Greece for Americans & other non EU citizens

Greece for Americans (& other non EU citizens): January 2003-Updated June 2006

This has been written from an American point of view and a few aspects are only relevant to US citizens. However, most of this information applies to all non-EU citizens.

With many thanks to Marcia and Bruce Hunt who compiled this information. ============================================================

Geoff asked us to write about our experiences as Americans living in Greece. First, we offer some credentials as to practical experience, under a variety of circumstances and in a variety of places.

We first came to live in Greece in 1970 with our four kids, two in diapers. After a two-year stay, we returned to Long Island. At the first chance, we returned in 1974 and stayed for four years. Our oldest daughter graduated from the American high school at which we worked (just north of Athens) and the other three had positive experiences in and out of school. During our first two-year stint, the Colonel's military dictatorship ruled Greece with an iron hand. Our return two-years later, coincided with the military's ouster and the return of democracy. From 1978 to 1995, we visited Greece often, usually once a year. In 1995 we retired, spending over two years in an apartment two blocks south of the Acropolis and moving to Skiathos in 1998.

Through a friend, we were introduced to Astros and the Peloponnesus in the '70s. Another friend introduced us to Myconos and we spent lots of time in both places.

Practical Requirements, things that must be faced:

1) Change is in the air; it has always been thus in Greece, but this time it is of special importance to foreigners. Since the fall of the Eastern Bloc, Greece and the EU has been inundated with aliens seeking a better life. As the richest country in the Balkans, Greece has seen an increase in its population of about 10% over the past 15 years or so. Most of these are aliens, legal and illegal. Normal bureaucratic delays and mix-ups are being compounded by this inundation and by changing rules and interpretations from the EU and the central Greek government. It is an interesting time to seek legal residence but not the easiest.

2) Americans are allowed to enter and visit throughout Greece up to three months on presentation of a passport. If you then get your passport stamped on exiting and stay out for three months, you are allowed to re-enter for three months more and so on. This might be an easy compromise until things are clarified.

If you intend to stay beyond three months, that is, if you wish a residence permit (it allows you to leave and enter at will after the initial tourist three months), you must originate this in the United States at a Greek consulate. There you can get the most recent specifics. To the best of our knowledge, Americans must have fingerprints taken and a statement from the FBI that you are not wanted. Local police will take your fingerprints and pass them on to the FBI. There is a modest fee ($20 or so) and it takes a month or six weeks.

3) In addition to the (a) the FBI clearance, you need to bring from the United States: (b) a statement from your health insurance company specifically stating that they cover you in Greece (c) something that proves that you have an income from outside of Greece (from a bank, your retirement system, from wherever you will be getting your money).

You then bring your papers (FBI clearance, health insurance coverage statement, etc.) to the Aliens’ Bureau on Skiathos and they begin the process. Currently, two efficient and cooperative people fluent in English staff the local bureau. They will review your papers and get you started. They also can answer most questions. However, they have no control over the bureaucracy on the mainland.

Again here, you must get a statement from a government hospital or clinic that you have no communicable diseases. It might pose a problem at a large state hospital but was easy, fast and routine at our clinic (on Skiathos, the clinic does this for a fee of about E17.00).

An interview by a local “Aliens’ Bureau” in Larissa or Volos (on the mainland) then follows. If you are not fluent in Greek, bring a friend to translate. Changes in EU and Greek laws in 2005 and 2006 have yet to be clarified; they may eventually require Greek language and culture lessons. Although the law states you will have your residence permit within two months of applying, the wait can be more like seven months. This was our experience. We hired a lawyer to expedite and she did it; we could not have.

Although the procedures are new and changing, we are reasonably sure the following are OK to prove outside income: a) a dollar bank account in Greece (easy to set up, open an account with an American check-it may take a month to clear-and you have a Greek dollar account) b) enough pink slips (see below) c) and a statement from your bank, pension fund or whatever the source of your funds. Ask at the nearest consulate.

4) Working requires a different permit (in addition to the residence permit) and the procedure to gain this is more complicated and the help of the employer is essential.

Many Americans tend to believe what they see on TV. This is, of course, a major mistake. As a world leader, the US is the subject of criticism and insults of all sorts. Anti-Americanism is institutionalized in Greece to a great extent because of US support of the military dictatorship (1967-74). Every year on November 17, the anniversary of a student uprising against the dictatorship, there is a huge march on the US Embassy. This is not a good time to show up in downtown Athens wearing an American flag. Various other political groups use the US as a whipping boy and their rhetoric is often grim. The current war in Iraq is another source of anti-Americanism.

On the other hand many, perhaps most, Greek families have American relatives. Most know a lot about the US and admire much of our culture for the right reasons. In spite of the headline grabbing news, on the personal level most Greeks tend to be pro-American. In the thirty-six plus years we have lived and visited Greece, under dictatorships, transitional and representative government we have had one negative remark aimed at us: just after the fall of the dictatorship (1974), we were walking through Monastiraki (part of old Athens) when a merchant hissed and spat on the ground saying: "Kissinger, ptui."

