Menu

Home / Cities / Athens

AFM, AMKA and gov.gr: the three numbers that run your life in Greece

Updated 2026-11-06 · 7 min read

Drawing for AFM, AMKA and gov.gr in Greece: the ExpatCooee boomerang with the word AFM, an ID card, a rubber stamp and a laptop.
Greek admin: one card, one stamp, and a lot of logging in.

In Australia you can go years without thinking about your TFN. In Greece, your tax number is the first thing anyone asks for, from the landlord to the phone shop.

The short version

  • The AFM is your Greek tax number. You need it to rent, open a bank account, connect power and sign almost anything. Apply online through myAADE, with identity checks by video call [1][2].
  • Your AFM comes with a kleidarithmos (authentication key), which becomes your TAXISnet username and password. Those codes are also your login for most of gov.gr [1].
  • The AMKA is your social security number. You need it for public healthcare, prescriptions and formal work. Non-EU citizens usually need a residence permit first [3][4].
  • Australian certificates need a DFAT apostille (AUD 102 per document from January 2025) and an official Greek translation [5][6].

AFM: the tax number everything hangs off

Think of the AFM (Arithmos Forologikou Mitroou) as a TFN that also works as an ID number for business. Landlords register leases against it, banks want it on day one, and utility companies won't open an account without it. Even buying a SIM on a monthly plan usually needs one.

You don't need to be tax resident in Greece to get an AFM. Plenty of people get one before they move, which is the smart order of operations.

How to apply

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) handles AFMs. Its application is now made "exclusively electronically" through the TIN & Authentication Key service on the myAADE portal [1]. Applying for an AFM requests an authentication key at the same time.

  1. Fill in the online "TIN and Authentication Key" form on myAADE.
  2. Upload your passport. If you're married and want that recorded, add your marriage certificate with translation.
  3. Prove who you are. You can book a myAADElive video call, take an instant call with the "first available agent", or book an appointment at a tax office (DOY) [1].
  4. Receive your AFM certificate and authentication key by email [1].

The video call route works from Australia, which is handy. You need a device with a camera and microphone, and appointments can be booked up to 15 days ahead [2]. Set your time zone correctly if you're connecting from home, or you'll turn up at 3am for the wrong slot [2].

Applying through a representative

If you'd rather not do it yourself, a tax representative in Greece (often an accountant, a lawyer or a relative) can apply for you. They need a power of attorney or solemn declaration from you, issued through gov.gr or with your signature authenticated, plus their own declaration accepting the role [1]. The tax office is assigned based on your representative's postcode.

Non-residents living outside the EU have generally been expected to appoint a tax representative in Greece. Ask your accountant whether you still need one once you move to Athens and update your address with AADE.

One warning from AADE's own guidance: a video call request fails if your residence permit has expired or can't be verified [2]. Keep your status current before you try to change anything.

TAXISnet and gov.gr: your digital front door

Your authentication key turns into a TAXISnet username and password. Those credentials do far more than tax. They log you into:

  • myAADE, for tax returns, lease registrations and your AFM certificate.
  • gov.gr, the national portal, for solemn declarations, authorisations and hundreds of other services.
  • pet.gov.gr, if you have a dog or cat (see our pet guide below).
  • Most ministry platforms, including the migration ministry's residence permit renewal system.

Greece has also rolled out a Personal Number (Prosopikos Arithmos), designed as a single identifier for dealings with the state. It's issued automatically to people with an AFM or AMKA, is visible through pa.gov.gr and the Gov.gr Wallet app, and is not a "super-code" that opens other people's data [7]. Rollout to foreign residents has been slower than for Greek citizens, with a separate number for the foreigners' registry planned [7]. If you're a Greek-Australian dual citizen, you're covered by the citizen rollout.

The practical tip: protect your TAXISnet codes like your banking password. Anyone with them can sign declarations in your name.

AMKA: the social security number

The AMKA (Arithmos Mitroou Koinonikis Asfalisis) is your social security number. Without it you can't see a public GP, get a prescription filled under the public system, or be paid properly by a Greek employer.

How you get one depends on your passport.

