derived from salaried services, the above amount refers to net revenue within the meaning of point (e) of paragraph (e). 2 of Article 68.
g) A fee of one thousand euro (1000) euro.
h) Evidence of residence relating either to a lease contract, a contract for the purchase of immovable property or a concession agreement.
i) An insurance policy from a private insurance company.
Assessing the provisions of the new ministerial decision, we can observe the following points:
– The Ministerial Decision confirms what we have mentioned in another article (see here) regarding the maintenance of the possibility of applying for a residence permit directly from holders of type C entry visa (tourist visa) or from persons in Greece with an entry visa exemption status, without requiring the prior acquisition of a national entry visa (type D visa) for digital nomads.
– The “concession of use agreement”is added to the documents proving the applicant’s address in Greece, which means that it is no longer necessary for the applicant to rent a property in his/her own name, but he/she can provide documents proving the concession of use of the property by a third party.
– The supporting documents must be accompanied by documents relating to the business in which the applicant is either employed or self-employed and, in particular, information concerning the name, registered office, field of activity, corporate purpose and the active and current operation of the business. Reference to such documents under the previous legal regime was only made in respect of self-employed persons, but in practice the competent department of the Ministry of Immigration requested similar documents from employees as well. Now there is an explicit reference in the law and in any case the applicant will have to provide official documents certifying the above information for the enterprise in which he/she is either employed or self-employed.
*Our office has extensive experience in all types of foreigners and residence permit law issues (granting and renewal of residence permits, appeals, legalization of illegal aliens, acquisition of Greek citizenship, cancellation of deportations, objections against detention of foreigners, etc.) For further legal advice or to assign your case to our office, please contact us at 2313 079293 or by email at info@siopi-law.gr. Please note that it is prohibited under the Code of Lawyers to provide legal advice without the appropriate fee (article 57 of Law 4194/2013)*
Dafni I. Siopi
Attorney at Law, LLM
52 Tsimiski, Thessaloniki, Greece
Τ. 2313 079293, 6977 568673