AMKA in Greece:
how foreigners get it, activate it, and what it does not cover.

Updated 26 October 2026Reading time 9 minBy Leadinsure, registered insurance agent (no. ΧΑΝ/395) · How we are paid

The AMKA (ΑΜΚΑ, Αριθμός Μητρώου Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης) is the Greek social security number. You need it to work, to pay social insurance contributions and to receive pensions and benefits in Greece. Foreigners who live in Greece legally can get one: EU citizens with their ID card or passport, non-EU citizens as a rule with a residence permit that gives access to the labour market. You apply in person, free of charge, at a KEP (citizen service centre) or an office of e-EFKA, the national social insurance fund, and you need a Greek tax number (AFM) first.

Under the rules applied since 1 April 2024, a new AMKA is issued inactive and becomes active only when you prove that you actually live in Greece. And an AMKA is not health insurance: since 1 November 2025 an active AMKA is the condition for free public healthcare if you are uninsured, but it is not a policy and it does not replace the private cover that several residence permits ask for. For what each status needs, see our guides to health insurance in Greece and to health insurance for a residence permit.

What is an AMKA, and how is it different from an AFM?

Under Joint Ministerial Decision (ΚΥΑ) Φ80320/109864/2023 (Government Gazette ΦΕΚ Β' 7280/22.12.2023), the AMKA is the compulsory work and social insurance identification number of everyone covered by the Greek social insurance system. It is needed to register insured people and pensioners, to pay contributions and to pay pensions, benefits and allowances. It never changes and identifies one person only (art. 1). Holding an AMKA has been compulsory by law since October 2009.

If an employer asks for your registration number (αριθμός μητρώου) before your first job in Greece, e-EFKA says to register first at any local e-EFKA office. Bring your AMKA, your AFM, your passport (EU citizens can bring their national ID card instead), the employer's hiring confirmation and, if you are not an EU citizen, your residence permit or the certificate of your permit application.

Who can get an AMKA in Greece as a foreigner?

The decision gives the right to apply to Greek citizens, citizens of EU member states, non-EU citizens and stateless persons, and minors in these groups (art. 3). Adults must prove two things: that they stay in Greece legally, and that they have access to the labour market or are covered by the Greek social insurance system. Adults who get an AMKA in order to be insured as a dependant of an insured relative do not need access to the labour market.

• EU citizens: a valid ID card or passport of an EU member state is the proof (art. 4(2)).
• Non-EU citizens and stateless persons: a valid passport, or the travel document of a beneficiary of international protection, and a valid residence permit with access to the labour market (art. 4(3)). People who objectively cannot get a passport and beneficiaries of international or temporary protection need only the permit. Dependants can use a permit in their own right or as a family member.
• Waiting for a first permit or a renewal: in February 2025 the Ministry of Migration and Asylum reminded AMKA offices that the electronic certificate of an application for a permit or its renewal proves legal stay for as long as the application is pending, and that offices should not ask for a valid permit instead. e-EFKA also accepts this certificate for a first job.
• UK citizens covered by the Withdrawal Agreement: documents proving their special residence status can replace the residence permit (art. 4(3)).
• Asylum seekers: they receive a ΠΑΑΥΠΑ automatically with the asylum seeker's card (Ministry of Labour, January 2024).

How to get an AMKA in Greece: steps and documents

1. Get your AFM first. Adults need a Greek tax number before the AMKA (art. 4(11)). AADE issues it free of charge through an online application on myAADE, with identification by video call (myAADElive) or in person at a tax office (ΔΟΥ). Foreign nationals send a copy of a valid passport, and EU citizens can use their national ID card; non-EU citizens who are tax residents of Greece also need a valid residence permit or another document proving legal stay.
2. Collect your documents (table below). Show your identity document in the original. Documents in a foreign language need an official Greek translation, except those issued by EU member states under Regulation (EU) 2016/191 (art. 11(1)). You also need a family status certificate, a birth certificate or another public document with your personal details, unless they already appear on your passport, ID card or permit and no proof of a family relationship is needed (art. 4(11)).
3. Apply in person at any KEP or local e-EFKA office. There is no online application. Someone else can apply for you with an authorisation whose signature has been certified (art. 11(2)). The service is free, and the national register of administrative procedures estimates 15 to 30 minutes.
4. Keep your AMKA certificate (βεβαίωση έκδοσης ΑΜΚΑ). It is handed to you and also sent by email (art. 11(4)).
5. Activate it with proof that you actually live in Greece (next section).

