The Fernshore Index
The factors tradespeople look at first.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
54 of 100Mixed
Price level 0.595 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Greece. Checked 15 October 2026.
Work and career
85 of 100Strong
Strong: a residence route for remote workers exists (digital nomad national visa, Migration Code Article 68) and fixed broadband is 44.7 per 100 people (2024), over the 30 line.
Source: Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 68: digital nomads (permit type Z.1); Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Greece; Digital nomad visa: frequently asked questions. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
85 of 100Strong
Strong: the digital nomad visa is open to US passport holders who work remotely for employers or clients outside Greece, with no Greek job offer and no age minimum. It lasts up to 12 months, and a two-year residence permit can follow. The income test is a net income of more than €3,500 a month (about €42,000 a year, or about US$47,100 at the ECB rate of 15 October 2026), plus 20% for a partner and 15% for each child. No deposit or investment is asked. The visa fee is €75. It does not allow work for a Greek employer or Greek clients.
Source: Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 68: digital nomads (permit type Z.1); Ministerial decision 225679/2024: amount and proof of sufficient means (Government Gazette B 5223, 17 September 2024). Checked 16 October 2026.
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for Canadian passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for Australian passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for New Zealand passports is being checked
English
95 of 100Strong
EF EPI 2025 score 592 (rank 20), in EF's High band; the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Greece. Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
54 of 100Mixed
Global Peace Index 2026: 53rd of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
58 of 100Mixed
WHO UHC service coverage index 77 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
The country
The rest of the research on Greece.
The country page grades every factor, with its sources.
GreeceQuestions from tradespeople about Greece.
Can a non-EU tradesperson get a work permit to work in Greece?
We could not confirm it. The routes we researched do not allow it: the digital nomad visa bars work for Greek employers and the I.8 permit gives no right to work. Employment permits are a separate route we have not researched, so rules for trades are unknown. Ask a Greek consulate.
Is a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand trade qualification recognised in Greece?
We could not confirm it. The nomad visa statute lists no qualification requirement, and we found no sourced page on which trades are regulated in Greece or who recognises a foreign trade qualification, so that is unknown here. Ask the Greek consulate.
Is English enough to work in a trade in Greece?
The EF English Proficiency Index 2025 scores Greece 592, 20th. It is built from people who chose to take an online test, so it is a national estimate, not a measure of English on a job site. We found no sourced figure for Greek-language needs in the trades, so that is unknown.
How expensive is Greece compared with the United States?
Prices overall are about 0.60 of US prices (World Bank, 2025), an economy-wide average. Adverts asked €1,150 to €1,200 a month in Pangrati, Athens, and €800 for one Thessaloniki flat (adverts, not averages). We have no sourced trade wages for Greece, so how far a wage goes is unknown.
How do safety and healthcare compare in Greece?
The Global Peace Index 2026 ranks Greece 53rd of 163; it measures peacefulness, not workplace safety, and we found no sourced site-safety figures. The WHO service coverage index is 77 of 100 (2023). Public-system access for new employees is not covered here.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Greece, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 59.54 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Law 5038/2023 (Migration Code), Article 68: digital nomads (permit type Z.1), Hellenic Republic, Migration Code (consolidated text on Taxheaven, a private legal portal; official Gazette text not opened). Checked 15 October 2026. National visa for up to 12 months for third-country nationals who work remotely for employers or clients outside Greece; sufficient means EUR 3,500 a month net, plus 20% for a spouse or partner and 15% for each child; visa fee EUR 75; no work for Greek employers; a 2-year type I.8 permit can follow. Greek text; carries the scheme first created by Law 4825/2021.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Greece, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 44.68 per 100 people, read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [K3] Digital nomad visa: frequently asked questions, Work From Greece (Marketing Greece, a tourism-industry body, under the auspices of the Hellenic Government). Checked 15 October 2026. Plain-English summary for non-EU applicants: visa up to a year, apply at the Greek consulate of main residence, no right to work for a Greek company. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pages (mfa.gr) refused automated access, so this is the page the Ministry points to; not an official legal text.
- [R3] Ministerial decision 225679/2024: amount and proof of sufficient means (Government Gazette B 5223, 17 September 2024), Ministry of Migration and Asylum (published in the Government Gazette; copy hosted on migration.gov.gr). Checked 15 October 2026. For the type I.8 permit (Article 163 paragraph 8, a and b) and for digital nomads: at least EUR 3,500 a month, plus 20% for a spouse and 15% for each child, shown by a foreign pension, a bank account or own funds with a lawful origin, without working in Greece. Greek text.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index 2025: Greece, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 592 (down 10 on the previous score), global rank 20; the page lists Athens 616 and Thessaloniki 611; the 2026 edition was not found on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Greece ranks 53rd of 163 countries, score 1.828 (ranking table, report PDF opened 15 October 2026).
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Greece: 77 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO Global Health Observatory data service (indicator UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.