Setting Up a Company in Greece as a Foreigner

You do not need to be Greek, or to live in Greece, to own a Greek company, and most companies can now be formed online through the state's electronic one-stop shop, e-YMS. What foreign founders most often get wrong is not the filing itself but three earlier decisions: which legal form decides who pays if the business cannot, what a non-Greek founder must have in hand before logging in, and the difference between owning a company and being allowed to live and work in Greece. This guide takes each in turn and links to the official Greek texts behind every rule.

Which Greek business form fits your liability risk?

Greek law offers several vehicles for a business. They differ in formalities, cost and capital, but the decisive question is who answers for the business's debts if its own money runs out. The main options, from the most exposed to the most protected:

Sole trader (atomiki epicheirisi)

You trade in your own name. There is no separate legal person standing between you and your creditors, so the debts of the business are your personal debts and your personal assets are exposed to them. Greece's official register of public procedures describes a fully online gov.gr service for starting a sole proprietorship, but lists it as available to Greek or EU nationals who are permanent residents of Greece (official procedure description). If you do not fit that description, ask an accountant which route applies to you before you plan around this form.

General partnership (OE)

An omorrythmi etaireia has its own legal personality, yet the partnership rules of Law 4072/2012 make every partner answer for its debts alongside it, without limit and jointly. In practice a creditor can pursue any one partner for the whole debt, not just a share of it. The OE suits people who know and trust each other and accept full personal exposure; it is a poor fit for passive investors.

Limited partnership (EE)

An eterorrythmi etaireia needs at least one general partner with unlimited liability and at least one limited partner. A limited partner who has paid the agreed contribution is not liable for the partnership's debts; one who has not paid it is personally liable up to the unpaid amount. That protection can be lost. A limited partner can be treated like a general partner if their name appears in the firm name, for acts done with authority to represent the partnership, or for debts incurred while the partnership was already trading before its registration in the General Commercial Registry (GEMI), in each case unless the creditor knew the person was only a limited partner (EE rules, Law 4072/2012, Articles 271 to 281).

Private company (IKE)

The idiotiki kefalaiouchiki etaireia was introduced in 2012 as a new company form. One or more natural or legal persons can form it, and a single-member IKE is allowed. The partners set the capital freely, and the law expressly says it can even be zero. The basic rule is that only the company, with its own assets, answers for its obligations (IKE rules, Law 4072/2012, Articles 43 to 120).

The exception is built into the form itself. IKE partners can make three kinds of contribution:

• Capital contributions — cash or assets in kind that form the capital. The capital must be paid in full when the company is formed, and the manager must certify full payment within one month by an act registered in GEMI.
• Non-capital contributions — performances that cannot be capital, such as an undertaking to carry out work or provide services, which the articles must specify and value.
• Guarantee contributions — an undertaking to answer to the company's creditors for its debts up to an amount stated in the articles. Here the limited-liability shield does not apply: creditors can claim directly against the guarantor partner, several guarantor partners are jointly liable, and a partner who leaves while that liability is not fully paid remains liable for debts that arose before the exit was registered in GEMI, for three years after that registration.

So an IKE protects a partner who makes only capital or non-capital contributions, but a guarantee contribution is personal exposure by design. Read the contribution clauses of a draft IKE statute as carefully as the capital clause.

Limited liability company (EPE)

The older etaireia periorismenis efthynis, governed by Law 3190/1955, also shields its partners: only the company answers for its debts, with its own assets (EPE law text). It can still be formed, either with a model statute or by notarial deed, and acquires legal personality on registration in GEMI. Ask your adviser whether, for your plans, it offers anything that an IKE does not.

Société anonyme (AE)

The AE is another company form available through the official e-YMS formation procedure. If your project involves outside investors, ask your adviser to compare its governance, capital structure and investor rights with an IKE or EPE before selecting the form.

How do e-YMS and the one-stop shops work?

Company formation in Greece runs through One-Stop Services (YMS) under Law 4919/2022, the same law that governs GEMI. The fastest channel is the electronic one-stop shop, e-YMS, at eyms.businessportal.gr. According to the GEMI business portal, an AE, OE, EE, EPE or IKE can be set up there, the IKE in single-member or multi-member form (GEMI business portal).

e-YMS works with model articles of association approved by ministerial decision; the current set is listed on the Ministry of Development's one-stop-shop legal framework page. That is the trade-off: speed and a low fee in exchange for standard clauses. For the IKE the law goes further. It must be formed through e-YMS, using the model articles or the model articles with additional content, unless a notarial deed is used, which the law requires, for example, where an asset contributed to the company can only be transferred by notarial deed. In that case a certified notary acting as a one-stop shop handles the formation. For the other forms, a bespoke statute or a notarial deed means going through a physical one-stop shop, such as a chamber's GEMI office or a certified notary.

