After several years of research and a year of living in Greece, I finally have my Greece resident permit. This was especially important this year with all the travel bans in place. If I hadn’t gotten it, I might not have been able to return home for Christmas without it. As it was, I didn’t receive it until the middle of November.
Getting a Greek resident permit is not hard, but it takes patience and persistence to get it. I am going to walk you through the steps of applying for the Greek resident permit here. This is for the financially independent resident permit. Keep in mind there are several types of permits in Greece that you can apply for.
Before you enter Greece, you should apply for a visa in your home country. Read my blog post about that if you haven’t done that yet.
Do You Need an Attorney?
One of the questions I am asked frequently is if you need an attorney to apply for the Greece resident permit. It is not required but may make the process easier for you. The lawyers in Greece have direct access to the Aliens administration to make appointments and ask questions.
If you decide to get an attorney, ask around to find one who has experience with this process. Many are not familiar with applying for the financially independent resident permit.
To use an attorney, you will need to get a power of attorney. The lawyer can write it up for you in Greek. You will then take it to your local KEP office to have it notarized. The KEP is the citizen’s services department in Greece. Take your passport with you. You may also need to have several copies of the power of attorney notarized, so do a few at once. At the time of writing this, there were no fees for the notarization.
The lawyer will tell you want they want you to do next.
Gather All Your Documents
You will need many documents to apply for the resident permit. Some of these will be similar to what you needed for your visa, so bring all those documents with you to Greece.
The documents you will need are your passport and a full-color copy of all pages, your birth certificate with apostille, a rental contract for an apartment or utility bill in your name, financial records, you will also need proof of insurance and passport photos. The passport photos will need to be digital on a CD and the four physical copies.
At the time of writing you need to prove you have €2000 a month in savings, passive income or retirement income.
All these documents will need to be translated into Greek. If you are not using a lawyer, you can have these documents translated at the Translation Service. The cost is pretty affordable at the service. There is a rush option if you need it. You will need to take your passport with you to this service as well.
Make an Appointment
Each Decentralized Administration has its own process for accepting appointments. After the events of 2020, more administrations have moved to online appointment systems for renewals. However, as of writing, the initial appointment still needs to be made via email.
The Athens administration’s email is dam_a@attica.gr. My experience with contacting them via email has been good. However, you may need to wait a day or two for a response if it is a busy time of year.
If your documents are accepted, you will be given a blue certificate that acts like a temporary Greek resident permit. Be careful with this document as you may need it to travel with while your application is being processed. You will also have to turn it in when you pick up the official resident permit.
Pay the Fee
To apply for the resident permit, you will need to pay the fee. Right now, the fee is €1000, and you can pay it online. If you can’t do this online, there is a small copy shop next to the Athens administration, and they will help you for a small fee. If you are applying outside of Athens, check with the local KEP office, and they can help you find a way to pay in person.
You will also need to pay €16 for the plastic card. This can also be done on the same website as above.
After Your Appointment
Once you have gone to the appointment, you may need to submit more documents after the appointment. You will need to send the additional documents by registered mail.
The most important thing is to follow up with them frequently. You can email them at dam_a_info@attica.gr. Keep in mind this is for the Athens administration only. You can also check the status of your application online.
I needed to submit more documents after my initial appointment. My lawyer sent the documents, and they were received. However, my attorney didn’t send a copy of the power of attorney, so they weren’t accepted. The administration never told us this, and I only found out after I emailed them.
How to Pick Up Your Resident Permit
When you get the notice your resident permit is ready, you will need to make another appointment to pick it up. You will need your resident permit number to register in the system to make your appointment. The online status system will show it to you at the bottom of the notice under remarks.
You will then go to the migration website to register and make an appointment to pick up your Greece Resident Permit. Right now, only part of the website is in English, so I recommend you use a Chrome browser and install the Google Translate extension.
