Brain Regain: For the first time in 14 years, more people are returning to Greece than leaving

The pleasant astonishment during Mr. Spyros Theodoropoulos’s code astatine this year’s Open Assembly of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) was that the essence of his views—as president of SEV—and their broader value for Greek nine were afloat conveyed to his audience, which included Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This is alternatively uncommon successful specified events, arsenic the utile meaning of the SEV leader’s code often gets mislaid successful lists of statistic and economical indicators.

By placing productivity astatine the halfway of his reflection connected the contiguous and aboriginal of the Greek economy, Mr. Theodoropoulos referred, among different things, to the reversal of the encephalon drain, which has so been taking spot precocious and is nary longer a everlastingly unattainable aspiration. Specifically, Mr. Theodoropoulos noted:

“Average yearly productivity successful Greece has remained astir stagnant implicit the past 30 years, and the spread betwixt our state and the EU is widening. Nevertheless, wrong a fewer years, we managed to alteration from Europe’s achromatic sheep into a mean country. A mean country, successful my view, is 1 that lives wrong its means and does not load aboriginal generations. We person proven that we tin amended successful galore areas erstwhile the state, society, and businesses enactment together.”

“Wages are rising. In the 2nd 4th of 2025, hourly labour costs accrued by 10.7%, portion successful Europe the emergence was 4.5%. In industry, the summation exceeded 11.2%. Unemployment has dropped drastically, and we present look large shortages successful galore specialties. In 2023, the nett migration equilibrium was affirmative by 15,000 Greek citizens—that is, much radical returned than emigrated abroad. It is worthy noting that for the erstwhile 14 years, the nett migration equilibrium was antagonistic by 250,000 Greek citizens.”

Economic migrants

On the aforesaid contented and successful a akin tone—and coincidentally connected the aforesaid day—Minister of Labor and Social Security Niki Kerameus announced earlier the Standing Committee connected Social Affairs of Parliament that:

“We person a 64% reversal of the encephalon drain. We are making a large effort, which I see a nationalist endeavor that transcends parties and colors. We person visited 4 cities overseas and volition soon caput to the fifth, New York, connected December 7, aiming to pull adjacent much Greeks backmost home.”

In implicit numbers, this 64% reversal cited by the curate arsenic grounds of the occurrence of the Rebrain Greece inaugural translates to 422,688 Greeks abroad who person precocious returned aft years of surviving overseas, chiefly arsenic economic migrants. According to Eurostat, during the play 2010–2022, owed to the economical crisis, 659,547 citizens near Greece.

The full of 422,688 Greeks who person returned aft the migration acquisition is impressive, contempt the disorder surrounding the existent standard of the Greek encephalon drain. For instance, examining Eurostat information reveals varying measurements and statistical studies—some estimating the “brain drain” astatine over 1 cardinal people. Matters go adjacent much analyzable and ambiguous erstwhile qualitative variables are added, specified arsenic age, gender, and acquisition level of those who near and returned.

An absorbing interpretative attack to the brain drain/brain regain ratio is offered by the Institute of Alternative Policies (ENA), which examines migration trends betwixt 2010 and 2022 crossed 3 property groups: 15–24, 25–44, and 45–64 years old.

The archetypal decision is that astir 60% of Greek citizens who near owed to the crisis belonged to the 25–44 property group—the astir productive conception of the population.

According to ENA’s analysis, from 2010 to 2022, 1,079,992 people from Greece’s economically progressive colonisation emigrated. Of these, 234,058 were aged 15–24, 633,680 were 25–44, and 212,254 were 45–64 years old.

Low Wages

However, the gloomy reflection of ENA, ever based connected the Eurostat information it cites, concerns the continuation of the brain drain alongside the brain gain. This means that determination is inactive a fig of Greeks leaving the state — importantly smaller than before, yet inactive noteworthy — contempt the information that Greece has made large strides successful advancement and stableness compared to the bleak economical conditions during the situation years.
Thus, successful reality, determination exists a continuous, astir cyclical travel of Greeks emigrating and Greeks returning.

A twelvemonth ago, successful October 2024, the National Documentation and Electronic Content Centre (EKT) conducted a systematic survey, successful the signifier of a poll, connected the instrumentality of economical migrants to Greece. As EKT officials emphasize, 1 of the astir important findings of the probe concerns the benefit to the Greek economy arising from the instrumentality of specialized personnel.
Given that the bulk (3 retired of 4) authorities that their acquisition overseas made them much competitive—having acquired precocious know-how, improved skills, and different invaluable qualifications—they present use these assets successful their caller nonrecreational engagement successful Greece.

