Returnees on the rise: why Greeks who left are coming back
A mix of tax incentives, recruitment drives and personal ties has helped reverse Greece's 2010s brain drain, but family and quality of life remain decisive.
Greece has shifted from mass emigration to a noticeable return of former residents, driven by a mix of government incentives and deeper social factors. After years of large outflows during the debt crisis, official figures and recent studies show that a considerable share of those who left in the last 15 years have come back.
Policy tools plus personal reasons
“Tax breaks, subsidies, job exchanges and promotional events abroad: Greece is making unusually large efforts to bring back highly educated professionals who left the country during the debt crisis. The success is significant. Almost two thirds of those who emigrated have already returned. But financial incentives play a secondary role. Decisive are family ties, quality of life and the emotional connection to the homeland. This is shown by a recent study by the OECD and the National Documentation Centre (EKT),” the article states.
Athens has pursued a set of measures since 2019 to make return more attractive. Under the current package, returnees pay income tax on only half of their earnings for seven years, and firms can receive subsidies to offer salaries closer to international levels. A central element is the Rebrain Greece platform, an online jobs exchange where candidates post profiles and companies advertise vacancies. Recruitment events for the diaspora have been held in cities such as London, Amsterdam, New York, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart.
At a London event in May, organisers recorded 3,107 interested participants and 35 major Greek companies conducted interviews, illustrating demand for specialists. Employers most frequently seek skilled and managerial staff in IT, technology, finance, consulting and audit; shortages also exist in energy, pharmaceuticals and health care. Returnees are prized for combining technical qualifications with international experience and managerial know‑how.
Demography remains a central concern for the government. During the peak of the crisis in spring 2013 unemployment reached 27.5 percent overall, and 65 percent among 15–24 year‑olds seeking work. More than 700,000 Greeks left in the 2010s; between 2012 and 2019 up to 56,000 people a year — over 150 a day — departed. The exodus even tripled the number of Greek doctors working abroad.
According to the labour minister Niki Kerameus, roughly 734,000 people left Greece over the past 15 years, and 473,000 have returned — nearly two thirds. Net migration turned positive from 2023 onward, and in 2024 the number of returnees exceeded departures by about 20,000. An OECD/EKT study finds that more than half of returnees are aged 20–39, around 60 percent hold higher education degrees, and 47 percent work in highly skilled occupations.
Yet wages remain a structural challenge: data from Eurostat and the European Commission’s EURES portal show that skilled workers in Greece earn on average 43 percent less than the EU average, while managerial pay is 30–35 percent below typical EU levels. Surveys point to the limits of financial incentives: research by Kapa Research found that 82 percent of respondents cited proximity to family and friends as the most important motive for returning, 63 percent mentioned Mediterranean climate, nature and a higher quality of life, and only 16 percent said tax breaks were the main reason.
Photo: Janina, Grcija