Once you have registered, you can make an appointment. This part of the website is in Greek only. When you translate the website to English, there will be a section called “Performances,” which is not the correct translation. Then you will click on “Appointment for Performances.” This is also not the correct translation. However, this is where you make the appointment to pick up your plastic resident permit card.
When you go to your appointment, you need to take a print out of your appointment with you, your passport and your temporary resident permit (the blue paper). You will give them the temporary permit.
They will print out a decision about your permit and all the rules to renew it. You will then sign for the permit and that is it! You are officially a Greece resident.
Other Things to Know
The financially independent resident permit is initially good for two years and can be renewed. If you are denied, there is an appeals process. Please email the administration for guidance on how to do this.
The process for getting a resident permit isn’t hard, but as you can see, there are many steps involved. Even with a lawyer, I had to follow-up with the authorities many times and with my lawyer. Be persistent in following up. I recommend checking every week in the online system and every two weeks via email. It is up to you to make sure they have all the documents they have requested.
There is nothing like the feeling you get when you have that Greece Resident Permit in hand. I was so relieved to get it. If you are in the process, I hope this helps, and if you haven’t started it yet, I hope you are now better prepared to start. If you have questions, I will do my best to answer them.
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[…] for a residence permit that also has its own requirements. Please read my whole blog post on the Greece Resident Permit application […]
Thank you for going into such depth and detail for this otherwise seemingly complicated process. Is this applicable to Third Country Nationals, or EU too?
I think from reading this if I were to do it – getting a lawyer is a good idea, not least to help with the language barrier!
You’re welcome! This is only for Third country(non-EU) nationals.
Yes, if your Greek isn’t great then I would definitely recommend getting a lawyer.
Hi how are you? Glad to see your new post. I have been away from WP too. Are you finally going to stay there for good? Stay safe.
Hi! I’m good. How are you? Yeah I took a break with no traveling going on. I think so but I don’t tend to make long term plans like that. Where are you now? Stay safe too!
Thank you so much, the video was very informative and useful. As I understand in order to apply for this type of residency permit one must show proof of income-funds of 200E per month, does one have to show that the money needed to cover the 24 months expenses is already in totality in a greek bank account ? t
You’re welcome. It is €2000 per month. I didn’t have it in a Greek bank account but did have to prove I could withdraw it here. I had most of the total I savings and that would be advisable since you aren’t supposed to work in Greece.
we are planning on moving to Greece in 10 years when we retire, is there an advantage to the Financially Independant Permit over the Golden Visa Program? I had never heard of this permit idea, but we were planning on just buying a house for 250k and living in the house and getting that Visa, but if we could buy a cheaper place and get this FIP that may be another option for us to consider.
Thanks for your U-Tube videos, I am devouring them as we plan for our trip to visit the country in May.
The Golden Visa is more expensive to deal with in my opinion. Also it cannot lead to citizenship. The FIP is 1000 euros for two years and then is renewable. I think after 7 years you can apply for a longer visa. However all of this will probably change in 10 years. It changes often unfortunately.
Super informative info! It’s so hard to find such detailed first hand accounts of this process, so I really appreciate you taking the time to spell it all out for us!:)
Fwiw the golden visa does include the benefit of naturalization eligibility after 7 years, *if the visa holder has been living in Greece during that time (which may not always be the case since there’s no minimum residency requirement to maintain the GV). We were going to go the GV route, but after trying to deal with realtors there for the last year to find a home and feeling like it’s a never ending cycle of cat herding, we think we’re going to go the FIP route instead and just rent for a while=\
Thank you! I am so glad you found it helpful.
The golden visa does not allow for citizenship. The FIP does though. Hope that helps. Good luck with the house hunt.
Thank you for your kind words about my channel!
Thank you for writing this. My wife and I are permanent residents living in Athens and will be going for our renewal soon. We initially did most all of the application process on our own and found it burdensome. We are retired so we did have the time, but in review of all our time and effort, it probably would have been worth it do engage an attorney. The immigration office was always just chaotic.
