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GuideΚΥΑ 133692/2024

Greece residence permit health insurance requirements (2026)

Costas Matheou, licensed insurance agent
Costas MatheouLicensed insurance agentLast updated:
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Residence permit health insurance

To meet the Greece residence permit health insurance requirements without e-ΕΦΚΑ cover, you need a private policy with at least €10,000 hospital, €1,500 medical and €15,000 accident-disability cover a year, and a co-pay of 20% at most (ΚΥΑ 133692/2024). The D visa before it needs different cover.

Key takeaways

  • 1The amounts come from ΚΥΑ 133692/2024 (ΦΕΚ Β' 2724/2024, May 2024), which replaced ΚΥΑ 53821/2014 with the same amounts.
  • 2Employees insured with e-ΕΦΚΑ and their dependants need no private policy (Migration Code (Ν. 5038/2023), Art. 8(ε)). Golden visa, financial-independence and digital-nomad permits do.
  • 3The national D visa asks for travel insurance lasting at least as long as the visa, covering medical repatriation and emergency care, with no euro amount on the official document list.
  • 4A foreign policy counts if it states that it covers you while you live in Greece and meets the minimums. Art. 1(1) of the decision does not require a Greek insurer.
  • 5At renewal the office checks your cover for every year of the expiring permit, and a policy bought later does not fill a past gap (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 2(δ)).
  • 6On the private route, each applying family member needs cover in their own name (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 23).
CertificateΚΥΑ 133692/2024
  • Hospital€10,000
  • Medical€1,500
  • Disability€15,000
  • Your share, at most20%
  • Cover in Greece

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Costas Matheou, licensed insurance agentCostas MatheouLicensed insurance agent

Requirements

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.

  • Hospital care, illness or accident

    Minimum per year
    €10,000
    Your share of each bill, at most
    20%

  • Medical and pharmacy costs, illness or accident

    Minimum per year
    €1,500
    Your share of each bill, at most
    20%

  • Permanent total or partial disability from an accident

    Minimum per year
    €15,000
    Your share of each bill, at most
    20%

  • Accidental death

    Minimum per year
    not required
    Your share of each bill, at most
    not applicable

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.

By permit type

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.

  • Golden visa, real-estate investor (Β.5)

    First application
    private policy
    Renewal
    private policy
    Legal basis
    Decision 214926/2025 · Golden Visa Greece step by step

  • Financial investments (Β.4)

    First application
    private policy
    Renewal
    private policy
    Legal basis
    ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 30

  • Financially independent person

    First application
    private policy
    Renewal
    private policy
    Legal basis
    Art. 66

  • Digital nomad (Ζ.1 visa, then Ι.8 permit)

    First application
    private policy
    Renewal
    see Code Art. 163(8)
    Legal basis
    Art. 10

  • Vocational, language or music school student

    First application
    private policy
    Renewal
    private policy
    Legal basis
    Arts 37, 43 to 45

  • Aged 65 or over, no Greek pension right

    First application
    private policy
    Renewal
    renewed for 3 years at a time
    Legal basis
    Ν. 5275/2026, Art. 35

  • University student (Η1)

    First application
    ΕΦΚΑ application or private policy
    Renewal
    active insurance or private policy
    Legal basis
    Art. 32

  • Family reunification (Ο1)

    First application
    sponsor's fund or private policy
    Renewal
    cover for the sponsor and each member
    Legal basis
    Art. 23

  • Non-EU family member of an EU citizen

    First application
    fund application or private policy
    Renewal
    active insurance or private policy
    Legal basis
    Art. 59

  • 10-year permit (Μ2)

    First application
    active insurance or private policy
    Renewal
    not listed
    Legal basis
    Art. 58

  • Business or strategic investor (Β.1, Β.2)

    First application
    social insurance fund application
    Renewal
    active social insurance
    Legal basis
    Arts 27, 28

  • Employee

    First application
    e-ΕΦΚΑ application
    Renewal
    active e-ΕΦΚΑ insurance
    Legal basis
    e.g. Art. 46

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.

