A practical guide to moving, living, working & traveling in Greece, plus tips and narratives from an American in Athens
October 16, 2007 at 18:48
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This post assumes you have a residence/work permit (adeia diamonis/άδεια διαμονής) for Greece or have applied for one. If you do not have one, see “How non-EU citizens can get a permit to live and work in Greece.”
According to Greek immigration law, all non-EU citizens in Greece with only a bebaisoi (blue certificate with photo) from the municipality are forbidden to travel, while a residence/work permit is being processed either as a renewal or a new permit and/or you are waiting to be interviewed. Only those with an official unexpired permit sticker inside their passport or official residence/work card can travel freely.
If you do not have a permit sticker inside your passport or residence/work card, Greek authorities have been instructed to prevent you from re-entering Greece. The only way you can leave is if your original national or Schengen entry visa is still good for the duration of your trip and does not have entry restrictions, and you come back before it expires and don’t show anyone your bebaiosi.
According to EU law, non-EU spouses and children of Greek or other EU citizens are allowed to travel without restriction, however this is only in theory in Greece. In reality, they may not. Many Greek authorities will insist you have a permit sticker/card and can refuse you re-entry. Others may allow you to pass. There’s no way to predict what will happen due to Greece’s flexible rules, discrimination and lax implementation.
Why is it so strict? Because non-permit holders are technically not approved and therefore do not have legal standing. Also, it is a measure to prevent the movement of potentially illegal immigrants.
* Article last updated on March 31, 2010
Exceptions
Exceptions are made only when the government announces special permission to travel during:
– Summer, usually mid-June to mid-September;
– Easter, varies according to the Orthodox calendar and is usually a six-week period that starts 30 days before Easter Sunday;
– Winter, normally around Christmas, starting anywhere from December 13-20 and ending between January 15-31; and
– Lunar New Year, for Asian citizens in Greece.
However, sometimes this exception only permits travel to a non-EU citizen’s homeland, and the precise dates are usually announced at the last minute, which means no one in this category can make travel plans, must pay high season costs and/or face sold-out bookings. But even during these “free” travel periods, there have been cases when Greek authorities prevented people from re-entering Greece and a lawyer or other authority needed to intervene to get proper resolution. This is the reason I highly recommend printing the official Press Release in Greek.
Repeated calls for more advance warning, printing the bebaiosi in a universal language so authorities of other countries can read it, and following EU directives have fallen on deaf ears.
At the moment, the Ministry of Citizen Protection under the new government that came to power on October 5, 2009 has granted permission to foreigners legally living in Greece the right to travel home more than once from November 15, 2009 to December 31, 2010. See, “Open travel period announced for non-EU citizens in Greece.”
Have a question?
Contact the Ministry of Citizen Protection
Tel: (210) 6924558
Fax: (210) 6929764
E-mail: elasgrty@mopo.gr
website: www.yptp.gr
Related posts
“FAQ Greek work and/or residence permits”
“How non-EU citizens can live and work in Greece”
“Thanks to Greece, I’ve been reunified with myself“
Permalink
arammos wrote @ October 16th, 2007 at 21:48
Good evening Kat. In 1999, I traveled to Italy with my ID only. After 9/11, everything changed. Now I have my passport, whether I’m traveling in the EU or not.
What is so difficult about traveling with that paper with the photo on it, along with your passport?
Is there a logistic reason that wouldn’t work for them? Or is it just typical “Greek scratching the left ear with right hand” bureaucracy?
gia1 wrote @ October 17th, 2007 at 15:50
It does seem to be a matter of bureaucracy and national safety. We live in a country that is currently attractive to citizens from non-EU countries. Since 9/11 there has been a crackdown on all activities that have to do with immigration.
graffic wrote @ October 21st, 2007 at 12:31
I guess one day I’ll be waking in the street and the police will arrest me, hitting me because I forgot to fill-up the AX3244234FF form. And after that they will discover that I don’t need it.
Welcome to chaos, welcome to Greece.
hony wrote @ October 21st, 2008 at 00:59
i am filipino nationality 4 years working in greece ,i have a permit for employment,service or project type of permit my question is can i go in other europe country for visit a family freind for at least 30 day?and my permit also will expired by january 16 2009,what shoul i do first i am planning to go on dec to january 10,thanks alot
Kat wrote @ October 21st, 2008 at 11:14
The answers to your questions are already on site; please search/read more carefully next time or your questions won’t be published. As I say in the Related Post listed above “FAQ: Greek residence/work permits,” you should renew before you leave. You are required to start renewal at least 60 days previous, which you should know if you’ve held the permit for 4 years.
