Hire Foreign Nationals in Greece | Work Permits via EOR/PEO

Hiring foreign nationals in Greece usually requires more than a standard employment offer. Where the individual is not an EU or EEA national, employers may need to manage work authorisation, immigration documentation, local sponsorship, and compliant employment setup before work can begin legally.

This creates a practical challenge for international companies that want to hire or relocate talent into Greece but do not yet have their own employing entity there. In those cases, an Employer of Record can provide a compliant route to sponsor employment, support the immigration process, and manage payroll and local employment obligations through an in-country employer.

This page explains when work permits and visas may be required in Greece, how the process typically works for employer-sponsored hires, and how Acumen International supports companies that need to employ foreign talent in Greece without setting up a local company from the outset.

Visa, Work Permit, and Ongoing Immigration Support in Greece

This solution is used where a company needs to employ a foreign national in Greece but cannot do so directly because it has no local employing entity or needs a faster, lower-risk route than incorporation.

That may include:

• relocating an existing employee to Greece
• hiring a non-EU national from abroad for a Greece-based role
• moving a worker from contractor or temporary engagement into formal local employment
• supporting a long-term assignment that requires compliant payroll, sponsorship, and employment administration in Greece

In these cases, the employer usually needs two things to work together from the outset: a valid immigration route and a compliant local employment arrangement. Securing a visa or residence status alone is not enough if the employing setup, payroll registration, and local documentation are not aligned with Greek requirements.

Through an Employer of Record engagement, Acumen supports the employment side of that process by providing a local employing basis, coordinating the required documentation, and helping the employer move from immigration approval to lawful onboarding, payroll, and ongoing employment administration in Greece.

From Work Permit Approval to Compliant Employment in Greece

Obtaining a visa or work permit is only one part of the hiring process. Once the individual is cleared to work in Greece, the employer still needs to ensure that local employment documents, payroll setup, tax and social security registration, and start-date timing are handled correctly.

This is often where international employers run into avoidable delays. Immigration approval does not by itself create a compliant employment arrangement. The employee still needs to be onboarded through a lawful local employment route, with the correct employer-side registrations and ongoing administration in place.

Where Acumen supports the hire through an Employer of Record model in Greece, the transition from immigration approval to active employment can be managed as one connected process. That allows the employee to move into payroll, local employment, and day-to-day administration without the employer having to set up and run its own Greek employing entity first.

Main Steps to Employ a Foreign National in Greece

1. The employer first applies for employment authorisation in Greece.
   The Greek employer must obtain approval to hire the third-country national under the E.4 process. The filing requires, at minimum, a full-time employment contract of at least one year with pay at least equal to the earnings of an unskilled worker, a copy of the worker’s passport, and proof the employer can pay the salary. Income thresholds apply at employer level: €22,000 gross annual income per hire for a natural person employer, and €60,000 per hire for a sole proprietorship or legal entity, subject to specific agricultural rules. For business employers, documents may also be required to show that the worker’s specialisation is relevant to the business activity.
2. After approval, the case moves to the Greek consular stage.
   Once the approval act is issued, it is sent by email to the competent Greek consular authority together with the signed employment contract. The worker then applies in person for a national D visa for employment at the Greek diplomatic mission or consulate where they legally reside. Official visa guidance states that national visa applicants must appear in person, be interviewed, and submit the general long-stay visa documents, including the application form, passport, criminal record certificate, medical certificate, and travel insurance. The consulate may also ask for additional documents.
3. After entering Greece, the worker applies for the residence permit.
   Entry on the national visa is not the end of the process. After arrival, the third-country national must submit an online application for the residence permit for dependent employment before the national visa expires. The official residence permit procedure requires, among other things, a copy of the travel document bearing the visa, the employment contract, and a certificate showing that an application has been submitted to the relevant insurance organisation for full health coverage. The procedure then moves through completeness review, issuance of a submission certificate, and biometric capture.
4. Only after the residence process is underway is the employment position properly regularised.
   Official Greek guidance also states that the national visa itself does not by itself create the full right to work and stay. It must be followed by the residence permit filing, and the worker should hold the relevant proof of submission while the residence process is pending.

Documents Required to Hire a Foreign National in Greece

The document requirements for hiring a non-EU national in Greece should be organised by stage, not presented as one combined checklist. The employer-side approval, the visa application, and the residence permit application each serve a different legal purpose. For employers, this matters because the process can become delayed if documents are prepared for the wrong stage or submitted in the wrong order.

Employer-side documents for hiring authorisation

The process typically begins with the Greek employing entity applying for authorisation to hire the foreign national. At this stage, the file generally includes the proposed employment contract, a copy of the individual’s passport, and supporting evidence that the employer can lawfully support the hire and pay the agreed salary. Where the employer is a company, the authorities may also expect the role and the candidate’s qualifications or specialisation to be relevant to the business activity in Greece.

Documents for the national visa application

Once the employer-side approval has been issued, the foreign national applies for the appropriate national visa through the competent Greek consular post. This stage usually requires the visa application form, a valid passport, passport photographs, a criminal record certificate, a medical certificate, and the supporting employment documents connected to the approved hire. Additional documents may be requested depending on the applicant’s nationality, the place of filing, and the specific facts of the case.

Documents for the residence permit after arrival

After entry into Greece, the individual must complete the residence permit stage linked to employment. This filing generally requires a copy of the travel document showing the relevant visa, the signed employment contract, the relevant employment approval or recruitment record, proof that health insurance registration has been initiated or completed through the appropriate system, and a compliant photograph.

Why employers should treat these as separate filings

One of the most common mistakes in international hiring is treating immigration as a single application. In Greece, that approach creates confusion because visa approval does not by itself complete the employment process. The immigration route and the local employment setup need to be aligned from the outset, with each document prepared for the correct filing stage.

Acumen International: Comprehensive EOR with Immigration Support in Greece

Acumen International supports employers that need to hire or relocate foreign nationals into Greece without setting up their own local employing entity first. Through our Global Employer of Record solution, we provide the local employment route needed for compliant hiring and support the immigration process connected to that employment.

Our immigration support is designed to cover the full employer-side journey, not just the permit stage. This includes guidance on required documentation, coordination of the immigration process, alignment of start dates with approval timelines, and transition into compliant local employment once the individual is authorised to work in Greece.

After the immigration stage, Acumen manages the employment side of the arrangement through its EOR solution. This includes local employment contracts, onboarding, payroll, tax and social security administration, and ongoing employment support in Greece. For employers, this creates one coordinated route from immigration planning to active local employment, rather than treating visa approval and employment setup as separate processes.

This model is particularly useful for companies that need to hire quickly, enter the Greek market without immediate incorporation, support a small number of strategic hires, or move foreign talent into compliant employment without building their own local employer setup from the outset.