Visa vs permit

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.
A traveller with a suitcase and a passport checking her phone in an airport arrivals hall
National visa (D)Residence permit
Legal act
ΚΥΑ 133692/2024 (ΦΕΚ Β' 2724/2024)
Who checks
the one-stop service, through ΟΠΣ «Μετανάστευση»
Product
health policy for a resident
Minimum amount
€10,000 hospital, €1,500 medical, €15,000 disability a year
What it must pay
hospital, medical and accident disability in Greece
Duration
yearly policies, renewed on time

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.

Foreign policies

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:
Hands comparing a printed insurance document beside a laptop, a passport and a coffee cup
ΚΥΑ 133692/2024, Art. 1(1)The wording covers you while living in Greece, not only while travelling.
  • 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)).
Deductibles

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.

Renewal

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.

Renewal filing window

−2 months · on time

2 months before expiry

Permit expires

+1 to +3 months · €100 fine each month

not accepted

3 months after

A woman writing a renewal reminder in a paper planner at her desk, phone and document folder beside her
  1. 01Renew the policy before its end date.
  2. 02Keep the certificate for every year of the permit.
  3. 03File 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.

Family

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».

A family of four walking hand in hand through a sunny whitewashed town square

What changed

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.

  1. 2014

    ΚΥΑ 53821/2014 sets the three minimums under Ν. 4251/2014.

  2. 1 January 2024

    the Migration Code, Ν. 5038/2023, applies and repeals the 2014 basis.

  3. 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.

  4. 6 February 2026

    Ν. 5275/2026 is published.

  1. 1Renewal window: now set in the Code, with a monthly fine for late filing (Art. 12).
  2. 2Visa 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).
  3. 3A 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)).

Exemptions

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.
  • EmployeesEmployees on e-ΕΦΚΑ and the dependants they support (Migration Code (Ν. 5038/2023), Art. 8(ε)).
  • EU citizensEU 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 nationalsUK 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 to apply

How do you add the insurance to your application?

  1. 1
    Find your route in the permit table above.
  2. 2
    Buy a 12-month policy that starts on or before your filing date.
  3. 3
    Ask for a certificate that states the three amounts, your share of each bill and cover in Greece.
  4. 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.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

The premium depends mainly on your age. I don't quote prices in a guide because insurers change their tariffs; current prices by age are on the residence-permit health insurance page. For hospital plans beyond the permit minimum, see what private health insurance costs in Greece.

Public hospital care is covered for people insured with e-ΕΦΚΑ, whose health benefits ΕΟΠΥΥ pays, and EU visitors with an EHIC get necessary care (ΕΟΠΥΥ). A permit policy pays public-hospital bills up to its limits, after your share.

No. The decision requires cover while you live in Greece and says nothing about the rest of the EU (ΚΥΑ 133692/2024, Art. 1(1)). Some university guides mention the EU, so a desk may ask, but a Greece-only policy meets the text.

For the permit, yes, as long as it starts on or before the day you file. For the D visa, the travel policy has to exist before your consulate appointment (D-visa document list).

Insurers set their own age limits, and they differ widely. Permit policies usually exclude conditions you already have, so a certificate can meet the ΚΥΑ amounts while that condition stays uncovered. Ask for a quote before you file.

No. ΑΜΚΑ is a social security identification number. At renewal the office asks for proof of active insurance, meaning e-ΕΦΚΑ insurance or the private policy (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 2(δ)). Our guide on how foreigners get an ΑΜΚΑ and public healthcare explains which statuses bring ΕΟΠΥΥ cover.

No. Their permit falls under ΚΥΑ 513542/2022 and comes with an ΑΜΚΑ and access to public healthcare (ΚΥΑ 95391/2024, Art. 68).
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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Need a policy for your permit?

Get a certificate that lists the ΚΥΑ 133692/2024 amounts, ready to upload with your application.

Get a quote