For 44% of the 602 respondents successful the EKT survey, their monthly income aft returning to Greece is above €1,500 (27% gain betwixt €1,501–€3,000 and 17% gain implicit €3,001).

67.6% of those who chose to instrumentality are married, and 52% are parents.
Interestingly, the tax incentives established precisely to promote repatriation bash not look to enactment arsenic a large motivation. 84% of those who followed the brain gain inclination said that the taxation benefits for returnees did not play an indispensable role successful their determination to travel back—possibly owed to insufficient information, thing that is improving arsenic the Rebrain Greece level gains much vulnerability done the international circuit (roadshow) led by Minister Niki Kerameus.

The next stop is New York connected December 7, the 5th stop successful this initiative, pursuing events successful Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, London, and Stuttgart, which were attended by over 5,000 Greeks abroad earnestly considering repatriation, on with more than 120 representatives of Greek companies from astir each sector.
Indicatively, companies participating successful the Rebrain Greece roadshow see Aegean Airlines, AKTOR, Alpha Bank, ANTENNA Group, Athens Medical Group, COSMOTE, PPC (Public Power Corporation), Hellenic Gold, Eurobank, LAMDA Development, Motor Oil, National Bank of Greece, and others.

Tax Measures

Specifically regarding tax incentives, for employees returning to Greece, Rebrain Greece provides for inclusion successful a special taxation regime—that is, a 50% income taxation exemption for 7 fiscal years connected income earned successful Greece.
There is besides a seven-year exemption from the annual nonsubjective surviving expenses arsenic derived from the E9 spot declaration (i.e., owned properties, superior and secondary residences, cars, etc.).

In practice, the main sectors of employment for those who person returned are construction (11%), education (10%), new technologies and IT (10%), consulting (7%), healthcare (7%), commerce (6%), and tourism (6%).

The bulk — 46%, astir half — are employed successful Greek companies and organizations, portion 21% enactment successful self-owned businesses oregon arsenic freelancers.
An further 7% proceed to supply services to foreign companies remotely, having present permanently settled successful Greece.

The reversal of the brain drain has besides created an country of enactment for non-governmental organizations, specified arsenic the relation “Hellenism successful Action,” founded successful 2010, which developed the BrainReGain initiative. Within this framework, the enactment conducts studies—such arsenic “After the Return”—to seizure the world of repatriates’ lives.
This peculiar survey highlights the difference successful attitudes betwixt 2024 and 2025. The BrainReGain questionnaire includes 4 aspects of the instrumentality process, the archetypal being the reasons that motivated respondents to travel backmost to Greece.

49% answered: “My parents, who unrecorded successful Greece.”
The adjacent largest percentage, 39%, said: “Because Greece is my homeland, and I privation to unrecorded there.”
However, this wide consciousness of patriotism is astir matched (38%) by the response: “I returned for the clime and the weather.”
Correspondingly, the biggest obstacle to making the instrumentality decision, for 33%, is the lower wages successful the Greek labour market compared to abroad.

The Biggest Challenges

Regarding difficulties during the instrumentality process, the astir important are:

• Gathering the required documents (57%),
• Lack of information from authorities agencies (56%), and
• Finding lodging (38%).

The main challenges aft returning are bureaucracy (51%) and corporate civilization successful workplaces (49%).

Consequently, according to the latest BrainReGain study, a typical profile of repatriated Greeks shows that they are aged 35–44, lived abroad for 6–10 years, and over 8 successful 10 clasp postgraduate degrees.
After returning, they measure their standard of surviving arsenic moderate—as is their cognition of the Greek acquisition system, public healthcare, economy, and digital governance compared to their acquisition abroad. In short, astir everything is rated “average.”
At least, however, repatriation is rewarded by Greece’s clime and weather—understandably so, since astir modern emigrants had near for Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands.

Above each tangible oregon intangible benefits—beyond immoderate incentives—Greeks instrumentality location for their parents, arsenic further confirmed by EKT’s research, which showed that 82% of returnees said they came backmost owed to “the request to beryllium adjacent to household and friends.”
Something anachronistic, possibly — but besides deeply human.