Swiss movers to Greece are mostly freelancers with Swiss clients, remote employees and retirees. Switzerland is not in the EU, but free movement and EU social security rules apply. This guide covers the Swiss exit and the Greek setup.
The short answer
- Swiss tax liability ends with your departure; the year you leave is taxed only for the months you were resident.
- No exit tax on private assets, because Switzerland does not tax private capital gains.
- Pension fund money: the mandatory BVG part usually stays blocked until close to retirement; the supra-mandatory part can be paid out.
- The 1983 treaty: freelance income and most pensions are taxed in Greece; Swiss rent and public-sector pensions are taxed in Switzerland.
- Social security follows your work: freelancers working from Greece join EFKA, not the AHV.
- Article 5C (50% exemption for 7 years) and Article 5B (7% on all foreign income for 15 years) are open to Swiss movers who qualify.
1. Residence in Greece
Under the EU–Switzerland Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, Swiss citizens have the same residence rights in Greece as EU citizens. If you stay longer than three months, you apply in person at the police for a registration certificate.
If you live in Switzerland on a permit as a non-EU national, you need your own route.
2. Leaving Switzerland and the year you leave
You deregister with your Gemeinde before departure. Under the federal income tax law (DBG art. 3 and 8), your unlimited Swiss tax liability ends when you leave. You file a final return for the resident part of the departure year; recurring income is annualised to set the rate.
If both countries treat you as resident, the Switzerland–Greece treaty (signed 16 June 1983, SR 0.672.937.21, amended by a 2010 protocol) decides through the usual tie-breakers: permanent home, then centre of vital interests. In Greece, you become tax resident with your main home or centre of life here, or after 183 days in 12 months.
Swiss banks report Greek residents’ accounts to Greece under the automatic exchange of information, in place with all EU states since 2018.
3. No exit tax, with two caveats
Private capital gains on shares, funds and crypto are tax-free in Switzerland, so moving triggers no tax on them. Two caveats:
- Self-employed: transferring business assets abroad counts as a realisation, so hidden reserves in your Swiss business can be taxed.
- Your Swiss AG or GmbH: profits it distributes later carry 35% Swiss withholding tax. As a Greek resident you reclaim it down to 15% on form 60. Run alone from Greece, the company’s management, and with it its tax residence, can move too. A director working from Greece for the company is insured with EFKA, and the company must register as an employer here. Talk to your Treuhänder first; for a new Greek company, see setting up an IKE.
4. The double tax treaty
| Income | Taxed in |
|---|---|
| Freelance work done from Greece | Greece, unless you keep a fixed base in Switzerland |
| Employment | Where the work is physically done |
| Rent from Swiss property | Switzerland; Greece credits |
| AHV, private-law pension fund (BVG) and pillar 3a pensions | Greece; no Swiss tax at source |
| Pensions from Swiss public employers and public-law pension funds | Switzerland, unless you are a Greek national |
| Swiss dividends | Switzerland keeps 15% (35% withheld, 20% reclaimable on form 60); Greece credits only up to its own 5% dividend tax |
| Swiss bank interest | Switzerland keeps 7% (35% withheld, the rest reclaimable) |
| Gains on shares after the move | Greece (Switzerland may tax shares in companies holding mainly Swiss real estate) |
5. Pensions: AHV, pension fund and pillar 3a
AHV is paid to a Greek account without Swiss tax. Voluntary AHV is only open to people living outside the EU/EFTA, so not from Greece.
Pension fund (BVG). Leaving for an EU state, you cannot take the mandatory part in cash if you are compulsorily insured there, as freelancers and employees in Greece are. It stays in a Swiss vested benefits account until you draw it, at the earliest five years before the reference age; the supra-mandatory part can be paid out. For Greece, the Sicherheitsfonds BVG checks your insurance status no earlier than 366 days after you leave.
Lump sums and pillar 3a. A lump sum taken while you still live in Switzerland is taxed there at the reduced rate for capital benefits. Taken after the move, Switzerland withholds tax at source. For private-law pension funds and pillar 3a, Greek residents can reclaim it within three years, with a confirmation that the Greek tax office knows about the payment; Greece may then tax it. Lump sums from public-law pension funds stay taxed in Switzerland unless you are a Greek national. Pillar 3a can be withdrawn in full when you leave; the EU block applies only to the mandatory BVG part. How Greece treats a given lump sum, including under 5B, needs an individual check, so plan the timing before you deregister.