Thank you so much for writing this blog T. It is so detailed and informative. My only question is, once you have the “blue paper” does that act as a “bridge style temporary visa” that you can use before you can collect your offical card? I am asking that specifically as I am from the UK and coming to the end of my 90 days. So it’d be amazing if I could present that “blue sheet” while travelling between island and main land until the permanent card was ready.
Hope that makes sense!?
THANK YOU AGAIN 🙂 This was so so helpful!
You’re welcome! Well you don’t need to present it to travel within Greece so you wouldn’t need it for that. Also, you cannot apply for the FIP visa in Greece. You have to apply for it in your home country. Let me know if you have more questions.
Hi thank you so much for a very informative post .We are busy looking at the pros and cons of this type of visa versus The Golden Visa.I am interested in the renewal process after two years.Do you have to submit all the documents again and do it from your home country?
Hi! I haven’t gone through the renewal process yet but I have spoken to people who have. Greece has gone digital during the pandemic and now it is done online. You submit your documents online through a platform. My understanding it is the same documents. I will be starting this process in June so I will be writing a post about that after I get it done. Hope that helps.
Oh and you can do it here in Greece. It is just the visa you have to do from your home country.
Such a great help, Tiffany. I do have a few questions. First, about the timing of the medical exam, FBI background check, and such. How near to the application appointment do those need to be? Second, specifically for the birth certificate, am I to get an original copy and then apostille or is a notarized copy permissible? I presume they won’t keep my original, that would be risky. Third, any recommendations about apartment lease “evidence” given that I won’t be in Greece for a few months before I come. Will landlords post date lease agreements thereby reducing the chances they’ll find other renters? Any workarounds on this? (the “won’t be in country for a few months prior to applying also applies to how old a medical exam or background check can be to be acceptable). Thanks so much.
I am glad this helps. I did mine about a month or so before my visa appointment. Yes, you need a original copy that will then be apostilled. You will get it back but don’t give them the original original, just the copy. The lease part doesn’t need to be given until the resident permit appointment so you will be in Greece by then to find an apartment. Hope that helps!
Another question, please. With regard to insurance, did you obtain that in country or in the States. Do you like what you have and would you recommend it to us? The name, if so? Did you have to have a specific letter from them stating it met certain qualifications or you simply showed the policy? Thank you again.
You need it for the visa appointment so you need to get it in the US. I used GeoBlue. They give you a visa letter to present.
Is the Apostille required ONLY for the birth certificate? All documents, including the birth certificate, are to be translated into Greek? I’m a detail girl, thanks for your patience.
Yes, only the birth certificate and literally everything will need to be translated for the resident permit appointment. You can do that in Greece easily.
Thank you for your information about the process, I have a question how long it took to receive your residence card after you provide your documents? Thank you for your answer.
You’re welcome. I had to get them more documents but it only took about a month after that. Hope that helps
Thank you for this information since the Greek Consulate in Turkey wasn’t exactly sure what will be required of me when I go to register in Greece, being a dual national kind of confused the process here, but we managed to sort it out.
I’m curious. Once the National D Visa is approved, is there anyway they can decline my registration in Greece?
Since the requirement for FIP is 2000 euro per month, and can be renewed every two years, I’m not clear if I have to have to prove 24000 euro or 48000 in the bank. I’m only asking because I’m wondering if I should delay my travel holiday in Greece, until after I register, which will kind of dip into the savings.
Again, Thank you for making this information available and simplified.
Also. I just spoke with a translation service from the link provided, and they are asking for apostille for all documents, not just birth certificate. Does this make sense?
Can you let us know if all documents need to be notarized or is translation enough, because it seems for me to get apostille on all other documents, I first need to get them notarized.
No, I only had to have the apostille for my birth certificate. They all had to be translated but not apostilled. That doesn’t make any sense since those documents don’t need to be notarized.
Hi. I’m only seeing your response now.