Proof of actual residence (art. 6) is, for example, a certificate of tax residence in Greece, or owner-occupation, a lease, free use or hosting declared on AADE's applications, or a student residence or study certificate. EU citizens can also use an employer's hiring certificate or an ERGANI contract, and non-EU workers whose employer provides housing can use a sworn statement from the employer. There are special documents for homeless people, residents of reception and housing programmes and detainees.

Inactive and active AMKA: the rules since April 2024

The decision of December 2023 split the AMKA into two stages, and the new system started on 1 April 2024, according to the Ministry of Labour. An AMKA can be active, inactive or, after death, dormant.

• Issued inactive once you prove legal stay and access to the labour market or to social insurance (art. 2(1)).
• Activated when you also prove that you actually live in Greece (arts 5 and 6). A dependant's AMKA is activated when the insured relative's AMKA is active.
• Deactivated when legal stay, access to the labour market or actual residence ends, or when the insured relative's AMKA is deactivated (art. 7). After a residence permit expires, this happens automatically the next day unless the permit has been renewed or extended.
• Checked every November: IDIKA reviews AMKA numbers each year and deactivates those that no longer meet the conditions. If you are a tax resident of Greece, the residence condition is met; if you are a tax resident abroad, the check looks for owner-occupation, a lease, free use or hosting declared on AADE's applications (arts 7(4) and 11(6)).
• Reactivated with the same documents as for activation (art. 8). If your AMKA was deactivated by these checks, you can ask a KEP or e-EFKA office for a one-off temporary reactivation of 30 days, within which you must bring the documents (art. 11(6)).

Contributions can still be paid on an inactive AMKA (art. 13(2)).

Does an AMKA give you free healthcare in Greece?

Not by itself. An AMKA is an identification number, not health insurance. What you get depends on whether you are insured.

• Insured through work: your health cover comes from your contributions to e-EFKA and is provided by EOPYY, the national health services organisation. If you have active insurance entitlement (ασφαλιστική ικανότητα), EOPYY benefits in kind are provided even while your AMKA is inactive (art. 13(3)). The minimum work periods are in our guide to health insurance in Greece.
• Uninsured and living in Greece legally: since 1 November 2025 you have free access to public health facilities, with hospital and medical-pharmaceutical care, only with an active AMKA (Ministry of Health circular Γ2δ/οικ.48556 of 3 November 2025, applying Law 4368/2016, art. 33). Without one, the facility sends you to activate it at a KEP or an e-EFKA office; if you do not, you pay for the services you received.
• Vulnerable groups named in the same article, such as certain minors, pregnant women, asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection, can use public health facilities without an active AMKA if they bring the documents the circular lists.

Private health insurance alongside your AMKA

Many foreigners in Greece add private health insurance, because their permit asks for it or because they want hospital cover beyond the public system. Choosing it is where we can help.

• For a residence permit: a policy whose wording meets the legal minimum covers of the permit rules. See health insurance for a residence permit.
• For real protection: a hospital plan for a serious illness or accident, on its own or used together with EOPYY if you are insured through work.
• Before you sign: we go through the entry age, waiting periods, exclusions and renewal terms of each plan with you.

How Leadinsure helps

Leadinsure is an insurance agency (registered insurance agent) for individuals and businesses. We ask the insurance companies we work with for proposals for your case and explain them to you side by side, in plain language. We do not issue AMKA numbers: only a KEP or an e-EFKA office can. You pay us no separate fee: our commission is already included in the premium. You can reach us by phone or online, whichever suits you. Request a health insurance quote or email info@leadinsure.gr. We reply within 24 hours on working days, with no obligation. You can also call +30 28210 86065. Office hours (Greek time): Monday to Friday 09:00–16:00 and 17:30–20:30, Saturday 09:00–14:00.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

The laws, decisions and official pages we checked for this guide. Many of them are in Greek.