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GUIDEΦΕΚ Β' 7280/2023

Health insurance in Greece for foreigners: who gets public cover and who needs private

Costas Matheou, licensed insurance agent
Costas MatheouLicensed insurance agentLast updated:
A couple who have just moved to Greece sit at a kitchen table with passports, a laptop and blank forms, moving boxes behind them
Public or private cover

Health insurance in Greece for foreigners depends on your status, not your passport: ΕΟΠΥΥ (EOPYY, Greece's national health fund) covers you if you pay Greek contributions or hold an EU S1 or EHIC, and uninsured legal residents with an active AMKA (the Greek social security number) get free public care. Golden Visa and financially independent permits bring no AMKA on their own, so private cover is usually the only route.

Key facts

  • 1A non-EU national gets an AMKA only with a permit that gives access to the labour market, or as the family member of an insured person (ΚΥΑ Φ80320/109864, ΦΕΚ Β' 7280/22.12.2023).
  • 2e-ΕΦΚΑ's AMKA case table marks financially independent, investor (Golden Visa) and volunteer permits "ΟΧΙ": no AMKA (e-ΕΦΚΑ, case 26).
  • 3A legal job or registered self-employment puts you in ΕΟΠΥΥ through e-ΕΦΚΑ (e-EFKA, the social insurance body), whatever your nationality, once your insurance days count (e-ΕΦΚΑ).
  • 4EU and UK visitors use an EHIC or GHIC. People who move here need Greek work or an S1 registered in Greece (European Commission; gov.uk).
  • 5Uninsured legal residents who hold an AMKA get free public care under Art. 33 of ν. 4368/2016. Emergency departments treat everyone (Ministry of Health).
  • 6Non-EU permit holders without Greek contributions must hold private cover of at least €10,000 hospital, €1,500 outpatient and €15,000 accident disability a year (ΚΥΑ 133692/2024, ΦΕΚ Β' 2724/2024).
CertificateΚΥΑ 133692/2024
  • Hospital€10,000
  • Medical€1,500
  • Disability€15,000
  • Price from€69 a year, ages 0 to 40

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Costas Matheou, licensed insurance agentCostas MatheouLicensed insurance agent

By status

Is healthcare free in Greece for foreigners?

Public care is free at the point of use only when ΕΟΠΥΥ covers you: through Greek contributions, an EU S1 or EHIC, or as an uninsured legal resident with an active AMKA. Even then you pay 25% of most medicines and 15% of diagnostic tests at contracted providers (European Commission). Non-working non-EU residents rely on private cover.

  • EU/EEA visitor

    Route into public care
    EHIC
    AMKA
    not needed
    What you show
    EHIC + ID
    What you still pay
    co-pays; €20 per consultation without the card

  • UK visitor

    Route into public care
    GHIC or UK EHIC
    AMKA
    not needed
    What you show
    card + passport
    What you still pay
    co-pays; €20 per consultation without the card

  • EU or UK pensioner living here

    Route into public care
    S1 registered in Greece
    AMKA
    yes
    What you show
    S1 + AMKA
    What you still pay
    co-pays, like an insured Greek

  • Employee, any nationality

    Route into public care
    e-ΕΦΚΑ contributions
    AMKA
    yes
    What you show
    AMKA, 50 insurance days
    What you still pay
    co-pays

  • Self-employed, any nationality

    Route into public care
    e-ΕΦΚΑ contributions
    AMKA
    yes
    What you show
    AMKA, contributions paid
    What you still pay
    co-pays

  • EU citizen living here, not working

    Route into public care
    S1 (a private policy only proves cover for registration)
    AMKA
    yes, with registration certificate
    What you show
    S1, or registration certificate + policy
    What you still pay
    co-pays with an S1; otherwise everything outside the policy

  • Golden Visa, financially independent

    Route into public care
    none
    AMKA
    no (case 26)
    What you show
    private policy
    What you still pay
    everything outside the policy

  • Digital nomad

    Route into public care
    none
    AMKA
    not listed
    What you show
    private policy
    What you still pay
    everything outside the policy

  • Non-EU student

    Route into public care
    e-ΕΦΚΑ contributions if working part-time; otherwise none
    AMKA
    only if working
    What you show
    private policy, or contributions when working
    What you still pay
    co-pays if working; otherwise everything outside the policy

  • Asylum applicant

    Route into public care
    ΠΑΑΥΠΑ, a temporary insurance and care number
    AMKA
    ΠΑΑΥΠΑ
    What you show
    ΠΑΑΥΠΑ
    What you still pay
    free public care

Your route can change at each permit renewal, so confirm your AMKA and insurance status with e-ΕΦΚΑ before planned care. The digital nomad permit gives no Greek social insurance, so the permit file needs a private policy (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 10).

