Moving to Greece from the UK after Brexit

Before Brexit, UK citizens could move to Greece and rely on freedom of movement rules that no longer apply. Since Brexit, a British citizen planning a long-term move to Greece needs a national visa, known as a type D visa, before relocating. This is a different process from a short tourist stay and it starts with choosing the right visa route for your situation.

• Freedom of movement rights ended for UK citizens after Brexit.
• A long-term move now requires a national type D visa applied for in advance.
• The route you choose depends on whether you have income or savings, or you work remotely.

Understanding this shift early avoids delays once you are further into planning, and it shapes which paperwork, including insurance, you need to gather first.

Two visa routes cover UK citizens moving to Greece outside work-sponsored routes. The Financially Independent Person, or FIP, route suits those moving on income or savings rather than local employment. The FIP visa route is built for retirees and anyone not taking up Greek employment.

The digital nomad visa suits UK citizens who keep working remotely for a non-Greek employer or clients while based in Greece. See the digital nomad visa guide for how that route differs from FIP.

• FIP route: income or savings based, no local employment.
• Digital nomad route: remote work for employers or clients outside Greece.
• Both routes sit under the same national type D visa framework.

Choosing the wrong route early can cost you time later, so match your circumstances to the route before you gather documents.

Greece's national type D visa application requires travel medical insurance with minimum cover of €30,000. This must be valid for the whole Schengen area and for the full duration of your stay, and it must cover emergency care, hospitalisation, and repatriation. This is the visa stage requirement, checked before you travel.

• Minimum €30,000 cover, valid Schengen-wide.
• Cover for the whole length of your planned stay.
• Emergency care, hospitalisation, and repatriation included.

This is not the same as everyday health cover once you are living in Greece. It is the specific document your consulate or visa office checks at application stage, and getting it wrong can stall your paperwork. Read more on health insurance for UK citizens in Greece before you apply.

Once you arrive and move from the visa to a residence permit, the process becomes more of a case question than a checklist. Permit offices vary in what they expect and how they read your paperwork, and we cannot tell you what a particular office will accept. This stage is genuinely office-discretionary.

Because of that, a person confirms the certificate for your office before you buy, so the certificate you hold matches what your specific office is asking for rather than a generic assumption.

• The residence permit stage is handled office by office.
• Requirements can differ between regions and caseworkers.
• Confirming your certificate against your office avoids mismatched paperwork.

Treat the permit stage as something to plan for rather than assume, and keep your documents ready to adjust if your office asks for something specific.

NHS access is based on residency, not citizenship. A long-term move abroad ends routine NHS access, so cover in Greece is not a top-up to something you keep back home, it is what you rely on instead.

Cover under the Essential plan starts from $392 a year for an adult aged 18, and $308 a year, flat, for a child aged 0 to 17. Prices are per person per year on annual billing from the 2026 rate card; your exact rate depends on age.

• Pre-existing conditions are not covered, including conditions you did not know about.
• Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States.
• This is not travel insurance, it is designed around a long-term move.

See what health insurance in Greece costs and current plan pricing for the full picture before you commit.

Covered Abroad is an introducer, not the insurer. A partner insurer underwrites the policy, and our team calls you to talk through the quote with no obligation to buy. That call is where age, route, and start date turn into an actual number rather than a from-price.

• We walk through the FIP or digital nomad route you are following.
• We confirm what your specific permit office needs before you buy anything.
• You get a quote by phone, with no pressure to commit on the call.

Start with the moving to Greece checklist to see what you already have, then use get a quote or check your requirements to book the call and move forward.