Health insurance in Greece:
public care, private plans and what your permit needs.

Updated 26 October 2026Reading time 10 minBy Leadinsure, registered insurance agent (no. ΧΑΝ/395) · How we are paid

Healthcare in Greece is not automatically free for foreigners, and the health insurance you need depends on your status, not your nationality. If you work in Greece with access to the labour market, you pay contributions to e-EFKA, the national social insurance fund, and use the public system through EOPYY, the national health services organisation, like Greek workers. Visitors rely on travel insurance, or on an EHIC or GHIC for state care if they come from the EU or the UK. The Golden Visa, financially independent person and digital nomad permits ask for a private health insurance policy. EU citizens who move here without working need comprehensive health cover to register; pensioners can use an S1 for public healthcare if the country that pays their pension issues one. And since 1 November 2025, uninsured legal residents have free access to public health facilities only with an active AMKA (Greek social security number).

Each legal point in this guide names its source.

Is healthcare free in Greece for foreigners?

It depends on whether the public system covers you, and that depends on your status, not your nationality.

If you have access to the labour market: e-EFKA and EOPYY

Non-EU residents with access to the labour market, and their dependent family members, must be insured in the Greek social insurance system for their occupation, like Greek nationals (Law 5038/2023, art. 8(ε) and art. 18(2)). For employees this means e-EFKA; a private policy cannot replace it. EU citizens who work in Greece are also insured through their job.

To use EOPYY benefits (doctors, hospital care, medicines), an employee needs at least 50 days of work in the previous calendar year or the last 12 months; a self-employed person needs at least 2 months of insurance in the same period, with contributions paid (Law 4387/2016, art. 41(8)).

Without Greek public insurance: AMKA and the active AMKA rule

Uninsured Greeks, EU citizens and non-EU nationals with legal residence documents, and their family members, have free access to public health facilities, paid by EOPYY (Law 4368/2016, art. 33). Since 1 November 2025, a Ministry of Health circular (Γ2δ/οικ.48556/03.11.2025) grants this only with an active AMKA. Without one, you are sent to activate it at a KEP (citizen service centre) or e-EFKA, and otherwise you pay for the care you receive.

• It is a safety net, not insurance. It gives access to public health facilities, and to medicines through pharmacies contracted with EOPYY, where a co-payment on medicines may apply. It is not the private policy that several permits ask for.
• An active AMKA is not guaranteed for everyone. The rules we have checked do not make clear whether Golden Visa, financially independent person or digital nomad permit holders can get one; the first two have no right to work in Greece, and digital nomads work remotely for employers or clients outside Greece and undertake not to work for an employer based in Greece. Do not plan around free public care; we check your case with you.

Public cover also has limits: in private clinics contracted with EOPYY you pay a co-payment, which is one reason many residents add a private hospital plan.

Which health insurance do I need in Greece? Cover by situation

It depends on why you are in Greece. Workers are insured with e-EFKA, visitors rely on travel insurance or an EHIC or GHIC, and the Golden Visa, financially independent person and digital nomad permits need a private policy. The table shows each situation and its legal basis.

"Private policy" below means a policy that meets the minimum cover for residence permits, explained in the next section.

Each applicant files their own documents (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, art. 2), so every family member who applies needs proof of cover.

Health insurance for a Greek residence permit: the legal minimum

For permits where private insurance is allowed, Joint Ministerial Decision (ΚΥΑ) 133692/2024 (Government Gazette ΦΕΚ Β' 2724/10.05.2024) sets the minimum cover. The policy must include all three covers, each with a co-payment (your share of the cost) of no more than 20%.

Policies with exclusions and/or special additional agreements are not accepted (art. 1(3)). You do not need a Greek insurer: a policy from abroad is accepted if it expressly states that it covers you for as long as you live in Greece; otherwise the policy is taken out in Greece (art. 1(1)). As a rule, you submit it on the day you file your application.

An ordinary hospital plan is not automatically a good permit document: deductibles, waiting periods and exclusions can clash with the 20% limit and the no-exclusions rule. How each permit office applies that rule has not been published, so no one can promise acceptance. Ask for a policy designed for residence permits, with wording that states the three amounts of the decision. Full rules, permit by permit: health insurance for a Greek residence permit.