On e-YMS the process looks like this:

1. Log in. One founder, or an authorised third party, signs in with personal TAXISnet credentials.
2. Check and reserve the name. The platform runs an electronic pre-check of the company name and distinctive title and reserves them.
3. Complete the model articles. You enter the company's details into the model statute online. Under the official procedure description, entering data in e-YMS counts as a solemn declaration, and no documents are uploaded (official IKE procedure).
4. Every founder signs. The other founders are notified, authenticate and sign the articles electronically; managers who are not founders accept their appointment in the same way.
5. Pay and submit. The fee is paid electronically; the official cost calculator shows the current amount.
6. Registration. The system registers the company in GEMI and with the competent chamber, assigns its tax number (AFM), informs e-EFKA, the social-insurance agency, which registers the company as an employer where needed, and issues a certificate of incorporation.

Two details matter later. First, the company comes into existence on its registration in GEMI. Second, although nothing is uploaded, the founders' supporting documents are not optional: under the 2025 joint ministerial decision on one-stop formation (No. 38164/2025, Government Gazette B' 2639/2025), they must be kept in the company's file and produced if GEMI carries out a random check. Companies that need a regulator's prior authorisation before they can be formed, such as banks and insurers, fall outside the ordinary one-stop procedure altogether.

Which tax number and credentials do founders need?

Every founder needs an active Greek tax number (AFM). The official IKE procedure lists the founders' legal capacity and an active Greek AFM for each of them among its conditions, and the 2025 decision applies the same requirement to corporate founders: a foreign parent company that joins as a founder also needs its own Greek AFM. You also need credentials to authenticate, which means TAXISnet codes or other public-sector login credentials that the platform accepts. Obtaining these from abroad is often the slowest part of the preparation, so start early. The Greek tax authority, AADE, explains the current application route for people living abroad on its page for residents abroad.

A tax representative is not a universal requirement. Under the Code of Tax Procedure (Law 5104/2024), a non-resident taxpayer may appoint a Greek-resident tax representative to receive correspondence; that representative is not liable for the taxpayer’s own tax obligations. The article separately refers VAT and insurance-premium tax obligations to other representation rules. Ask an accountant which appointment, if any, your circumstances require, and keep this distinct from authority to sign the company’s formation documents.

The founder eligibility conditions in the 2025 decision do not list a Greek business bank account as a separate requirement. The founders’ declaration does, however, ask for account details for refunds if formation fails through the service’s responsibility. This should be distinguished from the account needed to operate the business and the IKE capital-payment obligations. Plan funding with your adviser: IKE capital must be paid in full and the manager must certify payment within one month. Banks perform their own customer checks, so discuss their documents early.

Which documents must foreign founders prepare?

The 2025 decision lists the supporting documents that founders must hold:

• EU citizens: a valid identity card or passport, or an exact copy of either.
• Non-EU nationals: a valid travel document recognised by Greece, with an entry visa where one is required, plus a suitable residence permit in the cases explained in the next section.
• A foreign company as founder: an exact copy of its articles; a certificate from the register where it is entered, confirming its registration and that it is not in liquidation, bankruptcy or similar proceedings; the corporate decision approving the participation and appointing its representative, or a power of attorney; an Apostille or consular legalisation as applicable; and an official Greek translation, for example by a lawyer or a certified translator.

Some roles have their own rules. In an IKE the manager (diacheiristis) must be a natural person, who may or may not be a partner; where a company is a partner and the default management rule applies, it must nominate an individual to act for it. A founder can authorise someone else to handle the steps, but that general authorisation does not extend to signing the articles; under the 2025 decision a founder who wants someone else to sign needs a notarial power of attorney. Founders also declare the company's registered office, which for an IKE is in the Greek municipality named in the articles, and state whether the premises are owned, leased or provided free of charge.

Does company ownership give a right to live or work in Greece?

Company law and immigration law are separate systems. Nothing in the formation procedure grants a right to reside in Greece; instead, it asks whether you already have one where that matters.

• EU citizens rely on EU free-movement rules. Work permits are never required for self-employed people in the EU, and someone who moves to another EU country should register their residence after the first three months (Your Europe: work permits; Your Europe: residence rights).
• Non-EU nationals need a residence permit to found a company if they live or wish to live in Greece and, in an OE or EE, if they will be a general partner (official OE procedure). The 2025 decision accepts permits that allow independent economic activity and carry a remark such as "full market access", "invest. activity" or "independent activity" in their Remarks field; holders of international protection have their own accepted categories. Under these rules, a non-EU shareholder of an IKE who lives abroad does not need a Greek residence permit to found the company.