A pharmacist hands a paper bag to a customer across a pharmacy counter, a small blue card lying on the counter
Co-pays still apply

Working here

How do foreign workers and the self-employed get ΕΟΠΥΥ cover?

An employee gets ΕΟΠΥΥ benefits after 50 insurance days in the previous calendar year or in the last 12 months (e-ΕΦΚΑ). A self-employed person pays e-ΕΦΚΑ from €250.77 a month in 2026 (e-ΕΦΚΑ). Nationality plays no part.
A young man signs an employment contract at an office desk while a manager points to the signature line
First jobA new employee in Greece has no ΕΟΠΥΥ benefits until the 50 insurance days count.

A private policy bridges that stretch, or a home-country EHIC while your home cover still applies. Once you have active insurance capacity, not just an active AMKA, you can register your spouse and minor children as dependants with e-ΕΦΚΑ (e-ΕΦΚΑ). The yearly cost of private cover is in my guide to private health insurance costs in Greece.

EU and UK

How do EU citizens and UK nationals use Greek healthcare (EHIC, S1, GHIC)?

An EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) or the UK's GHIC covers necessary care on a temporary stay, on the same terms as an insured Greek. If you move here, you enter the public system through Greek work or an S1, the form your home fund issues to move your public cover abroad. Only one country's public system covers you at a time (Regulation (EC) 883/2004).

On a visit, show the card and your ID at a public hospital, a health centre or a doctor contracted with ΕΟΠΥΥ. Those doctors give 200 free consultations a month, so ask first (European Commission). The card never pays a private clinic without an ΕΟΠΥΥ contract, and it never pays a flight home.

  1. 1
    Your home fund issues the S1 (pension or long-term cover).
  2. 2
    You get an AMKA with your EU registration certificate, or your residence document as a UK national under the Withdrawal Agreement.
  3. 3
    You register the S1 with e-ΕΦΚΑ, which enters you in ΕΟΠΥΥ (gov.uk).
  4. 4
    From then on you use public care like an insured Greek.

UK nationals who moved to Greece after the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020 are non-EU nationals under Greek rules. The UK government says that if you do not work and have no registered S1, you need private health insurance (gov.uk, page dated 21 October 2021).

Getting AMKA

How do you get an AMKA as a foreigner, and who can't?

AMKA is a registration number, not insurance. Since the December 2023 decision, e-ΕΦΚΑ issues it to a non-EU national only with a permit that gives access to the labour market. And it activates the number only with proof that you actually live in Greece (ΦΕΚ Β' 7280/2023).
  1. 1Identity. Passport and residence permit, or an EU ID with your registration certificate.
  2. 2Proof you live here. A lease, ownership or hosting declared to ΑΑΔΕ, or an ΕΡΓΑΝΗ work contract, a business start or proof of studies.
  3. 3Where. Apply at a ΚΕΠ (citizen service centre) or an e-ΕΦΚΑ office.
  4. 4Check. Make sure the number shows as active before you need care.

Who can get one: workers, the self-employed, family members of an insured person, S1 holders and people with international protection. Who cannot: holders of financially independent, investor (Golden Visa) and volunteer permits, marked "ΟΧΙ" in e-ΕΦΚΑ's own case table (dated September 2023).

A woman hands a passport and papers to a clerk at a public service counter
Watch the expiry date

Your AMKA switches off automatically the day after your permit expires, unless it is renewed or extended (ΦΕΚ Β' 7280/2023, Art. 7). Keep the receipt of your renewal application with you.

Uninsured

What do you pay in Greece without insurance?

Emergency departments treat everyone, whatever their status. Call 166 or 112 for a free ΕΚΑΒ ambulance to a public hospital (European Commission). Uninsured legal residents who hold an AMKA get free public care under ν. 4368/2016, Art. 33. Without an AMKA or an EHIC, you pay.
  • €0public hospital care for an uninsured legal resident with an AMKAν. 4368/2016, Art. 33
  • €16 to €72an afternoon appointment at a public hospital outpatient clinic, paid by every patient, by the doctor's grade (figure last updated December 2021)ΕΟΠΥΥ

  • Emergency department

    Covered by ΕΟΠΥΥ, S1 or EHIC
    free
    Uninsured legal resident with AMKA
    free
    No AMKA, no EHIC
    treated; follow-up care billed

  • Public outpatient consultation (morning)

    Covered by ΕΟΠΥΥ, S1 or EHIC
    free
    Uninsured legal resident with AMKA
    free
    No AMKA, no EHIC
    €20 plus tests

  • Afternoon hospital clinic

    Covered by ΕΟΠΥΥ, S1 or EHIC
    €16 to €72
    Uninsured legal resident with AMKA
    €16 to €72
    No AMKA, no EHIC
    €16 to €72

  • Hospital stay

    Covered by ΕΟΠΥΥ, S1 or EHIC
    free in public hospitals
    Uninsured legal resident with AMKA
    free in public hospitals
    No AMKA, no EHIC
    billed at the public hospital price list

  • Prescribed medicines

    Covered by ΕΟΠΥΥ, S1 or EHIC
    usually 25%
    Uninsured legal resident with AMKA
    co-pay set by income (ΚΥΑ 25132/2016)
    No AMKA, no EHIC
    full price
A nurse at a hospital reception desk talks with a man whose wrist is in a sling while his partner holds a folder
Emergency care for all

Press reports describe a Ministry of Health circular, applied from 1 November 2025, that ties free care to an active AMKA and bills everyone else, with exceptions for vulnerable groups. I have not found the circular itself published, so check your AMKA status on gov.gr before a planned visit.