I’m in Greece now and thank God I got all documents apostilled and notarized. For some reason they were asking about this, to even include an apostille or notary stamp on my bank statement showing proof of funds, which I got directly from my bank, with signatures and stamps to show it’s an original statement from the bank.
I couldn’t get this apostilled or notarized in Turkey since no one heard of such a thing, but it seemed to have caused a problem here in Nafplio, since now they are requiring that I deposit the money into a Greek bank account, which I really don’t want to do. Does this sound right to you? since you didn’t have to open an account here.
I had a place to stay in Nafplio at a friends house, so thought to start off my first year in Greece here, but since I’m not a tenant, and my mobile contract with the address was not enough, they require that she make a notarized statement that I have permission to live at her place. This is impossible, since she is in Denmark, but owns a house in Nafplio.
Anyway, I decided that Nafplio isn’t the right place for me, and will go to Athens to set up base.
1. Is an airbnb rental enough to show proof of residency? Will a month or two be enough? It will take time before I find a long term flat.
2. I wonder if they will require that I transfer funds into a Greek bank account there as well. I wonder if this is because my account is in a Turkish Bank, although in a USD account.
It’s all become to complicated here in Nafplio.
Hi Figen,
What resident permit are you applying for? This may be why they are asking for different things.
The only thing I had to have apostilled was my birth certificate. The rest just needed to be translated to Greek.
You will need to get an apartment with an AFM, which is a tax number. The contract has to be registered there for it to be legal.
I did not have to transfer my money to a Greek bank account. I just showed that I was able to access the money here, which I did with an ATM receipt and a bank document showing the withdrawal.
I hope this helps
ps. if anything I have written to my recent experience sounds really off, maybe you can recommend the attorney you used, so I can get some advice from him? Thank you.
It does but I think when you try in Athens it will be different. Send me an email for the lawyers contact.
I’m also applying through FIP. I’m in the process of looking for a flat in Athens (online) and will travel there as soon as I can since I already spent 2 weeks here without resolve. All other paperwork, and AFM is ready to go already. Will send you an email for the lawyer’s number incase needed. Thank you very much
Hi Tiffany, I just wanted to follow up to see if you have gone through the renewal process yet? You stated above submitting documents online through a platform, and it possibly being the same documents? I finally got my FIP residency.
Hi! I started it but it is taking a long time. I am still waiting. It is the same documents. Congratulations!!
Thank you…
After my application, they never returned my documents, so can you elaborate on this a bit more please 🙏 because I don’t understand how we can obtain some of the documents again while in Greece? Also, can you confirm if you were able to do it online, or did you have to go in person again?
They should have returned the birth certificate to you. That is the only one you would have a hard time getting again. All the others I had to load were updated such as financial documents and my lease. I uploaded everything online. I will have go in person to get the new ID and fingerprints. But I haven’t gotten to that point yet.
Well. I still have the translated birth certificate (in Greek) which also proved authentication of my birth certificate. My birth certificate is a physical card actually, that is provided by Turkey, where I was actually born, which I keep in my possession, so no problem there.
And since I had to transfer the money to a Greek account, that will be easy enough produce . Thanks for your response.
I hope to hear the results. How long ago did you submit it online?
I wonder if online renewal is only applicable to residents of Athens? Or do you know if it’s country wide system, since my initial application was in Nafplio. I hope I can do it online as well.
Thanks again.
Hello Figen,
I’m planning to apply for the fip visa from Turkey as well. Did you work with a lawyer?
I don’t think you need one for the visa. You might for the initial resident permit application.
Hi Oya. No, you don’t need a lawyer to apply for the visa. or the resident permit application in Greece actually, but can discuss this at another time. I applied in Nafplio Greece.
Where in Turkey will you apply? I assume you have legal residency in Turkey? You have to apply where your residency [ ikamet ] is and registered on E-devlet. Are you Turkish? Dual nationality? Either or, same rules apply.