Greece is as safe as one can get in this world and far safer than any southern or midwestern state or most US cities. There is crime but it is rare and seldom aimed at Americans unless they are really stupid about, for example, flaunting money in public, leaving doors unlocked, etc. Common sense actions lead to far greater security than one would get anyplace in the US. It is a non-concern.

Attitudes, Cultural Differences:

Depending on where you are from, Greece will hit you in different ways. Big city folk will recognize the bustle and hustle of Athens and Thessaloniki; country folk will feel at home (in the off season) in places like Skiathos. That is, these first impressions and mere comparisons will eventually lead to a beginning of an understanding of Greece and Greeks.

1) What appears to be often is not. There is lots of "orderly anarchy" or "anarchistic order." There are reasons for this and it may take a lifetime or so to get a real handle on it. Having said this, you are not expected to act in any special way, not only are you a foreigner, you are an American and, of course you don't understand! There is much to observe, learn and enjoy.

2) Greek is a challenge. "Myriads agonize over its grammar and panic as they synthesize its glossary. Stop, pause, no problem; organize your enthusiasm and the mechanics will turn to logic; the dilemma of dialect will harmonize and the crisis meander to a phenomenal, authentic, charismatic climax."

All of the above are English words derived from Greek. This is not to say that Greek is easy for English speakers. On the other hand, it is logical and there are lots of overlapping words. Greeks appreciate a foreigner's attempts to speak and understand. On the other hand, there is always, always, someone around with good English and if you want to practice your Greek, the reply will often be in English. Language is not a problem and can be an interesting focus.

3) Wherever we have lived in Greece, we have traveled extensively throughout Greece. This remains true on Skiathos. When traveling on the mainland, we rent a car by telephone. The rental agent meets us at the dock in Volos (our nearest city, an 85 minute trip by hydrofoil ferry), we sign papers, give him money and drive away- perhaps a five-minute deal. Car rentals are reasonable in the off-season (October-May).

The Peloponnesus is different in many ways from northern and central Greece. The Kyklades (Myconos, Syros, etc.) have a beauty that is completely different from the beauty of the Sporades (Skiathos, Skyros, etc.) or the Dodecanese (Rhodes, Samos, etc.). Crete is in a category by itself. In brief, being an internal tourist is enough to keep one busy for many years.

4) Health and related matters. Doctors are highly trained with many educated in the US or the UK and many speak excellent English. Volos has the nearest hospital. The island has a clinic with a full-time staff (our experience with it has been excellent). Of course, avoiding hospitals is the best plan, anywhere. The tradition of nursing as a profession is not well developed and hospitals depend of families for much care. With that exception, the rest of health care is at the least competent and usually highly so. The same goes for dentists and pharmacists. Our pharmacist on Skiathos is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island. Marcia's doctor in Volos was associated with our New York medical group doing post-doctoral study for five years before returning to Greece a few years ago. Pharmacists have or can get whatever you need. Many drugs do not require a prescription. Costs are, by US standards, very reasonable.

Skiathos village is the only place in Greece we know where the public water supply is not drinkable as it tends to the brackish. It is safe, just not palatable. Bottled water is available and there are several municipal taps offering spring water for drinking (that's where we get ours).

5) Skiathos and all of Greece have four clear-cut seasons. Except in the mountains, winters tend to be moderate. Very hot summers, warm and delightful autumns and springs. Most of the year is comfortable. It is a great walking country.

6) TV, cinema. Off the air TV is limited to five stations or so depending on your antenna and location. They often have English-speaking films and shows. Satellite dishes are available (about E53.00/month) and they offer scores of choices. There is no cinema in the winter on Skiathos. Those in Athens and other cities commonly offer American films with Greek subtitles. DVD rentals are available on the island.

Economics, money, practical things:

1) Exchange: there is no black market in dollars and there is only a slight difference in exchange rates among banks and moneychangers. Hotels usually have a hefty service charge. Merchants often give the going rate but sometimes charge a lot. That is, there are vast differences among merchants in services offered. Euros bought in the US also usually cost significantly more than in Greece. Bring some cash and change $100 or more for taxis and incidentals at one of the several banks in the terminal.

2) ATMs and credit cards. Our card does not work in all of them but it does in the National Bank of Greece's ATMs and they are all over. Visa, MasterCard, Amex and other credit cards are widely used but not universally. Most taverns, small hotels, etc. are still cash only.

3) Cash and travelers' checks. We long ago gave up on travelers' checks, there is a charge to cash them and not all places will do it. Cash is acceptable at banks and exchanges. We usually bring a thousand dollars or more in hundred dollar bills for our initial expenses and in case banks go on strike, etc.

4) Checks. Our retirement income is automatically deposited in our New York bank. We deposit a check in the National Bank (a dollar account). After three or four weeks, the check clears and we can withdraw in dollars or euros. The initial cash horde keeps us going until the check clears. It is simple and has the advantage of providing "pink slips."