Golden Visa, FIP

Can Golden Visa and financially independent residents join ΕΟΠΥΥ?

Golden Visa and financially independent residents usually cannot join ΕΟΠΥΥ. Their permits give no access to the Greek labour market, so e-ΕΦΚΑ does not issue them an AMKA as insured persons (case 26). Voluntary e-ΕΦΚΑ cover is open only to people with past Greek insurance. So private cover is both the permit condition and the only cover.
  • 1,500 dayspast Greek insurance needed for voluntary cover, with 300 of them in the last five years, if you apply within a year of leaving compulsory insurancee-ΕΦΚΑ
  • 3,000 daysthe threshold if you apply latere-ΕΦΚΑ

Three exceptions open public care: an EU or UK state pension with an S1, a spouse or child of an insured worker, or a later permit that allows work. The permit steps themselves are in my Golden Visa step-by-step guide. The permit sets its own minimum cover; I list the amounts, and the €30,000 figure that belongs to Schengen visas, not permits, in my guide to residence permit health insurance requirements.

Need cover that meets the permit minimums? See DigiCare's health insurance for residence permits.

Other cases

What about students, family members, Americans and Israelis?

Students and family members follow the same status rules; Americans and Israelis follow the non-EU rules. Greece's social-security agreements with 14 non-EU countries coordinate pensions, and Israel has none with Greece (Ministry of Labour).
  • Students. EU students use an EHIC and UK students a Student GHIC (gov.uk). A non-EU student gets an AMKA only when working part-time as the study permit allows; otherwise the permit's private policy is the cover.
  • Family. A spouse and minor children of an insured worker join ΕΟΠΥΥ as dependants. On a private route, each person needs a policy.
  • Americans, Canadians, Australians. The agreements include the USA, Canada and Australia. I have found no rule in them that gives a retiree ΕΟΠΥΥ cover.
  • Israelis. Israel is on neither country's list (Bituah Leumi). Israeli residents follow the non-EU rules above.

Private cover

When is private health insurance required, and when is it worth having?

Private health insurance is required only when you have no route into ΕΟΠΥΥ and the law asks for proof of cover. That means non-EU permit holders without Greek contributions (ΚΥΑ 133692/2024) and EU citizens who live here without work or an S1, who need comprehensive sickness insurance to register (P.D. 106/2007, Art. 7). For everyone else it is a choice.
  • Worth havingThe first weeks of a job before your insurance days count, a private hospital of your choice, cover outside Greece.
  • Not needed for public careEHIC visitors, insured workers, S1 pensioners.

If you are in ΕΟΠΥΥ and want private cover on top, the health insurance page shows the plans.

FAQ

Health insurance in Greece for foreigners: FAQ

A visitor does not: show an EHIC or GHIC, or pay. A resident needs an active AMKA for ΕΟΠΥΥ care and for free care as an uninsured legal resident under Art. 33 of ν. 4368/2016.

No. The EHIC covers temporary stays. After you register as a resident, you need Greek work, an S1 registered with e-ΕΦΚΑ or private cover.

Only as voluntary continuation after past Greek insurance: 1,500 days, with 300 of them in the last five years, if you apply within a year of leaving compulsory insurance, otherwise 3,000 days. A never-insured resident has no buy-in route.

Yes, with a UK S1 registered in Greece: you use public care like an insured Greek. The S1 comes from the NHS Overseas Healthcare Services.

Yes. It deactivates automatically the day after the permit expires, unless the permit is renewed or extended. Keep your renewal receipt.

EU rules make one country's legislation apply at a time, usually where you work, so you do not pay into two public systems. That country can still fund your care in Greece: an S1 registered here does exactly that, and a posted worker with an A1 form stays in the home system. A private policy on top is always allowed.

In an emergency, yes: emergency departments treat everyone. Planned care is paid, because a Golden Visa permit on its own brings no AMKA and so no ΕΟΠΥΥ or Art. 33 access.
Costas Matheou, licensed insurance agent

About the author

Costas Matheou is a licensed insurance agent who writes and reviews the guides on DigiCare Insurance. This guide is general information, not individual legal or insurance advice.

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