At the time, I was actually living in Egypt, but you have to apply where you have legal residency, which for me was either the USA or Turkey. Since I was legally registered in Edirne, I couldn’t apply in Istanbul for example.
In Edirne, I needed to have an interview first: asking me why I want to live in Greece, if I had been there before, where I plan on applying for residency in Greece. How will I earn money during my time there, since I can’t legally work in Greece, pretty much, how will I live my life in Greece. Then if they are satisfied they tell you what you need to apply.
Istanbul is a different process. You have to submit papers first through email.
I can write more on what I needed to eventually show them, and what I needed after in Greece. For me, I was required to transfer the money to a Greek bank account, but this is another story 🙏
When applying for visa in Turkey, having a Turkish bank account helps, since it required authentication from the bank to even apply for a visa in Turkey.
I’ll be happy to answer what I can.
Figen! Thank you for such a thorough answer. This is great.
Hi Tiffany. I’ll do what I can to help dual citizens or Americans living in a country outside of the USA, who want to apply for FIP residency for Greece.
I appreciate it. Just to let you know that I will publish an article once my renewal goes through so you will have that when your time comes.
Thank you
thank you so much for the details – starting the process myself! With the Apostille, does it matter how old the document is? Like if I get it done this year and don’t apply in Greece for another 3 years, is that OK?
And would you mind emailing me the Lawyer you used? I am looking for references. thank you again!
You’re welcome! No, it needs to be within six months of applying for the visa. I don’t have your email, can you email me at info@agirlandherpassport.com?
A huge miss on many sites explaining how to get a residence permit in Greece is the failure to explain what an apostille is (most people have no idea) AND the fact you have to get one for your US birth certificate BEFORE you leave the US, from the state that issued your birth certificate. Things are confusing enough without that critical bit of knowledge.
That is all explained in the other blog post, that is linked, for getting a visa. You have to have the visa before this step so you if you did the visa, then you have the apostilled birth certificate. I also linked to the Texas site for apostille so most people will figure out that they need to go to their state of birth to get that. This post even says to read that one first in the beginning.
Thanks for the info. We have Type D visas, obtained without needing birth certificates. We were told the next on the journey to a residence permit step was to travel to Greece using our visas, bringing along birth certificates, financial documents and et cetera. Then, once in Greece, things would move forward towards a residence permit. Some information sites didn’t mention apostille and some of them did but none clearly indicated that an apostille, at least for something like a birth certificate obtained from a U.S. state, was something that had to be obtained from that state and obtained (well) before leaving the U.S. Live and learn. As an aside, when you do an internet search for “Greek residence permit” you have to work to get past all the sites trying to get you to go the Golden Visa route. Frustrating.
Thank you all for the information. I got my type D visa based in FIP on January 2023 without a birth certificate.
It was approved in just 4 days based on my savings for an amount over 48000 Euros that are available at the bank here in Greece and my ownership of my place of residence in Athens.
I did submit my application for the initial residence permit in February online with the same documents that I provided to the Greek consulate. It was a simple process, I did not need a lawyer.
I did recently follow up with the immigration regarding my case with a couple emails to dam_a_info@attica.gr and they answered after a few days and said that I have to wait in order for them to check my application.
So it has been almost 5 months for the submission of my application.
The status is under examination, I think it is taking too long. Does anyone knows the exact length of the process ? Kindly advise.
I think every consulate asks for different info. Also, the process has changed a bit now that everything is online. I applied for my renewal last July and still haven’t received it. This is very normal here. Everything takes a very long time!
Thank you Tiffany for your answer. I guess the Greeks are so lazy!! Lol. I hope that you get your residence card soon. Good luck! Take care.
It isn’t laziness. The processes were all delayed during COVID and they moved everything online. Hopefully, this won’t be the case much longer but I have no idea if it will improve.
I see. Thank you.
