🇩🇪 Germany vs 🇬🇷 Greece: Digital Nomad Visa Compared
Germany has no visa officially called a "digital nomad visa". Greece offers Digital Nomad Visa (Type D) + Residence Permit (Type I.8) - Law 5038/2023, amended by Law 5275/2026. Every figure below comes from each country's own sourced, dated fiche - compare income, duration, tax, family rules, fees and processing time before you decide.
- Minimum income
- TBD
- 3,500 EUR / month
- Visa duration
- 24 months, renewable
- 12 months, renewable
- Tax regime
- Living in Germany more than 183 days generally makes you a German tax resident, taxed on worldwide income. Freelancers register with the Finanzamt and receive a Steuernummer.
- New tax residents may access a 50% income-tax exemption for up to 7 years (Art. 5C), but it is NOT automatic and generally does NOT apply to pure foreign-source remote income. Staying >183 days makes you a Greek tax resident, taxed on worldwide income at standard rates.
- Family (spouse / children)
- Application fees
- 100 EUR
- 75 EUR
- Health insurance
- Required - Comprehensive private expat health insurance required; travel or basic 'nomad' insurance is routinely rejected by the Auslanderbehorde.
- Required - Mandatory private health insurance covering care/hospitalization in Greece for applicant + family; minimum coverage amount not stated officially.
Germany has no digital nomad visa and the Freelance permit has NO fixed income minimum - you must show financial viability. IMPORTANT: it requires German/EU clients (economic integration); it is NOT open to people working full-time for a foreign employer. Not a pure remote-employee route.
Attributed to the official mfa.gr page (403 on direct fetch) and corroborated by multiple specialist sources, though at least one 2026 secondary guide states this figure as GROSS rather than NET - the net/gross distinction could not be independently re-confirmed on the official page this pass and should be treated as unresolved. Family uplift: +20% spouse, +15% per child.
source · verified 2026-07-12
Issued 1-3 years (typically 2 for first-timers), renewable; permanent settlement possible after 5 years with B1 German and pension contributions.
source · verified 2026-07-08
Type D visa: up to 12 months. Then Type I.8 residence permit: 2 years, renewable for successive 2-year periods. LAW 5275/2026 (~5 Feb 2026): the in-country conversion route was ABOLISHED - you must now obtain the Type D visa at a Greek consulate abroad BEFORE entering.
source · verified 2026-07-05
source · verified 2026-07-08
Art. 5C (AADE) requires 5-of-6-years prior non-residence AND historically Greek-source income; specialist tax sources flag that a nomad working purely for foreign clients may not qualify. Do NOT present the 50% cut as an automatic benefit.
source · verified 2026-07-05
Residence-permit fee reported around EUR 100; confirm with the local Auslanderbehorde.
source · verified 2026-07-08
This EUR 75 is the Type D VISA fee (+ EUR 150 per accompanying family member). SEPARATE and much larger: the Type I.8 RESIDENCE PERMIT fee, ~EUR 1,000 (+ EUR 150/family member) pre-2026 - re-verify post-Law 5275/2026 with migration.gov.gr. Guides routinely conflate the two stages.
source · verified 2026-07-05
source · verified 2026-07-08
source · verified 2026-07-05
Figures marked TBD are not yet verified and are never shown as facts. Last full review: Germany 2026-07-12, Greece 2026-07-12.