At an enlarged interministerial videoconference, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, highlighted the need to accelerate the procedures for attracting Digital Nomads through coordinated actions and the creation of the relevant legislative framework in collaboration with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
The videoconference, which was held on Mr. Varvitsiotis’ initiative, was attended by the co-competent Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarachi, the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor Alexis Patelis, the Regional Governor of Attica, Giorgos Patoulis, the President of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), Dimitris Papastergiou, the Governor of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR), Giorgos Pitsilis, and the Secretaries General for International Economic Αffairs, Ioannis Smirlis, Digital Governance and Simplification of Procedures, Leonidas Christopoulos, Public Administration IT Systems, Dimosthenis Anagnostopoulos, Tourism Policy & Development, Vicky Loizou, Labour, Anna Stratinaki, and Primary Health Care, Marios Themistokleous, as well as other ministry officials.
As Mr. Varvitsiotis underscored, Greece’s intention is to create the conditions for the comprehensive hosting and accommodation of high-income teleworkers by promoting – beyond the tax and social security environment – the comparative advantages that make the country attractive. The Alternate Minister stressed, in fact, the importance of the relevant policies for promoting the goal of Greece’s openness and attraction of investments after the pandemic, as announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Interministerial coordination, Mr. Varvitsiotis noted, is aimed at “ensuring that all of the competent state services provide this service in a uniform manner, that is to say, to attract people who will choose to stay and work in our country as digital nomads using simple digital procedures”.
Referring to the digital implementation of the policy, the Alternate Minister highlighted the exceptionally successful experience of the Foreign Ministry’s management of Brexit through the integrated brexit.gov.gr platform, proposing, similarly, the implementation of an integrated model for all new visa services, including the Business Visa and the Student Visa, which are already operating successfully. Apart from the procedures for entering the country, the proposed platform will include information on all possible issues that might arise during their stay in our country (insurance, health care, tax status, infrastructure networks in given municipalities and regions, etc.).
It should be noted that the two co-competent Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Migration and Asylum are already in the final stage of drafting the legislation that will establish the special visa category for entry into the country of Digital Nomads from third countries and the relevant Greek residence permits that will fall under this new regime.