These are the required documents for FIP residence permit online:
1. Valid passport (all pages of it)
2. Type D entry visa (not expired)
3. E-fee 1000 (code type 2111) via e-paravolo
4. Health insurance policy of a private insurance provider (Government Gazette ΦΕΚ 2962 B’ /4-11-2014)
5. Evidence that proves that you have sufficient living resources, at the level of a stable year of income
without working in Greece (2.000€ per month with a surcharge of 20% for the wife and 15% for each
child). The amount of resources is mainly proved by an external or domestic bank account.
The application e-fee 1000€ must be paid (submitting the application, you will be asked for the 20-digit
e-fee’s number).
Things have changed now that it is online. However, they can still ask you for more documents so they may ask you for other things after you submit your application.
Wow. This is bizarre. I have done extensive research on getting a Greek residency permit and none of the many sites I looked at, both official and unofficial (various blogs and, of course, the overwhelming number of sites more than happy to help someone get a Golden Visa), have mentioned an online option. Why are sites not mentioning the online option? I’m flabbergasted. We have also contacted two Greek attorneys, neither of whom mentioned an online option. Thinking it was too good to be true I started the process, and it looks like it’s a genuine option. Now I need to get health insurance. Do you know if there is a way to for foreigners to purchase the necessary health insurance online? An attorney mentioned Intersalonika, but she said we would meet with someone regarding the insurance. Also, it looks like I pay the fee via an “e-paravolo” site. Do you have a link to that site. One final thought. It sounds like applying online takes months. Michael, you say it is taking more than five months. We have been told a residency permit can take two months, more or less, to obtain. That is with the non-online process (the only one we knew about, until now), involving an attorney, apostilled birth certificates, translations and etc. Could it be that the online process takes longer? Thanks so much for this very helpful (and very surprising) information.
Hi David. These sites claim that you can get it in about 3 months. In my case it has been almost 5 months, my status is still under examination. Tiffany was saying that it takes longer time lately because of the backlog and that they might request additional documents.
Usually once a decision is made to approve or reject your application you should receive exclusively by email that decision and if positive followed by an email to appear for the biometrics appointment.
Please note that you need a tax number to get the E parabola. I got mine with my CPA here in Greece and the required insurance cost me only 86 Euros.
Here are the link for the online application, the E parabola and the insurance broker contact.
https://portal.immigration.gov.gr/electronic-applications/index?lang=en
https://www1.gsis.gr/sgsisapps/eparavolo/public/welcome.htm?langId=2
Insurance contact: TL: 2108841650
Info@kladiskostas.gr
http://www.kladiakostas.gr
I hope this would be helpful.
Regards, Michael
Hi David. I tried a couple times to reply to you with the link for the E parabola and the insurance information but I was unable to send it with this site.
I will send it to you by email
michelsaba1@gmail.com
Regards, Michael
I just approved the comment. My site has me approve comments with links. Thanks for sending all these as I would have sent the same things.
H David. Here are the links for online process, the E parabola and the insurance contact. The minimum required insurance cost me 86 Euros.
https://portal.immigration.gov.gr/electronic-applications/index?lang=en
https://www1.gsis.gr/sgsisapps/eparavolo/public/welcome.htm?langId=2
Insurance: TL: 2108841650
Info@kladiskostas.gr
Please note that you need a tax number for the E parabola. I got mine with my CPA in Greece.
I hope this would be helpful. Regards.
Thanks so much for this very helpful information! I will let you know how it goes.
You’re welcome. Let me know if you have any other question. I will also keep you posted on the progress of my case.
