Travel To Greece: Greece Long Stay Visas And Residence Permit

A Greek national Visa, also known as a Greece Long-stay Visa or a Greece D Visa, allows you to enter Greece and stay for longer than three months. In most circumstances, the authorization also allows you to engage in compensated activities.

Do I Need a Greece Long-Stay Visa?

You will need to apply for a Greece long-stay visa in order to remain here for more than three months unless you are a national of:

• The European Union Member Countries
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Norway
• Switzerland

On the other hand, if you are trying to apply for a Greece short-stay visa, you can check here whether you need one or not.

Types of Greece Long-Stay Visa

There are three types of Greece National Visa, defined by the main purposes of long-term stay in Greece, as follows:

Greece Family Reunification Visa

To join a family member in Greece, you must apply for a family reunification visa. Only the spouse and children under the age of 18 of the resident in Greece are eligible to apply. This visa is also provided for the purpose of establishing a family tie, such as through marriage or adoption.

Greece Employment Visa

If you want to work in Greece, you must first obtain an employment visa, unless you are a national of one of the countries listed above. This comprises investors, coaches, creators, known religious ministers, press correspondents, teachers, highly qualified workers, seasonal employees, fishers, tour guides, property investors, and so on.

Greece Student Visa

If you want to participate in educational activities, you will need to obtain a Study visa. University students, volunteers, researchers, vocational training participants, scholars, military training school pupils, and others are the most typical applicants for this visa.

Apply for Greece Long-Stay Visa

The application process for a Greece Long-Stay Visa consists of a few procedures, which you need to complete correctly, in order to have a successful application.

Following in this article, find the main steps you need to complete in order to successfully apply for a Greek National Visa.

Fill-in the Application Form

Start by filling out the Greek long-term visa application.

The application is two-part. The first portion asks about your name, surname, ID number, passport, date and place of birth, marital status, occupation, etc.

The second portion asks about your National Visa application. Three sections cover employment, family, and education. Only fill out your section. Blank the other two.

Schedule a Visa Appointment

Walk-in visa applications are not accepted by Greek embassies and consulates. That is why you should schedule an appointment to submit your application and attend the mandatory visa interview.

You should look at how visa appointment scheduling is handled in your country of residency. You might be able to do it over the phone, through a website, or in some countries, in person.

Collect the Supporting Documents to Apply for Greece Long-Stay Visa

The most important part of your Greece visa application, is collecting the right supporting documents. First, make sure you collect the main required documents for a Greek visa:

• Your valid passport.
• Photos.
• Health insurance.
• Medical certificate.
• Roundtrip flight booking.
• Evidence of sufficient financial means.
• Proof of accommodation.

The collect the required documents for a Greek Long-Stay Visa according to the Visa type you are applying for. Below, find the required documents for each of these visas.

Greece Long-term Employment visa requirements

To apply for a Greece Long-term Employment visa collect the following documents:

• A certified copy of a valid labor contract, ratified by a public authority, providing that your salary is at least equal to the monthly remuneration paid to unskilled workers, as well as the terms of employment.
• Proof of educational qualifications and experience
• Relevant Certifications, Authorization, License and References
• Greece Long-term family reunification visa requirements

To apply for a Greece Long-term family reunification visa collect the following documents:

• Family status certificate issued by foreign authorities, officially certified and translated, proving family relationship.
• Proof of accommodation, which could be a residence purchase contract or a residence lease contract attested by a Tax Office.
• Stable and regular income sufficient to meet your needs of and the needs of your family. It must not be coming from recourse to the social assistance system of the country.
• Full health insurance in respect of all risks covered for the respective categories of domestic workers, which can cover all the family members you are bringing over.

Greece Long-term Study visa requirements

To apply for a Greece Long-term Study visa collect the following documents:

• A certificate proving registration and payment of fees at the respective education institute, as appropriate, or a certificate that you have been accepted for registration.
• Evidence proving that you have adequate income to meet study and subsistence expenses, amounting to at least four hundred (400) euros a month
• Consent of the parents or the person exercising parental authority for the planned stay, if you are under 18 years of age.
• If the curriculum to be attended requires sufficient knowledge of the Greek language, as a prerequisite for your registration, the competent education institute shall make the necessary checks and issue the corresponding certificate, which shall be presented to the competent Greek consular authority.

Greece Long-Stay Visa Interview

On the day of your visa interview, there are four main things that you need to do. Find these things listed and explained below:

• Attend the interview – At the embassy, you will be meeting with a consular officer, or two. They will ask you questions related to your trip to Greece, which you need to answer carefully.
• Present the required documents – You will need to hand the documents you have collected to the interviewer, as required.
• Give your biometrics – You will have your fingerprints scanned and your facial image taken, if you haven’t traveled to the Schengen area in the last 5 years.
• Pay the Visa Fee – Most of the time, you will need to pay the visa fee on the day of your interview. You may have to pay the fee in cash at the embassy/consulate, or at a bank, and take the receipt at the embassy/consulate.

Note that these steps are not necessarily arranged in this order. It depends on how the Spanish authorities have regulated this process in your country.

Greek D Visa Application Processing Time

The minimum processing time for a Greece Long-stay visa application is 6 days. On the other hand, the maximum the processing of your visa can take is up to three months.

Paying the Fee for a Greece Long-Stay Visa

The fee for a national long-stay visa for Greece is €180. Yet, the following categories should pay different fees as explained:

• Foreigners applying for a study-related visa* need to pay a fee of €90.
• Several categories related to employment*, need top need to pay €75 for the processing of their application.
• The low fee of only €20 per a Greek visa application is to be paid by ethnic Greeks living in Albania and Turkey.
• Whereas strategic investors, and youngsters from Australia and Canada are exempt from paying any fee when applying for a Greece visa.

Greece National Visa Validity

A national visa for Greece is usually valid for a year. Yet, some categories of applicants are granted with shorter visa validity. Find these categories, and the validity of their visas listed below:

• Seasonal employees – up to 6 months
• Fish workers –up to 11 months
• Members of artistic groups –up to 1 year
• Employees legally employed by an undertaking established in a Member State of the European Union, who travel to provide a specific service under a contractual obligation – up to 1 year
• Qualified technical staff employed by an undertaking established in a third country, under a procurement contract, to provide specific services – up to 6 months
• Leaders of organized tourist groups – up to 8 months
• Sportspersons, coaches and other specialized personnel for training purposes – up to 6 months
• Students participating in a traineeship program – up to 6 months

Greece Residence Permit

All foreigners moving to Greece with a visa that is valid for a year or longer need to apply for a Greek residence permit.

To apply for a Greece Residence Permit complete the steps listed below.

• Bring with you the documents you collected to apply for your National visa in your country, original or copies. You will need to submit most of them again.
• Complete the online application form for a residence permit. Make sure you complete this form as soon as you arrive in Greece (within a few days).
• Schedule an appointment with the main police station in the district that you have settled in Greece.
• Submit your documents at the same police station. You will also attend an interview with an officer, who will ask you several questions regarding your purpose of residing in Greece.

Please not that those holding a visa valid for less than a year do not need to possess a residence permit. Yet, they must pay the consular post, in addition to the visa fee, which is €150.

Benefits of having a Greece residence permit:

• Live in Greece without restrictions during the validity of the permit, without being obliged to become its tax resident
• Freely travel within the Schengen area and live in its territory for 90 (ninety) days every six months
• Have access to public health services in Greece
• Have access to the public education system in Greece
• After five years of continuous residence in Greece, you are entitled to apply for permanent residence