‘Talent Visa’ – national entry visa and residence title type ‘Z.15’ for highly qualified third-country nationals seeking employment or professional activity
Residency route facts
Identity
| Official name (local) | «Talent Visa» – τίτλος διαμονής τύπου «Ζ.15» (εισδοχή για αναζήτηση εργασίας ή επαγγελματικής δραστηριότητας) as of 2026-02-06[1][3] |
|---|---|
| Official name (English) | 'Talent Visa' – national entry visa and residence title type 'Z.15' for highly qualified third-country nationals seeking employment or professional activity as of 2026-02-06[1][2][3] |
| Legal basis | Migration Code (L.5038/2023) Art. 79C, added by Art. 25 L.5275/2026 as of 2026-02-06[1][3] |
| Instrument type | national visa as of 2026-02-06[1][3] Art. 79C(1): a national entry visa (residence title 'Z.15'); no separate residence permit is issued for this title. |
Who can apply
| Nationals not served by this route | EU, EEA as of 2026-02-06[1][3] |
|---|---|
| Criminal-record condition | Yes as of 2026-02-06[1][3] General entry conditions of Art. 8 and the general visa documents under Art. 176(8) apply. |
Permit terms
| Initial duration | 12 months as of 2026-02-06[1][2][3][4] Art. 79C(1): national entry visa of twelve months. |
|---|---|
| Renewable | No as of 2026-02-06[1][3] Art. 79C(4): before the visa expires the holder may apply for a residence permit under Art. 12 if the conditions of the target category are met; no renewal of the Z.15 title itself is provided. |
| Maximum total duration | 12 months as of 2026-02-06[1][3] |
| Work rights | none as of 2026-02-06[1][3] |
Permanent residence and citizenship
| Counts toward permanent residence | Not established from a qualifying source Art. 144 requires five years of lawful continuous residence; Art. 79C does not address whether time on the Z.15 visa counts. |
|---|
Requirements
| Job offer required | No as of 2026-02-06[1][3] Art. 79C(1): admission is precisely for the purpose of looking for work or setting up a professional activity. |
|---|---|
| Labour-market test | No as of 2026-02-06[1][3] |
| Qualification requirement | degree as of 2026-02-06[1][3] Art. 79C(1)-(3): a foreign tertiary degree plus a master's, doctoral or post-doctoral qualification obtained within the previous five years, from an institution appearing in at least two of the international university rankings designated by the joint decision under Art. 176(72). A single cumulative pathway, not alternative routes. |
| Employer sponsorship | No as of 2026-02-06[1][3] |
| Own means requirement | Not established from a qualifying source[1][3] Art. 79C(3)(c): sufficient means of subsistence required, as set by the joint decision under Art. 176(51); the decision in force (JMD 225679/2024) predates the Z.15 category and does not price it. Genuinely unpriced pending an amending decision. |
| Job-search route | Yes as of 2026-02-06[1][2][3][4] This route is the job-search instrument itself (v1.0 G9 redefinition), modelled as a separate route because it has its own legal basis, title type and duration. |
Your next step
Read the requirements above considering your own situation: the income multiple, the absence limits, who you can bring. Check the country record for the reference figure those amounts are calculated from, and for anything that has changed recently.
The next step is your own case. That assessment is legal work. Create profile for our assistance in this.
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Verification
| Sources cited | 4 |
|---|---|
| of which official (tier 1) | 1 |
| Oldest as-of date | 2026-02-06 |
| Newest as-of date | 2026-02-06 |
| Reviewed on | 2026-08-11 |
| Schema version | 1.1 |
Sources
- [1] Law 5275/2026 – promotion of legal migration policies and transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1233 (full text reproduction)
e-nomothesia.gr · press · Tier 2 · Published 2026-02-06 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [2] Law 5275/2026 – promotion of legal migration policies and transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1233
EY Greece · law firm · Tier 2 · Published 2026-02-06 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [3] Law 5275/2026 – promotion of legal migration policies, transposition of Directive (EU) 2024/1233 (Government Gazette A' 17/06.02.2026)
National Printing House (et.gr) · statute · Tier 1 · Published 2026-02-06 · Accessed 2026-08-04 - [4] L.5275/2026: what changes for residence permits
Plati Law Firm · law firm · Tier 2 · Published 2026-02-06 · Accessed 2026-08-04