Does incorporation authorise the business to start operating?

A certificate of incorporation means the company exists; it does not mean it may carry on every activity. Greek law (Law 4442/2016) subjects some economic activities to a prior notification and others to an approval before they start. The 2025 decision states that, apart from a short list of activity codes, a prior notification or approval under that law is not a condition for forming the company. Formation and licensing are therefore two separate tracks, and the second is easy to forget.

• Activity codes (KAD). The company's activities are recorded by activity code. Check whether yours can be set up through e-YMS with the official KAD checker.
• Sector rules. For each activity, ask your adviser whether a notification, an approval or a professional qualification is needed before you open, and who issues it.
• Your own insurance. Formation registers the company with e-EFKA as an employer where needed; your personal social-insurance position as partner or manager is a separate question to settle with an accountant.
• Ongoing duties. Expect bookkeeping, VAT (FPA) and income tax returns, and corporate filings in GEMI. For an IKE, remember the one-month capital certification and, if anyone gives a guarantee contribution, the manager's duty to file an updated statement with GEMI after every change and to post it on the company's website.

Three worked examples

1. A non-EU consultant who lives outside Greece. A Canadian web designer based in Lisbon wants a single-member IKE to work with Greek clients. The designer obtains a Greek AFM and login credentials, forms the IKE online with the model articles, takes the role of manager and arranges a registered office in Greece. Because the founder neither lives in Greece nor is a general partner, the formation rules do not ask for a Greek residence permit. Where the company is actually run from can matter for tax, so cross-border tax advice belongs in the plan. If the designer later moves to Athens to run the company, the immigration question opens separately.

2. A UK company opening a Greek subsidiary. The parent becomes the sole partner of an IKE. It needs its own Greek AFM, a recent certificate from its register, a board decision approving the investment and appointing a representative, an Apostille and official Greek translations. Because an IKE manager must be an individual, the parent names a natural person as manager. If that person will work from Greece and is not an EU national, their immigration status needs separate attention.

3. Two friends, one from the EU and one from outside it, planning a café. They consider an OE because it looks simple. But in an OE both partners are personally liable without limit, and the non-EU friend would need a residence permit allowing independent activity in order to be a general partner. An IKE limits both partners' exposure, as long as neither gives a guarantee contribution. If the non-EU friend lives in Greece, a suitable permit is needed in either case; the OE simply adds the general-partner requirement. The café's operating rules are a separate track, to be checked before opening.

Checklist before you file

1. Choose the form by liability first, then by formalities and cost, and decide whether anyone will give a guarantee contribution.
2. Obtain an active Greek AFM and login credentials for every founder, including any corporate founder.
3. Check your activity codes on the official KAD checker and identify any notification, approval or qualification the activity needs.
4. Non-EU founders: confirm whether a residence permit is needed for formation and whether its Remarks field allows independent economic activity.
5. Corporate founders: order the register certificate, the corporate decision, the Apostille or legalisation and the official translations.
6. For an IKE, name a manager who is a natural person and make sure they can accept the appointment electronically.
7. Arrange the registered office and know whether the premises are owned, leased or provided free of charge.
8. Check the current fee on the official cost calculator.
9. After registration, pay in the IKE capital, diarise the one-month certification and keep the founders' documents in the company file.
10. Settle tax, VAT and social-insurance registrations with a Greek accountant.

Official sources

• GEMI business portal: I want to set up a new business; e-YMS login, cost calculator and activity-code checker.
• Ministry of Development: one-stop-shop legal framework (Law 4919/2022, joint ministerial decision 38164/2025 and the model statutes) and company law texts, including the IKE, EE and EPE rules.
• National register of administrative procedures (Mitos): formation of an IKE, an OE and an AE, and starting a sole proprietorship.
• AADE: tax number and tax representative for residents abroad.
• European Commission, Your Europe: work permits and residence rights of workers.
• 38164/2025 · FEK B 2639/29.05.2025
• 4072/2012 · FEK A 86/11.04.2012

Rules last checked on 26 October 2026 against the official texts listed above. Procedures, fees and accepted documents change by ministerial decision, so confirm the current position before you file.

Getting advice

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Company form, tax residence and immigration status interact, and a mistake in one is hard to repair through another. Before you file, have a Greek business lawyer review your structure and documents and a Greek accountant set up your tax and insurance registrations, so that the company fits your real plans from the first day.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

Rules, fees and thresholds change. Confirm anything in this guide with the official source before you act.

• AADEtax authority
• Ministry of Migration and Asylumimmigration authority
• Athens Bar Associationbar association — verify a lawyer

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