Hiring a Japanese Chef in Greece: Work Permits and the Season

Greece recruits workers from outside the EU through a process called metaklisi, which roughly means "invitation": the employer applies in Greece for approval to bring a named worker, and the worker then collects a national visa at a Greek consulate. The rules sit in Greece's Migration Code, Law 5038/2023, and employers now file online. For a Japanese restaurant, or a hotel that wants a Japanese chef for the summer, the choice is between a year-round dependent employment approval and a seasonal approval for the tourism economy.

1. How Greece invites workers from abroad

The Ministry of Migration and Asylum runs an online portal where employers submit invitation applications for third-country workers. Employers log in with their taxisNET tax credentials (a legal entity uses its own taxisNET credentials). Each application covers named workers and must include their identity details, supporting documents as PDFs, and the code of a fee already paid. Based on the municipality of your address or business premises, the application is routed automatically to the competent Decentralised Administration.

2. Year-round or seasonal: the two routes

The portal also lists a highly qualified employment route (E1, article 33), which follows EU Blue Card logic and is rarely a fit for kitchen roles. See whether the EU Blue Card fits chefs.

3. Dependent employment (E4) for a year-round chef

For a chef who will work all year, the E4 application needs:

1. An employment contract of at least one year, paying at least the minimum monthly earnings of an unskilled worker under current rules, with the employer's signature certified at a KEP citizen service centre or signed through gov.gr.
2. Proof you can pay. Your tax documents must show the ability to pay the contracted salary. For a business, they must also show gross revenue of at least EUR 60,000 per invited worker. (For an individual employer, the threshold is gross income of EUR 22,000 per invited worker.)
3. A signed employer declaration naming the Greek consulate where the chef will collect the national entry visa.
4. The chef's passport pages with identity details and photo.
5. Evidence that the worker's specialty matches your business, for example that you run a Japanese restaurant and are hiring a Japanese cuisine chef.
6. Company documents for a legal entity: articles of association and recent GEMI registry certificates.

4. Seasonal work in tourism (E5)

For a summer season at an island hotel or resort restaurant, the seasonal route is simpler and cheaper. The application includes:

• An employment contract stating the type of work, location, start date, duration, weekly or monthly hours, pay (never less than an unskilled worker's) and any leave allowance. It must also provide for the social insurance that applies to seasonal work in the sector.
• A declaration that you will cover return costs where the law requires, naming the consulate for the visa, confirming the contract meets the statutory minimum wage and any applicable collective agreement, confirming that your business is in the tourism sector, and giving the worker's specialty.
• A declaration that you provide suitable accommodation (with details of ownership or tenancy and health and safety standards), or evidence that the worker has suitable accommodation of their own. If you charge rent, the worker must get a lease stating the terms.
• Proof of your business activity and its link to tourism.

The rules refer to seasonal periods of up to nine months, and an employer can apply for more than one period with a contract of matching length.

5. Planning around the tourist season

Because the worker cannot travel until the approval is issued and the consulate grants the visa, a seasonal hire has to be started well before the season opens. Ask the Decentralised Administration for your area about current processing times, and work backwards from the date you need the chef on the line. Build the accommodation into your plan from the start, since it is part of the application, not an afterthought.

A chef who comes for one season and does well is the best candidate for the next one. Keep in touch over the winter and agree terms early. Our retention guide has ideas that apply to seasonal staff too.

6. The local Japanese pool

Japan's foreign ministry counted 647 Japanese nationals in Greece as of 1 October 2025, of whom 505 were permanent residents. Greece is not among the 32 countries and regions in Japan's working holiday programme, so there is no working holiday route for young Japanese cooks. In practice, you will be recruiting either from Japan through the invitation process or from Japanese chefs already working elsewhere in the EU.

For comparison with other Mediterranean markets, see our guides to Italy and Spain.

7. Checklist

1. Decide between a year-round E4 approval and a seasonal E5 approval.
2. For E4, check that your gross revenue reaches EUR 60,000 per invited worker.
3. Draft the contract (one year for E4) at or above the unskilled worker minimum and any collective agreement.
4. For E5, arrange and document the chef's accommodation.
5. Pay the fee (EUR 200 or EUR 100 per worker) and file through the ministry's portal with taxisNET credentials.
6. Tell the chef which consulate to use for the national visa, and plan travel only after approval.

Before you start, read our contract checklist. To reach Japanese chefs for the coming season, you can post a job on WashokuJob.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Greek procedures and document lists are updated from time to time; check the ministry's portal and your Decentralised Administration before filing.