Retire in Greece

Greece's appeal for US and UK retirees starts with a practical point: the entry route is defined in advance rather than discovered case by case. Retirees typically apply through the FIP (financially independent person) category rather than a work-based visa, and the insurance requirement at the visa stage is published rather than left to interpretation.

That clarity matters because the steps that follow, the residence permit application after arrival, are handled at the discretion of the local office. Retirees moving from the US or UK are usually managing two systems at once: their home country's healthcare exit (Medicare or the NHS) and Greece's entry requirements. Understanding both before you book anything reduces the number of surprises during the move. See our retirees hub for the full planning sequence.

The FIP (financially independent person) route is the classic retirement path into Greece: it is designed for applicants who are living on income or savings and who are not working in Greece. This is distinct from a student visa, a digital nomad visa, or a work-based residence permit, each of which has its own document set and its own logic.

Because the FIP route assumes no local employment, the supporting paperwork focuses on proof of means and, for the visa stage, proof of qualifying travel medical insurance. Retirees applying from the US or UK should expect the visa application and the later residence permit application to be treated as two separate steps, handled by two different offices, each with its own checklist. Our Greece FIP visa insurance guide walks through what supports each stage.

Greece's national (type D) visa route requires travel medical insurance with a minimum cover of €30,000. That cover has to be valid for the whole Schengen area, valid for the full duration of your stay, and it has to include emergency care, hospitalisation, and repatriation. This is the visa-stage requirement, and it is separate from whatever the residence permit office later asks for.

The written rule shown on this page reflects this €30,000 minimum exactly as published, so you can check any policy against it before you submit an application. A policy that meets the visa-stage minimum is not automatically the same as a policy suited to actual retirement in Greece: cover levels, and what they cost at different ages, are a separate question from the €30,000 visa threshold. See health insurance for Americans in Greece for how the two connect.

The residence permit stage happens after you arrive in Greece, and it is handled by a different office than the one that issued your visa. This stage is office-discretionary: what one office wants to see and how it wants to see it can differ from what another office asks for, so this is a case question rather than a fixed checklist. We do not make claims about what any specific permit office will or will not accept.

Because of that variation, the safer sequence is to confirm requirements before you commit to a policy rather than after. In practice, a person confirms the certificate for your office before you buy, rather than assuming one certificate format works everywhere in Greece. Our guide to moving to Greece from the US covers this sequencing in more detail, including what to ask your local office directly.

US Medicare does not cover routine treatment outside the United States, so relying on it after a move to Greece leaves a gap for anything short of an emergency requiring evacuation home. NHS access works differently but lands in a similar place: NHS access is residency-based, and a long-term move abroad ends routine NHS access. Both systems stay behind once you retire abroad, which is why a standalone policy matters beyond the visa-stage minimum.

At retirement ages, Essential-level cover per adult per year runs $1,731 at 65, $2,191 at 70, $3,528 at 75, and $5,681 at 80. Prices are per person per year on annual billing from the 2026 rate card; your exact rate depends on age. New applicants are accepted up to age 70 on every level except Essential, which accepts new applicants up to age 80. See current pricing by age and our Medicare abroad guide for how the two systems interact.

Pre-existing conditions are not covered, including conditions you did not know about at the time you applied. This is stated plainly because the exclusion applies regardless of when a condition was diagnosed, and it is standard across international private medical cover, not specific to a Greek policy. Cover is worldwide but excludes treatment in the United States, and this is not travel insurance: it is built for people who are actually living abroad, not for a short trip.

Covered Abroad is an introducer, not the insurer: a partner insurer underwrites the policy, and our role is to match your situation to the right level and connect you with a quote. A member of our team calls you with the quote itself, and there is no obligation to buy. Start with our quote request or run the numbers first on our requirements checklist.