Getting a Social Security Number (AMKA) in Greece

Step-by-Step

1. 1

   Get Your AFM and a Greek Address Sorted First

   New Arrival Resident
   1. Before the AMKA appointment, obtain your AFM (ΑΦΜ — Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου — Tax Registration Number) from the tax administration and have a Greek postal address you can state on the form.
   2. The AMKA registration records a Greek address, and in practice the AFM is the foundational identifier you will already hold.

   💡 Tip: Keep the AFM and AMKA distinct in your own records: the AFM (9 digits) is tax; the AMKA (11 digits) is social security and health. They come from different authorities for different purposes — get the AFM first. See the separate AFM guide.

2. 2

   Assemble Your Documents

   1. Bring your passport, or expatriate ID / ID card equivalent. Name fields for foreign nationals are recorded in Latin characters.
   2. If you have no ID or passport, bring a family-status certificate officially translated into Greek.
   3. If you are registering a minor born in Greece, bring the birth certificate.
   4. If someone is acting on your behalf, they bring their own ID plus a solemn declaration (*υπεύθυνη δήλωση*) naming you as the interested party.

   ⚠️ Watch out: Father's name and mother's name are mandatory registration fields and a foreign passport often omits them. Bring a family-status certificate that carries them, especially if you have no Greek ID, or the clerk will be unable to complete the record.

3. 3

   Go to a KEP or e-EFKA/AMKA Office in Person

   ΚΕΠ

   1. Present your documents at the counter of a *ΚΕΠ* (KEP — Κέντρο Εξυπηρέτησης Πολιτών — Citizen Service Centre) or a dedicated *e-ΕΦΚΑ* (e-EFKA — social security agency) / AMKA office.
   2. The clerk records your registration details directly from your documents: name fields in Latin characters for foreign nationals, ID-card details, a Greek postal address, and a telephone number.
   3. There is no application form to download and pre-fill for a first-time AMKA — the registration is done at the counter from your originals.

   💡 Tip: A KEP is usually the simplest door for a new arrival, because KEP staff handle a wide range of administrative registrations and the network is dense across towns. The register puts it plainly: "You and your dependent family members may acquire your own AMKA at the KEP and AMKA offices which operate at the Social Security Insitutions all over Greece."

   ⚠️ Watch out: There is no online self-issuance of a new AMKA. The gov.gr digital service finds an existing AMKA; it does not create one. Do not expect an online sign-up for a brand-new number — it does not exist.

4. 4

   Receive Your AMKA

   ΗΔΙΚΑ

   1. On successful registration the number is attributed and entered in the national AMKA register operated by *ΗΔΙΚΑ* (IDIKA — register operator).
   2. You can subsequently confirm or look up your AMKA online via the gov.gr "Find your Social Insurance Number" service using your TaxisNet credentials.

   💡 Tip: The register describes the AMKA as a "privileged and smart tool" whose first six digits encode your date of birth, making it personal and permanent — it stays with you for life across employers and insurance funds.

5. 5

   Use Your AMKA

   1. Give your AMKA to your employer so they can put you on payroll and pay your social-security contributions.
   2. Register your details with e-EFKA and present the AMKA at healthcare points of service.
   3. EU citizens with Greek statutory health insurance present their EU-AMKA at the point of service.

   💡 Tip: Use the exact passport spelling consistently across your AMKA, your AFM record, and your bank — because the name fields are recorded in Latin characters and the AMKA is permanent, mismatches can cause friction later when an employer cross-checks AFM and AMKA.