I was finally able to submit my residence permit application online. We didn’t know about that option (it seems some parties are not interested in publicizing it, because it undermines their business?) until recently, but were thrilled to learn about it since attorneys we work with in Greece have been very slow to do things and have given us often obtuse advice. Also, due to incomplete advice from a Greek attorney, we didn’t show up in Greece with apostilled birth certificates (which you have to obtain prior to coming to Greece) — big fail that we were not given that information prior to coming to Greece! Birth certificates are not required for the online application. If you are applying for a residence permit, online or otherwise, you definitely need a Greek tax number, a Greek bank account, an unexpired visa and Greek health insurance. After going through a few hoops we got the Greek health insurance fairly quickly online. I’m assuming that due to previous corruption and tax fraud Greece has the somewhat circuitous route of paying for things that it does, where you pay a bank or a government agency (such as a KEP office) the amount of a bill then you are given a code or receipt that you show to whoever needs payment as proof of payment. Hence the need for a Greek tax number and a Greek bank account. We use the National Bank of Greece and have been able to make all of our payments (including the “e-paravolo” payment required for the residence permit application) via the bank website. By the way, the local KEP offices have been great to deal with and very helpful for a number of issues — become friends with the people at your local KEP office. The e-paravolo payment for the residence permit application via our bank was a bit confusing, but we figured it out. Screenshot everything and download any pdf you are given an option to download — a pdf may contain info that you didn’t realize you needed. Specifically, the “Payment code” required for online residence permit application was confusing until we were able to obtain a pdf that was downloadable at the time of the e-paravolo payment. As an aside, Google Translate can sometimes throw you off. It translated “Code paravolo” (which was written in Greek) as “Customer name.” A challenge on the residence permit was “Proof of residence,” which seemed to indicate that you needed something with your Greek address AND your name on it (rental agreement, utility bill, etc.). That is a challenge if you are living with someone who has everything in their name. So the application is in. We are expecting it will take months for approval. We have to return to the U.S. in the meantime. We’ll see how that affects things. I will try and provide an update at some point, whether it’s good news or bad news. And thanks to Michael for his insights.
David! I am glad that you were able to successfully submit your application. I hope to hear the good news for all of us. Regards.
For any new applicant for FIP, these are the required documents to submit your application online. This list was sent to me by email from the Greek immigration directly. There is no need for lawyers and expensive cost, You can do it yourself.
Residence Permit based on C. 4.1 Financially independent individuals question.
1 message
Τμήμα Εξυπηρέτησης Πολιτών Τρίτων Χωρών
To:michelsaba1@gmail.com
Thu, Feb 9, 2023 at 2:05 PM
Dear sir,
Applications for initial residence permits are submitted exclusively online through the app
Submit an application on-line (Residence permit first issue).
SPECIAL REASONS
FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT PERSONS (Law 4251/14)
INITIAL-FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT PERSONS (Law 4251/14)
Required documents:
1. Valid passport (all pages of it)
2.Type D entry visa (not expired)
3. E-fee 1000 (code type 2111)via e-paravolo
4.Health insurance policy of a private insurance provider (Government Gazette ΦEK 2962 B’/4-11-2014)
5.Evidence that proves that you have sufficient living resources, at the level of a stable year of income without working in Greece (2.000€ per month with a surcharge of 20% for the wife and 15% for each child). The amount of resources is mainly proved by an external or domestic bank account.
The application e-fee 1000€ must be paid (submitting the application, you will be asked for the 20-digit e-fee’s number).
Mε εkTiμηoη
Για το Τμήμα Εξυπηρέτησης ΠTX
Yπουρyείο Mετaνáστεuσηc& Aσ■λoυ
Γενική ΔιεύθυνσηΜεταναστευτικής Πολιτικής
Λ.Θηβωv 196-198
T.K.18233 Ay.lωávvηç Pεvτης-Nikala
Best regards
TCNs Service Department
Ministry of Migration & Asylum
Hello Tiffany,
Maybe you can help us. We are trying to apply online but we are unable to make the payment . Do we need a Greek bank account ?
Hi, Nicole, Yes, you have to have a bank account to make the payments from.
Hello Nicole. Alternatively If you have a tax number meaning AFM, you can go to any tax services office and have them issue for you E paravolo and then take it to any bank to make your payment. That’s what I did.
Did you do this recently? I had issues paying my rent in a bank that I didn’t have an account it but it might be different with the e-paravalo.
