Greece residence permit health insurance requirements (2026)
What health insurance does a Greek residence permit require?
Residence-permit health insurance is the private policy a third-country national without public insurance files with a Greek permit application. ΚΥΑ 133692/2024, issued under Art. 176(10) of the Migration Code, Ν. 5038/2023, sets three yearly minimums with a capped co-pay, and the policy must cover you while you live in Greece.
The decision does not ask for repatriation, private-hospital cover or a death benefit. A policy may add them, but they are not among the decision's minimums, so I wouldn't pay extra for them just to get the permit. The decision replaced ΚΥΑ 53821/2014, which older pages and the ministry's own «Ζητήματα ασφάλισης» page still quote. The amounts are unchanged.
Which residence permits need a private policy, and which use e-ΕΦΚΑ?
You need a private policy when your permit brings no social insurance. Employees and their dependants insure with e-ΕΦΚΑ instead (Migration Code (Ν. 5038/2023), Art. 8(ε)). The document list for each permit in ΚΥΑ 95391/2024 sets the route, and the minimum amounts are the same for every permit that uses the private one.
Article numbers refer to ΚΥΑ 95391/2024 (ΦΕΚ Β' 1807/2024) unless stated. Its golden visa article (Art. 31) was replaced on 11 November 2025 by Decision 214926/2025 (ΦΕΚ Β' 6014/2025), which still asks for a private policy; applications filed before that date stay under the old article. I checked the other rows against the amendments published up to 26 September 2026. The list for your permit is on the ministry's applications portal. For the nomad route see digital nomad visa health insurance.
Is travel insurance enough for the D visa, and for the permit?
For the D visa, travel insurance that meets the consulate's list is what is asked for; for the permit it usually is not enough. The Greek consulate that issues a national D visa asks for travel insurance lasting at least as long as the visa, covering medical repatriation, emergency care or emergency hospitalisation (ΥΑ 22343/2024, Art. 4). No euro amount is set. After you arrive, the permit needs the ΚΥΑ 133692/2024 policy.
The euro figure many search answers give for Greece belongs to the Schengen short-stay rule in the Visa Code, not to the D visa. A consulate or visa centre can still publish its own checklist, so read the one for yours. And a travel policy usually fails the permit rule, because it is short-term and not written as cover for someone living in Greece.
Does a foreign or international policy count?
Yes, if it meets the minimums and states that it covers you while you live in Greece. ΚΥΑ 133692/2024, Art. 1(1) accepts a policy concluded abroad on that condition, or one concluded in Greece. It does not require a Greek-licensed insurer. Before you file a foreign policy, check four things:
- The three amounts reach the minimums in the first table.
- Your share of each bill is 20% or less.
- The wording covers you while living in Greece, not only while travelling.
- It has no «εξαιρέσεις ή/και ειδικές πρόσθετες συμφωνίες» (exclusions or special additional agreements, Art. 1(3)).
The ministry's only reading of that last clause is circular 63975/2014, written for the old decision: it targeted terms that cancel the cover in practice, such as deductibles or waiting periods. I found no circular on the 2024 wording as of 26 September 2026. A per-claim deductible is the clearest conflict, so I would not file a policy that has one. The office may ask for a certified translation. To see whether an insurer is authorised in Greece, search the Bank of Greece register.
What does the office check when you renew?
The office checks that you held active insurance for the whole period of the expiring permit, not only on the day you file, so a multi-year permit needs evidence of continuous qualifying cover (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 2(δ)). A policy bought later to cover a past gap does not count. A year without cover needs proof of unemployment benefit or force majeure instead.
Since 6 February 2026 the filing window is set in the Code (ΦΕΚ Α' 17/2026, Ν. 5275/2026, Art. 12). You apply online through ΟΠΣ «Μετανάστευση» within the 2 months before your permit expires. A late application is accepted for up to 3 months after expiry, with a fine of €100 for each month of delay. After that it is not accepted unless you prove force majeure.
- Renew the policy before its end date.
- Keep the certificate for every year of the permit.
- File the permit renewal inside the 2-month window with the current certificate.
The 2024 decision dropped the old rule that a policy must run for one year. But the minimums are yearly and the check covers each year, so annual policies renewed on time are still the norm. If your decision is taking months, keep the policy running until it arrives. Golden visa holders who spend part of the year abroad should keep cover continuous too.
Does each family member need their own policy?
Yes, on the private route. Each applying family member must be covered in their own name, with the minimums applying per person, and one contract can list several insured people. Golden visa family members follow the investor on the same private route (Decision 214926/2025). When a family-reunification permit is renewed, the office checks the insurance of the sponsor and of each member (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 23).
If the sponsor works and is insured with e-ΕΦΚΑ, dependants are covered through that fund (Migration Code (Ν. 5038/2023), Art. 8(ε)). In Greek this is «ασφάλιση όμοια με του συντηρούντος».
What did Ν. 5275/2026 change for health insurance?
The minimum amounts did not change. Ν. 5275/2026 (ΦΕΚ Α' 17/06.02.2026) amended the Migration Code in three ways that touch insurance, and it left Art. 8(ε) and the Art. 176(10) decision as they were.
- 2014: ΚΥΑ 53821/2014 sets the three minimums under Ν. 4251/2014.
- 1 January 2024: the Migration Code, Ν. 5038/2023, applies and repeals the 2014 basis.
- May 2024: ΚΥΑ 133692/2024 (ΦΕΚ Β' 2724/10.05.2024) re-issues the same amounts and co-pay cap, without the one-year duration rule.
- 6 February 2026: Ν. 5275/2026 is published.
- Renewal window: now set in the Code, with a monthly fine for late filing (Art. 12).
- Visa first for digital nomads: switching into the permit after a visa-free or Schengen entry is no longer possible, so the D-visa travel policy always comes first (Art. 13).
- A permit for people aged 65 or over who have lived in Greece for at least 20 years, have no Greek pension right and cannot renew their current permit. It requires the private policy (Art. 35, now Code Art. 134(4)).
Who does not need a private policy?
Three groups file something other than the private permit policy: employees insured with e-ΕΦΚΑ and their dependants, EU citizens, and UK state pensioners with an S1 form. People under temporary protection also have public cover.
- Employees on e-ΕΦΚΑ and the dependants they support (Migration Code (Ν. 5038/2023), Art. 8(ε)).
- EU citizens register instead of applying for a permit, and the ΚΥΑ does not apply to them. If they do not work in Greece, they need comprehensive sickness insurance with no amount set (P.D. 106/2007, Art. 7(1)). An S1 form or a comprehensive private policy are the usual routes; an EHIC covers necessary care on temporary stays, not a move (ΕΟΠΥΥ, Moving to Greece).
- UK nationals have been third-country nationals since Brexit. State pensioners with an S1 get Greek state healthcare; people without an S1 who do not work need private cover (gov.uk, updated 21 October 2021).
How do you add the insurance to your application?
1. Find your route in the permit table above. 2. Buy a 12-month policy that starts on or before your filing date. 3. Ask for a certificate that states the three amounts, your share of each bill and cover in Greece. 4. Upload it with your application on ΟΠΣ «Μετανάστευση», the ministry's online system (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 1).
For a policy with a certificate that lists the ΚΥΑ amounts, get a residence-permit health insurance quote.