Greece Visa Requirements for U.S. Citizens
Europe · GR
Greece visa requirements for U.S. citizens
No visa for stays up to 90 days in any 180-day period
- U.S. passport status
- Visa free
- Visa-free days
- 90 days
- Document route
- Apostille
- Translation
- Required
- Short-stay fee
- €90
- Schengen area
- Yes
Entering Greece
U.S. passport holders enter Greece visa-free for tourism or a short business trip. The 90 days are counted across the whole Schengen area rather than per country, and since the Entry/Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026 that count is biometric and automatic. Anything longer, and anything involving work, study or residence, needs a national long-stay visa applied for before you travel.
ETIAS is expected to apply to visa-exempt travellers when it launches, which the European Union has signalled for late 2026. It is not in operation and you cannot apply for one yet.
Passport requirements
Valid for at least three months beyond your intended departure from the Schengen area, and issued within the previous ten years. Two blank pages.
What is specific to Greece
Greece requires translations produced through a route it recognises: the Translation Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Greek lawyer certified to translate, or a sworn translator. Translations prepared in the United States are frequently refused, so the usual approach is to apostille in the U.S. and translate on arrival. Greece also offers a 7 percent flat tax on all foreign income for fifteen years to retirees who transfer their tax residence, which must be elected by a statutory deadline and is easy to miss in the first year.
Visa categories for Greece
Each has its own page combining the universal process for that category with what Greece specifically requires.
Tourist and Visitor Visa
Visa-free for 90 days in any 180.
Business Visitor Visa
Visa-free within the same allowance.
Student and Study Visa
National study visa.
Work and Employment Visa
Employer-led and quota-based for most categories.
Digital Nomad and Remote Work Visa
Greece offers a digital nomad visa and a linked residence permit, with an income requirement of around 3,500 euros a month and a 50 percent income tax reduction for qualifying relocating workers.
Family, Spouse and Partner Visa
Family reunification, or EU free movement where the spouse is an EU citizen.
Retirement and Passive Income Visa
The Financially Independent Person visa at 3,500 euros a month, now issued as a three-year permit, plus the 7 percent flat tax election.
Investor, Golden and Entrepreneur Visa
The golden visa, tiered since 2024 at 800,000 euros in Attica, Thessaloniki, Mykonos, Santorini and larger islands, 400,000 elsewhere, and 250,000 for conversions and listed restorations. Minimum 120 square metres and no short-term rental.
Permanent Residence and Citizenship
The destination rather than the journey. Permanent residence gives an indefinite right to live somewhere without renewing a visa; citizenship gives a passport, political…
Where and how to apply
- Official portal
- Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa portal
- Where to file
- At the consulate with jurisdiction over your U.S. state of residence, in person, usually through an outsourced visa application centre.
- Visa application centre
- Applications are made at Greek consulates directly in most U.S. jurisdictions.
- Biometrics
- Ten fingerprints and a facial image. Schengen biometrics are reused for 59 months, so a repeat applicant inside that window may be able to submit without attending in person.
- Fees
- The Schengen short-stay fee rose from 80 to 90 euros with effect from 11 June 2026. National long-stay visa fees are set nationally and are higher. A visa application centre service fee is charged on top.
- Short-stay processing
- 15 calendar days as standard, extendable to 45 in individual cases
- Long-stay processing
- 30 to 90 days for national visas, then the in-country residence permit stage
Documents and authentication for Greece
Greece is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so U.S. public documents are apostilled. That is a single certificate and it is the end of the chain.
Translation. Required into Greek by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs translation service, a certified Greek lawyer, or a sworn translator.
- 1 Obtain a certified original From the issuing authority. Photocopies, scans and souvenir certificates cannot be authenticated.
- 2 Notarise, if it is a private document Letters, affidavits, powers of attorney and diploma copies need a notary acknowledgement first. Government-issued vital records do not.
- 3 County clerk, in some states A handful of states require the county clerk to certify the notary commission before the Secretary of State will act.
- 4 Authenticate at the right level State-issued documents go to the Secretary of State of the ISSUING state. Federal documents, including the FBI Identity History Summary, go to the U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications.
- 5 Apostille or embassy legalisation Hague Convention destination: the apostille ends the chain. Non-member destination: the document then goes to that country embassy or consulate. For Greece the apostille ends the chain.
- 6 Certified translation Translate the document together with its apostille or legalisation certificate. Doing this first means paying twice. Required into Greek by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs translation service, a certified Greek lawyer, or a sworn translator.
- 7 File with the right consulate Jurisdiction is by your U.S. state of residence. Bring originals plus a full copy set.
The two expensive mistakes. Sending a federal document such as an FBI Identity History Summary to a Secretary of State, which cannot authenticate it. And translating before authentication, so the apostille certificate is not inside the translation and the whole set has to be paid for twice.
Official sources
- Ministry of Migration and Asylum Residence permits and in-country filing.
- AADE (tax authority) AFM tax number and the alternative taxation regimes.
Questions about Greece
Do I need a Greek AFM number?
Yes, before almost anything else. The AFM is the Greek tax identification number and you need it to rent, buy, open a bank account or complete a residence application. It can be obtained through a Greek consulate or through a representative in Greece.
Verified Sep 7, 2026 Primary sources: migration.gov.gr, www.mfa.gr
This resource is provided free by Federal Apostille as an educational tool. It is not legal or immigration advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using it. Visa rules, fees, processing times and entry requirements change frequently and often without notice, and individual circumstances change the answer. Always confirm current requirements with the official government source and the specific embassy or consulate that has jurisdiction over your place of residence before you book travel or file an application. Every figure on this site carries the date we last verified it and a link to the primary source.