That was in February 2023, I have a bank account in Greece at Eurobank, I used my debit card but they told me that I have the option to pay it with any other card or cash.
Yes, but you still had an account with them. They likely wouldn’t have let you do it if you didn’t have an account.
WOW! So fast thank you for the reply. We are feeling very discouraged with the system. No support at all 🙁 No one told us we needed the bank account/ Do you know how it works for my husband and I as foreigner to set up a bank account. Really appreciate it !
Yeah it has some downsides. It’s not easy. Each bank has their own requirements and you need an appointment. You should contact a bank and see what they need from you. Can a friend make the payment through their account? It would be faster than getting a bank account.
Also, I checked the e-paravalo site and you can pay it at the post office after you get the paravalo code.
we were thinking of doing that but we are so worried with this whole process that if it didn’t say our name on transfer they would not accept it. We currently have a Visa D ( digital nomad visa ) but we are ready to stay and grow our family here. Do you know if the visa expires what happens?
It shouldn’t be an issue. For my first one, my lawyer paid it through his account. If it expires and you haven’t gotten the permit, you would have to leave.
Yes you can apply for AFM at the closest government tax office near you ( Eforia ) by you need someone to sponsor you who is Geek or a resident of Greece. You can get it the on same day.
You need to apply online for the residence permit while your visa is still valid. Once you do so successfully you will receive a certificate that gives all the rights as the residence permit you’re applying for until a decision is made on your case. You are able to stay in Greece with the certificate. I received one and I am still in Athens after my type D visa expired. If you wish to leave then you need to apply for a schengen visa to return to Greece. I already asked the immigration and the Greek consulate.
Hello Michael,
We spend the whole day at the bank and then at the tax office and then at KEP. No one was of help to us. We do not have tax number . Can i apply for tax number as a foreigner ?
You can get one at the foreigner’s tax office. You really do need it to do most things here. Rent an apartment legally and open accounts.
no way to extend the visa i guess. Very discouraging since we were ready but just could not pay 🙁
No. It’s why they should have told you to start the process ASAP! Greece moves very slowly
so sad 🙁 they told me to wait until a month before …. and i have been calling ever since
That was the wrong advice. It’s taking forever as well to get them processed.
Do you have any information if the visa is expired what are the next steps. Can we apply for residency without visa. Any advice?
You can’t apply without the visa. I would hire a lawyer ASAP as they are the best people to advise you on what your options are.
Thank you Tiffany. We got in touch with a lawyer. I hope we can find a solution to stay.. do you think there is hope?
Do you know anyone who can help Michael? We are in urgent need the visa expired and we had no way to pay
I did send you a link for a good immigration law office in Athens, Tiffany must approve the link to appear.
You may also call this lady to get you a Greek tax number AFM.
For AFM , Teta: +30 6948615414
Law office # +30 6908351705
Your type D visa must be valid not expired. You can’t apply once your visa expires. There is no way around it.
My online application was not submitted not long ago. I thought I’d check out the govgr site that allows you the status of your application, just to see how it works. Try as I might, I can’t get past the silly CAPTCHA. Have you had a similar issue?
It does happen sometimes when I check my status online and I keep entering the new CAPTCHA until it works. Close the browser and try again and make sure to enter your correct information. It should work.
https://www.gov.gr/en/upourgeia/upourgeio-metanasteuses-kai-asulou/metanasteuses-kai-asulou/poreia-phakelou-polite-trites-khoras
If you entered it wrong the first time, you have to refresh the page. For some reason it doesn’t just let you try again. It is a weird glitch.
I think I have discovered yet another website that does not do well with copy and paste. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. As soon as I typed my passport number in, instead of using copy and paste for the number, the site worked well and I got the info I needed. The problem was not the CAPTCHA, but rather my copying and pasting, apparently.
Yes, that could be it as well. I type everything in fresh as I know it is picky!