If you speak to many Greeks abroad, you’ll often hear a quiet longing: the idea of going back. After years—sometimes decades—of working, raising families, and making lives in places like Germany, United States, Australia, or Canada, the idea of returning home to Greece holds a powerful allure. It’s a dream wrapped in memories, sea breeze, and the comfort of native soil. But for many who take that leap, the dream doesn’t always meet reality.
The challenges begin early. Paperwork piles up. Institutions seem uncoordinated. From securing tax IDs and accessing healthcare to registering children in schools, returnees quickly find themselves entangled in a bureaucracy that moves slowly and assumes they never left. Even something as basic as transferring foreign qualifications into Greek equivalents can be painfully time-consuming. According to a study by the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE, 2021), 60% of returnees were working in jobs below their level of education and professional experience.
In theory, these returnees should be exactly what Greece needs: skilled professionals bringing back international know-how, global networks, and fresh perspectives. But the Greek labour market often doesn’t know what to do with them. Many face limited job opportunities, low salaries, and undervaluation of their foreign experience. Others are met with scepticism—sometimes even hostility—from locals who see them as privileged outsiders, disconnected from the hardships endured during the crisis years.
Children face their own hurdles. Those raised abroad may speak Greek, but not well enough to keep up in school. Some struggle with the cultural transition or find it hard to adjust to different expectations in the classroom. For families, the transition can be deeply stressful—not because they regret the decision, but because they feel so unprepared for the institutional gaps they encounter.
Many Greek retirees who return home after years abroad face significant challenges, particularly regarding pensions and healthcare. Having spent decades contributing to foreign economies, many returnees bring with them pensions from countries like Germany, the US, or the UK. However, Greece’s pension system struggles to accommodate foreign pensions, with a complex web of recalculations and agreements making it difficult for retirees to access their full benefits. In some cases, these foreign pensions are not recognised at all, forcing retirees to rely on Greece’s underfunded state pension system (OECD, 2024).
Healthcare is another significant issue. While Greek public healthcare is improving, it remains overburdened, and returnees often face long waiting times for treatment. Private healthcare is an option, but it remains inaccessible for many retirees whose pensions fall short of expectations (Hellenic Ministry of Health, 2023). This lack of adequate support highlights the disconnect between Greece’s welcoming rhetoric for its diaspora and the practical difficulties returnees face.
The Greek government has attempted to address these issues. The 2024–2027 Strategic Plan for Greeks Abroad (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2024) promises better communication with the diaspora, support for Greek language education, and more efficient consular services. But critics argue that these initiatives, while well-intentioned, don’t go far enough—especially when it comes to the reintegration of those returning to live in Greece.
Journalist and policy analyst Kostas Karamarkos has been one of the sharpest voices on this issue. In an opinion piece published by TGA News, he lambasted the lack of consistency and seriousness in diaspora policy. Since 2019, the position of deputy minister for Greeks abroad has changed hands multiple times, most recently to Giannis Loverdos. “This government has treated the relationship with the diaspora like a joke,” Karamarkos (2025) writes, pointing out that without continuity, there can be no real strategy.
He also notes that the new diaspora strategy borrows heavily from old PASOK-era policies—repackaged without fresh ideas, adequate funding, or mechanisms for accountability. It’s a document that looks good on paper but lacks the teeth to address real-world issues. And many in the diaspora, after reading it, aren’t convinced.
Meanwhile, the data tells its own story. Of the estimated 500,000 Greeks who left during the financial crisis, fewer than 15% have returned, according to a 2023 report by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT, 2023). And among those who have, frustration is common. The same ELSTAT figures show that returnees are significantly more likely to experience long-term unemployment or underemployment than Greek citizens who never left.
Other European countries have tackled this issue more effectively. Ireland, for example, established a dedicated office to assist returning Irish citizens with job placement, education access, and bureaucratic navigation (Department of Foreign Affairs Ireland, 2023). Portugal has implemented tax breaks for returnees with high-level skills (OECD, 2024). These are models that Greece could adapt—if the political will existed.
At the heart of the problem is a contradiction: Greece invites its diaspora to return, but isn’t ready to receive them. Returnees are told they’re valuable, but often treated as burdens. They arrive with hopes of contributing to a country they still love deeply, only to feel like strangers in a place they thought was home.
To change this, Greece must shift from symbolic gestures to structural reform. Until then, many Greeks abroad will continue to wrestle with a painful question: Is the dream of homecoming worth the cost of returning? For now, too often, the answer is no.
Further Reading
Department of Foreign Affairs Ireland, 2023. Returning Emigrants are Back for Business. [online] Available at: https://www.dfa.ie/ie/eireannaigh-an-domhain/ag-fanacht-i-dteagmhail/an-sceala-is-deanai/cartlann-nuachta/returning-emigrants-are-back-for-business-1.html [Accessed 22 Mar. 2025].
EKKE – National Centre for Social Research, 2021. From Reception to Integration: Migrant Populations in Greece During and in the Aftermath of the Crisis. [online] Available at: https://www.ekke.gr/publication_files/from-reception-to-integration-migrant-populations-in-greece-during-and-in-the-aftermath-of-the-crisis [Accessed 6 Apr. 2025].
ELSTAT – Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2023. Data on Estimated Population and Migration Flows for 2023. [online] Available at: https://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/b248e72c-2917-bdae-1d15-98d22787adb7 [Accessed 4 Apr. 2025].
Karamarkos, K., 2025. The Greek Government’s Diaspora Strategy is Not Serious. TGA News. [online] Available at: https://tganews.com/author/kostas-karamarkos/ [Accessed 10 Apr. 2025].
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2024. Strategic Plan for Greeks Abroad 2024–2027. Athens: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
OECD, 2024. International Migration Outlook 2024: Portugal. [online] Available at: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/international-migration-outlook-2024_50b0353e-en/full-report/portugal_d44fe0e7.html [Accessed 8 Apr. 2025].
OECD, 2024. Pension Systems and Policy Reforms in Greece. [online] Available at: https://www.oecd.org/greece/pension-systems-policy-reforms/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2025].
Hellenic Ministry of Health, 2023. Public Health Services and Waiting Times for Treatment. [online] Available at: https://www.ygeia.gov.gr/public-health-services-waiting-times [Accessed 9 Apr. 2025].
