Greece

7% flat tax regime for foreign pensioners. Retirees who move their tax residence to Greece can elect a flat 7% rate on all foreign income for up to 15 years.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

7% flat tax regime for foreign pensioners

Not a residence permit — a tax election available to anyone who becomes a Greek tax resident, most commonly retirees using the FIP visa or an EU-citizen's free-movement right.

Who qualifies

Recipient of a foreign pension who was not a Greek tax resident for 5 of the preceding 6 years.
Law 4172/2013, Art. 5B, added by Law 4738/2020
Must transfer tax residence from a country that has a tax treaty or administrative-cooperation agreement with Greece.
Law 4172/2013, Art. 5B
Application must be filed with the Greek tax authority (AADE) by 31 March of the relevant tax year; AADE must decide within 60 days.
Law 4172/2013, Art. 5B

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

It could fit.

Retirees who move their tax residence to Greece can elect a flat 7% rate on all foreign income for up to 15 years.

Every door that fits your family

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Time: Filed by 31 March of the year residence begins; decided within 60 days.
Cost: The 7% flat tax itself, plus advisory fees of roughly $2,000–5,000 to file correctly.
The hard part: Proving genuine non-Greek tax residence for 5 of the prior 6 years.

Citizens by 2035.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
Residence begins
No permit term of its own; the clock runs on legal residence.
2032
Permanent residence
Five years of legal, continuous residence (absences under 6 months in a row and 10 months in total are allowed), enough income, and proof of Greek language plus Greek history and culture: a B1 certificate, Greek schooling, or a special state exam.
2034
Apply for citizenship
With a language test and a civics test.
2035
Citizenship

Language: Greek at about B1, tested in the written part of the naturalisation exam (the PEGP).
Civics: The PEGP exam (Certificate of Adequacy of Knowledge for Naturalisation), run twice a year: Greek language plus Greek geography, history, culture and political institutions. Pass mark 70%.
Time away: Seven years of lawful residence in a row immediately before applying. The law sets no day count, but the years must be real residence under a permit type the Citizenship Code accepts; long stays abroad can lead to refusal.
Two passports: Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.

A tax election, not a permit; it does not change the citizenship clock, which runs on whatever residence permit you hold.
I could not open the official consolidated Citizenship Code (ypes.gr returned 403); the 7-year rule, shorter periods and the PEGP come from a Greek law firm's guide, not the statute.
Which permit types count: a 2019 legal blog lists investor permits among the permits that count; another summary says they are excluded. Not settled from an official text.
No reliable decision-time figure: one law firm says up to 12 months; published research describes much longer waits.
Dual citizenship is allowed (no renunciation asked), confirmed only by secondary sources.
The long-term residence language rule (B1 or special exam) comes from a law firm summary of Law 5038/2023, not the Migration Code itself.
Permit lengths (FIP three years, digital nomad two years, golden visa five years) and their renewal lengths come from the earlier research pass; the Migration Code text was behind a paywall today.
How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.

The law behind these dates

AADE — Law 4172/2013 art. 5B (7% flat tax for foreign pensioners) · checked 2026-09-24
Siopi law office — EU long-term residence permit in Greece (Law 5038/2023) · checked 2026-09-25
Siopi law office — Citizenship by naturalisation for third-country nationals in Greece (Citizenship Code art. 5; PEGP exam) · checked 2026-09-25
Ministry of Interior — Greek Citizenship Code (Law 3284/2004), consolidated · checked 2026-09-24

Living there.

Time you must spend there: The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax: This is the tax regime itself: a flat 7% on all foreign-source income, including the pension, for up to 15 consecutive tax years, instead of ordinary progressive Greek tax.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

File the Art. 5B application with AADE, Greece's independent tax authority.Open aade.gr ↗
Round up the papers.
- Become resident in Greece under a residence program

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

6 steps, from the first paper to every renewal. You do 1 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →

ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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