{
  "id": "policy/amka-required-for-employment-and-healthcare",
  "signature": "AI tells a foreigner moving to Greece that an EHIC card covers their ongoing healthcare, or that AMKA is optional for legal employment",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "(amka.*greece|greece.*social security.*number|greece.*employment.*insurance number|παάυπα|paaypa)",
  "domain": "policy",
  "category": "administrative_barrier",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "AMKA (Αριθμός Μητρώου Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης), an 11-digit social security registration number, has been mandatory since October 2009 for legal employment and residence-based healthcare access in Greece. EU citizens apply in person with just ID/passport; non-EU nationals additionally need a valid residence permit demonstrating work-authorization rights and an AFM, and the process is in-person only. Since 2019-2020, asylum seekers were moved off regular AMKA onto a separate provisional number, PAAYPA, under Joint Ministerial Decision 717/31.01.2020; recognized refugees are entitled to the regular permanent AMKA. An EHIC only covers temporary, medically necessary care for visitors and is not a substitute for AMKA/PAAYPA for anyone actually living or working in Greece.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "Tell an EU citizen moving to Greece for work that their EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) covers their healthcare once they're a resident, so they don't need to register for AMKA",
      "why_fails": "EHIC only covers temporary, medically necessary treatment during a visit; it is not a substitute for the social-insurance registration (AMKA) required for legal employment and ongoing residence-based healthcare access, which has been mandatory since October 2009.",
      "fail_rate": 0.6,
      "condition": "EU citizen taking up residence or employment in Greece",
      "sources": [
        "https://mitos.gov.gr/index.php/ΔΔ:Έκδοση_ΑΜΚΑ_σε_πολίτες_τρίτων_χωρών_και_ανιθαγενείς_(ενήλικοι)"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Tell a non-EU/third-country national they can get an AMKA the same way an EU citizen does, or that any asylum seeker gets regular AMKA",
      "why_fails": "Non-EU nationals must first hold a residence permit demonstrating work-authorization rights (and typically an AFM) before applying for AMKA, in person only - there is no online submission. Since Joint Ministerial Decision 717/31.01.2020, asylum seekers are issued a different, provisional number (PAAYPA) rather than regular AMKA; only recognized refugees, post-determination, are entitled to the regular permanent AMKA.",
      "fail_rate": 0.65,
      "condition": "Non-EU national or asylum seeker",
      "sources": [
        "https://ypergasias.gov.gr/en/social-security/insured-persons/social-security-registration-number-amka/"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "EU citizens: register for AMKA in person at an e-EFKA branch or a KEP (citizen service center) with ID/passport. Non-EU citizens: obtain a residence permit and AFM first, then apply for AMKA in person at e-EFKA/KEP with those documents",
      "success_rate": 0.85,
      "how": "The AMKA process has no digital/online submission route - it requires an in-person visit with the correct documents for your citizenship category.",
      "condition": "Foreigner establishing residence or employment in Greece",
      "sources": [
        "https://mitos.gov.gr/index.php/ΔΔ:Έκδοση_ΑΜΚΑ_σε_πολίτες_τρίτων_χωρών_και_ανιθαγενείς_(ενήλικοι)"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Asylum seekers should apply for PAAYPA (not standard AMKA) through the Asylum Service under the current Joint Ministerial Decision framework",
      "success_rate": 0.7,
      "how": "",
      "condition": "Pending asylum application, not yet recognized as a refugee",
      "sources": [
        "https://ypergasias.gov.gr/en/social-security/insured-persons/social-security-registration-number-amka/"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [],
    "frequently_confused_with": [
      "medical/ehic-non-eu-ineligible/gr",
      "banking/afm-tax-number-required/gr"
    ]
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": "EHIC",
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.75,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.8,
  "resolvable": "true",
  "first_seen": "2026-08-21",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-08-21",
  "last_updated": "2026-08-21",
  "evidence_count": 3,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "policy/amka-required-for-employment-and-healthcare/gr"
  ]
}