Retirees with only a Swiss pension generally stay in Swiss health insurance at country-specific premiums and register for Greek care with form S1. With Article 5B, your foreign income is taxed at 7% for 15 years if you were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years; see section 7 for the deadlines and how Swiss tax is credited (7% flat tax).
6. Freelancers and remote workers
You close your Swiss sole proprietorship (AHV compensation office, Swiss VAT if registered), register as a sole trader in Greece and invoice from there.
- Swiss business clients are invoiced without Greek VAT, as the service is supplied outside the EU (VAT with foreign clients).
- Social security: EU Regulation 883/2004 applies to Switzerland through the free movement agreement, so you are insured where you work: with EFKA, from about €150 per month for new freelancers (EFKA guide). A Swiss A1 only helps for temporary postings or if you also work substantially in Switzerland. Cancel your Swiss health insurance with your deregistration confirmation; EFKA covers you in Greece.
- Greek routine: VAT returns monthly for the first 24 months for new businesses with simple books, then quarterly on request; myDATA for every invoice; and e-invoicing for invoices to Greek and non-EU businesses from 2 November 2026, with a transition to 31 January 2027. Swiss clients are non-EU, so your invoices to them are in scope (e-invoicing). The tax advance is halved only in your first year with business income; Greek income tax runs on a 9–44% scale.
Steps in order: AFM, freelancer setup, freelancer taxes 2026.
Employees working permanently from Greece for a Swiss employer are taxed in Greece and fall under EFKA, so the employer must register here. Many switch to freelancing (5C for EU remote workers).
7. Articles 5C and 5B
If you were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years, Article 5C exempts 50% of Greek employment or business income for 7 years. You need a Greek employer, a Greek establishment of a foreign employer, or your own sole proprietorship in Greece (an IKE does not count, nor does a salary from your Swiss company). Start by 2 July and you apply by 31 December of that year; later, by 31 December of the next. AADE allows it alongside 5A or 5B. Digital Nomad Visa holders are not eligible (5C vs DNV). Estimate the effect with the 5C calculator.
For Article 5B, if you receive a foreign pension and were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years, your foreign income is taxed at 7% for 15 years, unless a tax treaty exempts it. Move by 2 July and you can apply by 31 October of that year; move later and it starts the following year (A.1192/2026). AHV, private-law pension fund and pillar 3a pensions are taxed in Greece, not in Switzerland, so the 7% applies to them in full. Income the treaty leaves to Switzerland alone (pensions and lump sums from Swiss public employers and public-law pension funds, unless you are a Greek national) is not taxed in Greece, so the 7% does not reach it. Where both countries may tax, such as Swiss rent, dividends or interest, Swiss tax is credited against the 7% up to the Greek tax on that income, and any excess is not refunded (A.1192/2026, art. 5). The 7% is paid in one payment by the last working day of December.
How we can help
We prepare and file the Greek side: tax and business registration, the 5C or 5B application, and your returns as part of our ongoing bookkeeping. The Swiss exit stays with your Treuhänder; we share the Greek documents they need. Send us a message for a free check.
Frequently asked questions
Can I withdraw my Swiss pension fund money when I move to Greece?
Usually only partly. The mandatory BVG part stays blocked in Switzerland if you are compulsorily insured in Greece, as freelancers with EFKA are. The supra-mandatory part can be paid out.
Is my Swiss AHV pension taxed in Greece or in Switzerland?
AHV, private pension fund and pillar 3a pensions paid to Greek residents are not taxed at source in Switzerland; you declare them in Greece. Pensions from a Swiss public employer or public-law pension fund stay taxable in Switzerland unless you are a Greek national.
Does Switzerland charge exit tax when I move to Greece?
Not on private assets: Switzerland does not tax private capital gains on shares or crypto. Self-employed people who move business assets abroad can be taxed on the hidden reserves.
Do I need a residence permit in Greece as a Swiss citizen?
No. Under the EU–Switzerland free movement agreement, Swiss citizens can live and work in Greece. After three months, you apply at the police for a registration certificate, as EU citizens do.
Can I use the Greek 50% tax break (Article 5C) when moving from Switzerland?
Yes, if you were not Greek tax resident in 5 of the previous 6 years and take a job with a Greek employer or register as a sole trader in Greece. Digital Nomad Visa holders are not eligible.
Rules as of October 2026 (DBG art. 3, 8 and 16, Switzerland–Greece tax treaty 1983 with 2010 protocol, EU–Switzerland Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons, EU Regulation 883/2004, FZG art. 5 and 25f, Greek Income Tax Code art. 5B/5C, A.1192/2026).