Guidance

Greece: providing services and travelling for business

Guidance for UK businesses on rules for selling services to Greece.

• From: Department for Business and Trade, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department for International Trade and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
• Published: 28 February 2019
• Last updated: 11 August 2021 — See all updates

Read this page in combination with the guidance for EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

The authoritative source for Greek market regulations is the Greek government. This guidance links to official Greek sources wherever possible.

Trade and services regulations in Greece

If you’re a UK business offering services in Greece, you must follow Greek regulations about:

• getting authorisations or licences to provide a service
• complying with specific local business regulations
• EEA nationality requirements which could prevent you from providing services in some sectors

The Greek e-government portal for service providers can help you to:

• learn about providing services in Greece
• understand local regulations
• complete any relevant administrative procedures online

Consider appointing an English-speaking lawyer in Greece to help you comply with specific regulations. You can also contact your local chamber of commerce for advice.

To check if EEA nationality requirements apply to you, contact the appropriate competent authority.

Trade reservations

To sell or provide services to customers in Greece, you must follow local laws. If in doubt, you should get professional advice.

Reservations are part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. They reserve the right of each party to keep or make new laws restricting investment, or the sale of services, in ways that would otherwise breach the rules in the agreement.

Check which reservations apply to the sale of services from the UK to Greece. This includes an interactive tool to find reservations that are already in place.

VAT on sales of digital services

To use the UK’s VAT Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) to declare sales of digital services to EU consumers, businesses need to register for MOSS in an EU member state.

Find out more about paying VAT on sales of digital services.

Ownership of companies registered in Greece

If you have a UK business, you might face restrictions on your ability to own, manage or direct a registered company in Greece or any other EEA country.

Read more about this in our guidance relating to the EEA and Switzerland.

Ownership of legal firms in Greece

If you’re a UK legal professional who has investments in law firms in Greece, contact the Greek Plenary of Bar Associations for further information on the implications for your investment.

For information about setting up and running a business in Greece, visit Enterprise Greece.

Business travel and entry requirements

UK business travellers and service providers may need a visa, work permit or other documentation.

Check our travel to Greece for work guide for detailed information on:

• types of visa and work permit routes available
• exemptions that may apply to you or the activity you are planning to undertake

The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Greek Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (website in Greek) have more information about:

• visas including intra-corporate transfers
• work and residence permits
• supporting documentation
• other conditions

Check which actions travellers visiting Europe need to take.

Social security payments for employees

Find out if you need to pay National Insurance in the UK or social security contributions in Greece.

Recognition of professional qualifications

To check what you need to do in Greece, read our guidance on professional qualifications in the EEA and Switzerland.

If you need to take action to secure the recognition of your professional qualification in Greece, these sources can help you:

• Greek NARIC, the information centre for the recognition of professional qualifications
• the Greek single point of contact

UK statutory auditors working in Greece

For UK statutory auditors, the Hellenic Accounting and Auditing Standards Oversight Board should be able to provide further information.

UK lawyers working in Greece

If you’re a UK-qualified lawyer working in Greece, either using a Greek or a UK professional title, you should contact the local Bar association in the region in which you are working or the Greek Plenary of Bar Associations for specific advice.

Data transfer and GDPR

On 28 June 2021, the EU formally adopted ‘adequacy decisions’ for the UK, delivered through:

• Article 45 of the GDPR
• Article 36 of the Law Enforcement Directive

‘Adequacy decisions’ allow for the ongoing free flow of personal data from the EU/EEA to the UK.

Read guidance on using data in your personal business or other organisation.

Published 28 February 2019
Last updated 11 August 2021 + show all updates

1. 11 August 2021

   Updated 'Business travel and entry requirements'.

2. 11 June 2021

   Added 'Trade reservations' guidance. Updated 'Recognition of professional qualifications' with new UK contact point.

3. 28 December 2020

   Updated the following sections to reflect the changes created by the UK and EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement: overview, trade regulations, VAT on sales of digital services, business travel and entry requirements, social security payments for employees, recognition of professional qualifications, and data transfer and GDPR.

4. 30 November 2020

   Guidance for ‘Recognition of professional qualifications’ and ‘Social security payments for employees’ updated.

5. 14 October 2019

   Change to title to include travelling for business

6. 10 October 2019

   Update to 'Business travel and entry requirements' section

7. 28 February 2019

   First published.