Greece

Sex work is governed by Law 2734/1999 (replacing the 1955 framework), still the controlling statute as of May 2026. To register, an applicant must be 18+, unmarried (widowed or divorced accepted but currently married persons are excluded — a uniquely Greek bar), free of STIs/HIV/psychiatric diagnoses/drug dependency, hold legal residency, and have no irrevocable conviction for trafficking, pimping, child exploitation, robbery, weapons, or drugs. The "Permit of Residence in Specified Quarters in order to Exercise Prostitution" is valid for three years, only within the issuing prefecture, and requires biweekly STI screening, monthly syphilis tests, and quarterly HIV tests at a state hospital. In January 2024 the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Greece in O.G. and Others v. Greece (App. no. 71555/12), finding that the 2012 forced HIV-testing and public naming of sex workers violated Article 8 — Greece was ordered to pay €70,000 in damages — but the underlying registration regime was not amended. The current ND government has not tabled reform.

In Athens, licensed and unlicensed brothels cluster south of Omónia Square — particularly the Fylis Street corridor (the historic "Trouba") and the Metaxourgeio rectangle bounded by Pireos, Plateon, Megalou Alexandrou and Deligiorgi streets — with prices starting around €20–30. Street-based work concentrates around Solonos Street, Theatrou Square, and Vathis Square, dominated by African migrant women and, around the northwest corner of Omónia, young Afghan/Iranian/South-Asian male asylum seekers. Thessaloniki has its own brothel district served since July 2022 by Red Umbrella Thessaloniki on Egnatia Street. The registered-to-unregistered ratio (~1,000:20,000) means the typical worker is operating outside the law regardless of intent.

Online advertising and apartment-based work are not covered by Law 2734/1999 and sit in the illegal-but-tolerated grey zone. Following the 2024 ECHR ruling, the Hellenic Data Protection Authority has tightened expectations on publishing identifying information about workers; client-side doxxing and platform leaks remain live risks.

Foreign workers cannot register without legal residency exceeding the license duration, so visiting EU sex workers operate de facto illegally even if their home country permits the work. Police sweeps in Omónia, Metaxourgeio, and around Aristotelous Square in Thessaloniki are routine and can lead to administrative fines or deportation for non-EU nationals. The 200m-from-sensitive-buildings rule makes most central Athens apartments technically non-compliant.

International directories (EuroGirlsEscort, Erobella) dominate; no major Greek-domiciled platform operates at scale because operators risk pimping/procuring charges.

• Red Umbrella Athens — drop-in centre + legal aid
• Positive Voice (Greek HIV+ Association)
• ESWA — European Sex Workers' Rights Alliance