Your situation Can you get an AMKA? What you'll need first
Greek citizen (including by descent) Yes Greek ID or passport and your registry records
Other EU passport holder Yes, without a residence permit Passport, AFM, proof of address [3]
Australian on a residence permit Yes Residence permit, AFM, proof of address [3]
Australian visitor on 90 days Generally no A status that lets you stay
Non-EU student Often an "inactive" AMKA first Activated once you have a job contract [4]

Where to apply

You can apply free at a KEP (Kentro Exypiretisis Politon, the citizen service centre), at a migrant integration centre (KEM), or at an e-EFKA branch [3]. The University of Athens tells its international students to book EFKA appointments by calling 1555 [4]. Athens has KEP offices in every municipality, from Syntagma to Glyfada, so pick the one nearest your address.

Typical documents:

  1. Passport (and residence permit if you're not an EU citizen).
  2. Your AFM certificate.
  3. Proof of Greek address: a lease registered with AADE, an E9 property form, or a hospitality declaration from whoever you're staying with [3].
  4. For children: birth certificate, apostilled and translated into Greek.

Students report that EFKA may issue an inactive AMKA first and switch it on only once you show an employment contract or the employer's hiring form [4]. If you're coming on a work-linked permit, your employer usually handles that bit.

The Australian angle: apostilles and translations

Greek offices love paper, and they like it stamped. Two steps turn an Australian certificate into something a Greek clerk will accept.

Step one: the apostille

Australia and Greece are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. Greece's foreign ministry confirms foreign public documents from Convention countries must carry an apostille [6]. In Australia the competent authority is DFAT. The fee was AUD 102 per document from January 2025, and it can rise each 1 January [5].

You can get an apostille through the Australian Passport Office in capital cities, or from Australian embassies and consulates overseas, including the Australian Embassy in Athens [5]. That's useful if you forget something, but appointment slots are limited, so do it before you fly.

Get apostilles on:

  • Birth certificates (yours and the kids')
  • Marriage or divorce certificates
  • Change of name certificates
  • Degrees, if you'll need them for work or a permit
  • An Australian Federal Police check, if a permit asks for one

Order fresh copies of birth and marriage certificates from your state registry first. Greek offices often want documents issued recently.

Step two: the official translation

An apostilled English document still needs an official Greek translation. Greece's foreign ministry keeps a Register of Certified Translators, freelancers authorised to translate officially between Greek and foreign languages [6]. Lawyers in Greece can also certify translations of documents they handle; ask yours before paying twice.

Spell your name the same way on everything. A missing middle name between your passport, AFM and marriage certificate is the most common reason a Greek application stalls.

Your first-fortnight admin plan

Here's the order that saves the most time in Athens:

  1. Before you leave Australia: order fresh certificates, get them apostilled, and apply for your AFM by video call.
  2. Week one: activate your TAXISnet codes and log in to gov.gr and myAADE.
  3. Week one or two: sign your lease and make sure the landlord registers it on AADE. That registration is your proof of address.
  4. Week two: get your AMKA at a KEP or e-EFKA branch once your residence status allows it.
  5. Then: open a bank account, register with a family doctor, and sort phone and power.

If something goes sideways, ask the people who've done it. Join Cooee Greece, our Facebook group for Australians in Greece, at /join/. Someone there knows which KEP in your suburb actually answers the phone.

Don't forget home

Moving your paperwork to Greece doesn't switch off Australia. Tell the ATO about your change of address and residency situation, and work out if you're still an Australian tax resident. There's currently no double tax agreement in force between Australia and Greece, so getting your residency right matters. Our Australian tax residency guide explains the tests.

Sources

  1. Issuance of Tax Identification Number and Authentication Key and appointment of tax representative – AADE
  2. Tax season nears: how to get your AFM and access codes online – To Vima, 2026
  3. Your guide to AMKA in Greece – XpatAthens, July 2025
  4. AMKA social security number – National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  5. Australia – Competent Authority for apostilles – HCCH
  6. Register of Certified Translators – Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  7. Personal ID numbers extended to minors and Greeks abroad – OT.gr, December 2025

Keep reading