Greece

Greece is a country of 10.4 million people whose labour market has improved quickly. Unemployment fell from 12.5% in 2022 to 8.9% in 2025 – still above the EU average of 6.0%, but falling every year.

Youth unemployment dropped even faster: from 31.4% in 2022 to 19.1% in 2025 among people aged 15–24 (EU: 15.2%). The employment rate is 71.0% of people aged 20–64, below the EU average of 76.1%. According to the Ministry of Labour, the average salary recorded in the ERGANI system was €1,516 in 2025.

As an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen you do not need a work permit – you can move, look for a job and work on the same terms as Greeks. Tourism employers in particular also hire workers from abroad when demand rises in the season.

According to EURES, the occupation groups with the biggest shortages in Greece are:

• health professionals,
• customer services clerks,
• stationary plant and machine operators.

Most people work in wholesale and retail trade and in accommodation and food services. Tourism makes many jobs seasonal: the South Aegean islands, the Ionian Islands and Crete need many extra staff in hotels, restaurants, catering and entertainment in spring and summer. Seasonal tourism workers have a right to be re-employed in the next season.

There are more candidates than jobs among legal, social and cultural professionals, science and engineering professionals and teachers – so graduates in these fields face strong competition. Unemployment also differs a lot by region: it is lowest in the South Aegean and highest in Western Macedonia.

The public employment service DYPA (Δημόσια Υπηρεσία Απασχόλησης, formerly OAED) has 115 employment centres (KPA2) across the country and e-services where you can submit your CV online. Start here:

• DYPA – registration as a job-seeker, vacancies, training and apprenticeship programmes,
• EURES – the EU job portal, plus EURES advisers in your home country and in Greece,
• ASEP – the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection, which runs recruitment competitions for the public sector.

Private employment agencies (authorised by the Ministry of Labour), company websites, newspapers and social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook also carry vacancies. Speculative applications work: send your CV, or bring it in person and ask to see the person responsible for hiring.

For step-by-step advice on job search, CVs and interviews in any EU country, see our How to find a job abroad – 10 practical guides.

A Greek application usually contains:

• a short CV of 1–2 pages – the Europass CV is the most common format, but many Greek companies use their own application forms instead. List your languages with your level and certificates,
• a typed cover letter of no more than one page, with your handwritten signature,
• two or three recommendations from people with recognised academic or professional standing.

The interview: learn about the company beforehand and be ready to explain why you are a suitable candidate.

Diplomas: for most jobs the employer judges your qualifications. Foreign academic degrees are recognised by DOATAP. For regulated professions (e.g. doctors, lawyers, engineers) you need recognition from the competent authority – see Your Europe on recognition of professional qualifications.

• Minimum wage: €920 a month for full-time employees and €41.09 a day for manual workers, from 1 April 2026 (+4.55%). You get 14 salaries a year, so Eurostat shows it as €1,073 a month spread over 12 months. The Ministry of Labour calculates that a worker over 30 without children takes home €772 a month.
• Collective agreements and the National General Collective Agreement (EGSSE) can set better pay and conditions.
• Working time: the normal week is 40 hours. In a 5-day week, hours 41 to 45 count as “additional work” paid at +20%; beyond 45 hours it is overtime, paid at +40%. Overtime is legal only if the employer registers it in the ERGANI system beforehand. Work on Sundays and public holidays brings a 75% bonus.
• Holidays: in a 5-day week you get 20 working days of paid leave for your first 12 months (24 in a 6-day week), plus one day for each further year, up to 22 (or 26). Leave should be used by 31 December.
• Contract: your employer must tell you the main terms of your job in writing.

Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland can work in Greece without any permit, just like Greek students.

• Summer jobs: tourism is the classic student job – hotels, restaurants, cafés and entertainment on the islands and the coast hire extra staff in spring and summer.
• Apprenticeships: DYPA vocational schools offer 2-year apprenticeship programmes for people aged 15–29 in more than 37 specialisations, with paid work in a company: apprentices get 80% of the minimum daily wage – €32.87 a day from April 2026.
• Traineeships are also part of many vocational and higher-education programmes; Erasmus+ can support a traineeship abroad.

Students from outside the EU with a residence permit for studies may work part-time.

Thinking of studying there first? See Studying in Greece – practical information.

1. Registration certificate (βεβαίωση εγγραφής): if you stay longer than 3 months, apply within 3 months – at the Aliens’ Department of the police in Attica and Thessaloniki, elsewhere at the police security department or station dealing with foreigners. Bring the application form, your ID or passport, a hiring certificate from your employer, proof of your address, 3 colour photos (4 × 4 cm) and a police stamp of €0.50 (available as an e-paravolo). The certificate has no expiry date.
2. Tax number (ΑΦΜ, AFM): get it at the tax office (ΔΟΥ, DOY). You need it for work, renting and tax.
3. Social security number (ΑΜΚΑ, AMKA): get it at a citizens’ service centre (ΚΕΠ, KEP) or at the social insurance body e-EFKA.
4. Health insurance: as an employee you are insured with EFKA; until then your European Health Insurance Card from home covers necessary treatment.
5. Tax and contributions are deducted from your salary – that is why €920 gross becomes about €772 net for a single worker over 30 (Ministry of Labour, 2026).

Problems with your rights as an EU worker? Your Europe Advice and SOLVIT help for free.

If you are not an EU/EEA or Swiss citizen, you need a national visa for work and then a residence permit. The main routes:

• Invitation procedure (μετάκληση): the employer applies to the Decentralised Administration with a job contract of at least one year paying at least the wage of an unskilled worker. It works only for specialties included in the joint ministerial decision that sets the number of non-EU workers by region and specialty every two years.
• EU Blue Card – for highly qualified workers with a contract of at least one year and a salary linked to the average gross salary in Greece. It is valid for two years and applied for through the migration ministry’s online portal.

All residence permit categories and documents are listed by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum: migration.gov.gr.

• Eurostat – population on 1 January, unemployment by age, employment rate (data for 2025 and 2026),
• EURES – Living and working conditions: Greece, labour market information: Greece,
• Ministry of Labour – new minimum wage from 1 April 2026,
• gov.gr (Your Guide to Greece) – working time, additional work and overtime, annual leave, registration certificate for EU workers,
• DYPA – dypa.gov.gr; ASEP – asep.gr; DOATAP – doatap.gr,
• Ministry of Migration and Asylum – residence permit categories,
• EU Immigration Portal – employed worker in Greece, highly qualified worker in Greece, student in Greece,
• Your Europe – working abroad, recognition of professional qualifications.

Updated: October 2026.