EHIC, GHIC and S1: health cover for EU and UK citizens in Greece

EU citizens

• Visiting: the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers necessary state healthcare on a temporary stay, but not private healthcare, rescue or repatriation (European Commission).
• Moving here to work: you are insured in the Greek system through your job.
• Moving here without working, including retirement: you need comprehensive health insurance and sufficient resources, with proof of the insurance for the registration certificate after three months (Your Europe; Presidential Decree 106/2007, arts 7 and 8).
• EU pensioners: if the country that pays your pension issues an S1, you register it in Greece and use public healthcare at that country's expense. The Greek registration procedure treats pensioners with this right as meeting the health insurance condition (mitos.gov.gr).

UK citizens

• Visiting: a UK GHIC or EHIC covers necessary state healthcare on visits and some temporary stays, such as studying. It is not cover for residents.
• UK State Pension and S1: according to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), UK State Pension recipients living in or moving to an EU country may be entitled to an S1. You can apply up to 90 days before you move, and NHSBSA can post it to your UK address for your visa. To register it in Greece you first need an AMKA, according to GOV.UK. It does not cover private healthcare.
• Not working and no S1: GOV.UK says you will have to take out private health insurance (page last updated October 2021).
• Arrival date: UK nationals legally living in Greece before 1 January 2021 have Withdrawal Agreement rights; later arrivals use the same permits as other non-EU nationals.

What types of private health insurance are there in Greece?

The main types are residence-permit plans, hospital plans (including plans that work with EOPYY), outpatient and network plans, international health insurance, travel medical insurance and employer group plans. Terms differ between insurers and products, so the table is a general picture, not a description of a specific plan.

Check the residence conditions too: some hospital plans cover only people who live in Greece permanently and do not stay abroad for more than six months in a row. If you split your year between countries, compare them with international cover.

Age limits, pre-existing conditions and renewals

Age limits

No law sets an age limit; each insurer sets its own, product by product. Ask each insurer in writing two things: up to what age it accepts new members for the plan you want, and up to what age it renews that plan. The renewal limit is a separate term from the entry age, and it decides how long an existing policy can continue.

Pre-existing conditions

Unless the policy says otherwise, health insurance covers illnesses from causes that did not exist when you signed, or that you had good reason not to know about (Law 2496/1997, art. 32). Conditions you already have are not covered automatically: depending on the insurer, a condition may be excluded or accepted with an extra premium, or the application may be declined. Waiting periods for some treatments are common.

With a written health questionnaire, only the facts it asks about count: the insurer cannot later rely on something it did not ask, an unanswered question or an incomplete answer to a general question, unless you intended to deceive (art. 3). In health insurance you do not have to report illnesses that appear after signing (art. 4). Hiding a known condition, however, can cost you the claim and the policy.

Renewals and price increases

Most new plans renew yearly, with the new premium set by the insurer. For long-term contracts (lasting more than one year), since 1 January 2026 the yearly adjustment depends on an index published by ELSTAT, the Hellenic Statistical Authority, unless the contract provides for no adjustment or a fixed one (Law 5170/2025, art. 29). The same article requires insurers to publish their premium adjustments for each product: check them, not only the first-year price.

How to choose health insurance in Greece as an expat

1. Start from your status. A visit, a visa, a permit, a job or EU residence each need something different.
2. For a permit, check the wording first: the three ΚΥΑ amounts, a co-payment of 20% at most, no exclusions and, for a foreign policy, cover for your residence in Greece.
3. Decide how much real cover you want. A permit plan meets the legal minimum; a hospital plan pays for a serious illness.
4. Check where you live. A network discount helps only if a network hospital is within reach, which matters on the islands and in rural areas.
5. Keep the policy in force. You will need proof again at every permit renewal, and a new policy later means a new health questionnaire.

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 and explain their health plans and terms to you side by side, on the same basis and in plain language. You pay us no separate fee: our commission is already included in the premium. We work with you by phone and online, wherever you are. Request a 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.