Greece Immigration Lawyers

This summary is designed to provide basic information about the VISA and WORK PERMIT application in Greece. As changes in the applicable laws and procedures may arise any time, the present report may be considered as a general guide and does not constitute legal advice. For current and detailed information regarding the applicable legislation/procedures as well as a tailor-made solution to the specific case, please contact the legal professional with whom you work at Vardikos & Vardikos.
The issue of entry and stay on Greek territory for reasons including the notion of immigration is determined by Law 4251/2014 “Code of Immigration and Social Integration” (Government Gazette 80/ issue A of 01/04/2014) as amended, supplemented and in effect today.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON VISAS

Greece is a member of the Schengen Agreement which provides for the cross border of Business/ Tourist visitors without inspection once initial entry has been made.
Visitors to the Schengen countries who are not exempted from the requirement to obtain a visa should obtain a Schengen visa for Business/Tourist purposes.

VISA OBLIGATION – EXEMPTIONS APPLIED BY GREECE IN ACCORDANCE WITH COUNCIL
REGULATION (EC) No 539/2001, AS AMENDED BY REGULATION (EC) No 2414/2001,
REGULATION (EC) No 453/2003, REGULATION (EC) No 1932/2006, REGULATION (EC) No
1244/2009, REGULATION (EU) No 1091/2010 AND REGULATION (EU) No 1211/2010,
AND REGULATION (EU) No509/2014

SCHENGEN SHORT-STAY VISAS

Uniform visas are the authorization or decision granted in the form of a sticker affixed by a Schengen Contracting Party to a passport, travel document or other document which entitles the holder to cross the border. It enables aliens, subject to the visa requirement, to present themselves at the external border of the Contracting Party which issued the visa or that of another Contracting Party and request, depending on the type of visa, transit or residence, provided that the other transit or entry conditions have been met. Mere possession of a visa does not entitle automatic right of entry (Regulation (EU) 2019/1155 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Regulation (EC) No 810/2009 establishing a Community Code on Visas (Visa Code)).

TYPES OF SHORT-STAY VISAS

Airport Transit Visa (Type A):
Τhis visa entitles aliens who are required to hold such a visa, to pass through the international transit area of airports, without actually entering the national territory of the country concerned, during a stop-over or transfer between two sections of an international flight. The requirement to have this visa is an exception to the general right to transit without a visa through the abovementioned international transit area.

Transit Visa (Type B):
This visa entitles aliens who are traveling from one third state to another third state to pass through the territories of the Contracting Parties.
This visa authorizes its holder to pass through once, twice or exceptionally several times, provided that no transit shall exceed five days.

Short-term or travel visas (Type C):
This visa entitles aliens who seek to enter the territories of the Contracting Parties, for reasons other than to immigrate, to carry out a continuous visit or several visits whose duration does not exceed three months in any half-year from the date of first entry. As a general rule, this visa may be issued for one or several entries.
In the case of certain aliens who frequently need to travel to one or several Schengen States, for example on business, short-stay visas may be issued for several visits, provided that the total length of these visits does not exceed three months in any half-year. This multiple entry visa may be valid for one year, and in exceptional cases, for more than a year for certain categories of persons.

Group Visa:
This is a transit visa or a visa limited to a maximum of thirty days, which may be affixed to a group passport, save where national legislation provides otherwise. This group must be socially or institutionally formed prior to the decision to travel, provided that the members of the group enter the territory, stay there and leave the territory as a group. Group visas may be issued to groups of between 5 and 50 people. The person in charge of the group must possess an individual passport and, where necessary, an individual visa.

Visas with limited territorial validity (LTV):
This visa is affixed in exceptional cases to a passport, travel document or other document which entitles the holder to cross the border, where the visit is authorized only in the national territory of one or more Contracting Parties, provided that both entry and exit are through the territory of this or these Contracting Parties.

LONG-STAY VISAS

Cases of entries aimed at long stay, for reasons that include the notion of immigration, shall be exclusively governed by the national law of the member states, according to article 18 of the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement, as modified by Council Regulation (EC) 1091/2001 of 28 May 2001 on freedom of movement with a long-stay visa (Official Journal L150 of 06/06/2001, pg. 4). In such cases, visas granted by the member states (for stays exceeding three months) shall be national visas (valid in principle exclusively for the country that granted it), and shall be issued for the reasons explicitly set out by the member state’s national immigration policy under the terms and conditions and on the basis of specific supporting documents provided for in these interpretative provisions.
In particular, pursuant to Article 5 par. 7 of the abovementioned Law, national visas are issued based on the relevant legislative provisions on residence permits and their length depends on the projected stay, according to each case.