AFM and bank account onboarding for inheritance cases

Why an inheritance case needs the AFM before the bank

Settling a Greek inheritance almost always means dealing with a Greek bank — a deceased relative's account, funds to be released, or proceeds to be received — and a Greek bank cannot onboard you without an AFM (Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου) first. The AFM, issued by AADE, is the tax identifier the bank attaches to your KYC file; without it, the account relationship cannot be opened and the inheritance cannot move through it. That is why an inheritance-and-banking case runs in a fixed order: register the AFM, then open the account. ELLYTIC acts as an Independent Concierge coordinating both steps in sequence, preparing and submitting the files, without giving legal or tax advice.

The AFM-then-bank sequence for heirs

The order is not optional: the AFM must exist before a Greek bank will complete onboarding, because the bank records your tax number as part of opening the relationship. Where you are abroad, the AFM is obtained through an authorised representative under a limited power of attorney and a short video identity call, typically issued within three business days of a complete file. With the AFM in hand, the bank onboarding proceeds — the bank runs its own KYC, taking your identity documents, proof of address and the AFM, and, in an inheritance context, the documentation that connects you to the estate. ELLYTIC's Full Service Bundle coordinates the AFM and the bank onboarding as one managed sequence so the two steps do not stall each other.

The translated documents an inheritance file relies on

Inheritance cases are document-heavy, and the foreign ones must be presented as certified translations into Greek for both AADE and the bank. ELLYTIC's translations are produced by sworn translators with a qualified electronic signature (QES), accepted by every Greek authority with no further stamp, and delivered in one business day. Expect to translate identity documents, a proof of address, and the civil-status or estate documents that establish your relationship to the deceased. Many of these public documents — a death certificate, a certificate of kinship — require an apostille (the Σφραγίδα της Χάγης) before translation, which we identify at the start so the file is not rejected by either the tax office or the bank.

Inheritance-and-banking pitfalls

The most damaging mistake is trying to open the bank account before the AFM exists — the bank simply cannot proceed, and the case stalls. Beyond sequencing, inheritance files fail on missing apostilles on estate documents, inconsistent name spellings between the heir's passport and the estate paperwork, and translations produced too late for either the tax office or the bank. Because both AADE and the bank review their files as a whole, one gap on either side resets that step. Running the AFM and the onboarding as a single coordinated sequence is what keeps an inheritance case from getting stuck between the two institutions.

Which ELLYTIC service fits your situation

If you only need the tax number itself, the Starter Bundle covers the AFM registration end to end. If you also want a Greek bank account opened and your onboarding coordinated, the Full Service Bundle adds banking to the same file. When the task is purely document-driven — a certificate, a court decision or a power of attorney — you can order certified translations on their own. Each path leads to a clear, fixed-scope service you can compare and start whenever you are ready.

Frequently asked questions