As I say in the article above, there will likely be a Christmas travel period, so as long as you renew before you leave, you should be fine. If you have further questions, call your municipality office.
cristina wrote @ January 20th, 2009 at 17:37
hi,i live in greece ,have a working permit that expires next year.but because i’m a fyr macedonia citizen they won’t stick the working permit inside my passport.i wanna travel in italy with my boyfriend this march.i wanted to know if they are gonna make me a problem if i try to travel.answer as soon as possible,as i need it to travel.
Hello Kat,
I just felt obliged to congratulate you on your excellent reporting – not to mention for providing the ultimate resource for expat issues in Greece.
I bumped into your December article in UK media that was simply a revelation for me; even though I’ve been living in France for five years and consider myself a sceptical observer I hadn’t been able to distance myself enough from my origins so as to see into the malaise of the Greek society as you clearly did.
My girlfriend is Senegalese and we want to move to Greece; She has a long-term residence/work permit which is transferable among EU countries (which I know, thanks to your site!) so it should be easier for her to move than it was for you.
I’d like to tell you that I’ve enjoyed a lot reading your posts: your objectivity is of scientific standards – a valuable and rare attribute; your articles and comment replies are rigorous, admirable..!
I hope you keep writing
cheers
Krista wrote @ April 12th, 2009 at 17:26
Thanks for the information regarding travel with only a bebaiosi. Has the government announced the pre-approved travel period for Easter 2009?
And does the Easter travel exception still apply if the first point-of-entry back into the EU is through a country other than Greece? For example, travel to a Non-Schengen country (Wales), and a return flight back to Greece via Amsterdam. Will the customs officials in Amsterdam recognize the bebaiosi and the accompanying press release, both of which are printed in the Greek language?
Or will they simply issue a transit visa and leave it for the Greek authorities to deal with upon return back into Greece?
Thanks again for all of your help.
Leigh wrote @ August 4th, 2009 at 16:56
Does anybody know what is the difference between the sticker residence permit and the card residence permit? I received the card permit valid for 5 years (I am a non-EU married to an EU Citizen) but I was expecting a sticker to be placed in my passport.
Sanjay wrote @ August 31st, 2009 at 14:19
Hi ,
I am a Indian Passport holder and came to Greece on Visitor visa which is valid for 3 months. After i came here my company applied for my Residence Permit which is yet to come ( almost 1 month since we applied for it ) .. Now the Visitor visa is expired and i am having Blue paper and i want to visit other EU countries (Swiss and Italy for tourism ) . what should i do if i dont get Residence Permit by then ?
nana wrote @ February 6th, 2010 at 03:01
can somebody answer me..i am non-eu citizen, i have greek residence permit sticker in my passport, it’s expiry date is 30.06.2010, only in greek language, so can i travel to poland up to 90 days with my greek permit sticker?
where can i find same information on an official site?
thank you.
Peter wrote @ February 8th, 2010 at 23:22
Hi Kat,
I am non EU citizen and when i came to Greece i sought asylum and was given a pink card that is renewable every six months. I was born in Gambia in the western part of Africa, but Mali is my country. My father is from Gambia, and my mother is from Mali. Since i was born in Gambia, i was issued with Gambian birth certificate and passport. I have gone to Mali just twice with my mother since I was young. My mother died about 8 years ago. On my pink card they wrote Gambia as the place i was born and Mali as my national country.
I have Gambian passport and birth certificate but i have nothing from Mali that shows that i am from there. However on my AFM they wrote Mali as my country and this is a problem for me because i am using a Gambian passport.
So what should i do now? Can they change the country on my AFM and make it Gambia for me since i have all my documents from Gambia. I cant go to Mali again because i don’t have any family there. All my sisters are in Gambia, though my father too is dead.
Please help me so that i can change the country on my AFM and the Work permit. Thank you.
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Athens
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Kat Reply:
January 22nd, 2009 at 23:51
Hi Cristina. Yes, it’s true that Greece does not recognize the name ‘Macedonia’ for your country, and as a result does not recognize your passport as being valid. Therefore, even though you have a valid work/residence permit, it is very possible that Greek authorities will not allow you back into Greece if you leave, unless the name dispute is resolved before March. Whether you want to take this risk is up to you.
* Hat tip to MBE for sharing his stats and information.