M. Varvitsiotis: Simple, functional and safe framework for attracting digital nomads in Greece

“The Digital Nomads Visa that we introduced at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the” Blue Carpet Policy “policy offers a simple, functional, accessible and secure framework, so that Greece becomes a place of attraction for digital nomads”, stressed the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis. A greeting addressed today at the 1st Conference of Digital Mobilities Nomads and Remote Workers, organized online in Athens by the Digital Nomads Observatory.

In particular, the Deputy Foreign Minister pointed out that at a time when work is changing and states are competing to win over those who provide distance services, Greece is a country that can attract digital nomads for many reasons, such as the good quality of life offers, the exceptional climatic conditions, the cheap cost of living, the increased capabilities of its human resources, the administrative adequacy of the state mechanism, but also the competitive tax framework that has been created especially for these employees.

For this reason, as the Deputy Foreign Minister explained, Greece, following the good practices of other countries, such as Estonia, Croatia and the Czech Republic, has formulated an integrated policy of attracting third country nationals, the so-called “Blue Carpet Policy”. More specifically, after Business Visa and Student Visa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proceeded with the institutionalization of Digital Nomads Visa, in order to attract employees with a fairly high income (over € 3,500 per month) and their living expenses are guaranteed. Thus, he added, Greece not only created an easy electronic process to attract them, but also left no room for circumvention of the new legal framework in order to legalize cases of illegal immigration.

Finally, Mr. Varvitsiotis, after pointing out the growing interest that has been expressed in attracting specific teleworkers in Greece and especially in specific areas of the Greek region, where clusters tend to be created, announced that the effort to improve and rationalize visa issuance system, with special emphasis on the introduction of a new form of visa for medical tourism (Medical Visa) and the upgrade and reformulation of the relevant website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.