5) "Pink slips." No this is not something Freud would like to talk with you about. They are the official receipts that prove that you have legally imported dollars into Greece. Without them you cannot get a residence permit and remain in the country beyond three months. Without them you cannot buy a car or anything else of substance. They are pink and slips and each should be saved. They are not automatically given, ask for them (Greek for pink slip is "pink slip"). With a dollar account, you get one each time you withdraw euros [dollars enter Greece via your personal check and then you exchange them at the time you withdraw euros]. ATMs do not provide pink slips. In order to get pink slips from cash, you must declare the cash on arrival at the airport; look for the customs office on the way to baggage claim.

If you wish to buy a car or property and are not employed here, you MUST prove that you have imported sufficient funds (via a bank account or pink slips) to cover the cost.

It all sounds cumbersome and bureaucratic. There is a lot that is cumbersome and bureaucratic in Greece. Exchanging money is an exception. ATMs, personal checks, cash-this trio insures fluidity. Most tourist shops and hotels accept credit cards. However, if you see a decal advertising Visa, MasterCard, etc. double-check to see if the taverna or shop does, in fact, accept them.

6) Shopping. Supermarkets are found in cities and on most islands along with the traditional small shops. Bakeries and fresh bread abound. Most everything is available and what, if anything, to bring from home is a personal matter found through experience.

7) Prices. This is a difficult one. If you attempt to live solely as you might in the US, prices can be high. Fresh fruits and vegetables come from nearby and are usually great. Iceberg lettuce and stalk celery, for example, are luxuries. The range of foods available used to be narrow but because of prosperity and the EU, it is now wide and includes many American items or their equivalents. Generally, food is fresher (because it is seasonal and doesn't travel as far) than in the US. However, more and more is imported from countries outside the EU as well. Greece is no longer inexpensive but it is not expensive either. The absence of real estate taxes is one significant factor in making comparisons.

8) Buying a car, house, boat, etc. We bought a used car from a car rental agency and the transaction took maybe ten minutes. Car and house insurance can be gotten locally. There is a yearly car circulation tax paid at the National Bank (here), all routine. The sellers take care of the paper work for things like cars and boats.

Buying a house is different. Key is proving that you brought the money in from outside the country. This is where pink slips are essential. Otherwise it is assumed that you got it by working here and therefore owe an income tax. Solution? Ask around and get a good lawyer and accountant. The single major difference between buying a house here and in the US for us was that much of the transaction was in cash meaning that we had to withdraw (giving the bank in Athens a couple of days notice to get it) some $15,000 in drachmas (for the lawyer, taxes, notary, translator) and carry it around Athens. The largest denomination of drachmas was a 10,000 note so at that time, it meant almost 500 notes! We bought from foreigners and the money for the house was paid to their off shore bank. Real estate under a very high value is not subject to a property tax. Rather there is a hefty one-time tax at the time of purchase based on cost and location. Usually, the buyer pays this one time tax. Local government is supported through high taxes on utilities, meals and most everything else.

Getting a good lawyer, notary and accountant are essential. Ask around and ask again. Geoff is the best place to start on Skiathos.

What do you DO?

The range is enormous and pretty much up to you and your pocket book:

-Travel within Greece and Europe. To Americans, these places are far away and expensive. Greece is in Europe and close to Asia and Africa- all a short plane or boat ride away. There is enormous variety within Greece and repeat visits to its various corners always reveal new aspects. Off-season, it is easier to enjoy.

-Greece and history are synonymous. Museums and sites abound. Even with a minimal interest, there is much to see and usually the site is in a perfect spot for a picnic, photography or simple admiration of nature.

-Many English-speaking foreigners live in Greece. On Skiathos there is the Garden Club and the International Women's Club. Foreigners in Greece all share their "foreignness," although EU common citizenry is developing before our eyes. Being "foreign" is an asset as one can never be a full participant and as observers we get to appreciate what is going on without the burden of more than minimal responsibility.

-Geoff has outlined a wide variety of activities available on Skiathos and nearby. Athens is an 85-minute Flying Dolphin plus a two-hour bus trip away (sounds worse than it is, the bus is modern, air conditioned, comfortable and makes a stop mid-way). Olympic Airlines has daily flights in the summer (thirty minutes to Athens) and limited service October-April. There are reasonable hotels in Athens where one can spend a few days to enjoy the sights with few tourists. (A reasonable hotel means: in the heart of Plaka, clean with heat/air conditioning and breakfast included for around $60 night/double. If you need a bar, more extensive breakfast, swimming pool, door man, etc. they are available for around $160 night/double-off season.)

-It appears as if the Internet was made for Americans living in Greece. Not only can you communicate cheaply and easily, you can order all sorts of things for delivery in the US or here. Flowers for birthdays anywhere in the US or books delivered to the post office sometimes with a minimal customs duty, usually not. Skiathos has several internet providers with varying levels of service and cost.

-Finally, Greece is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Most Americans know about a Greek restaurant and Greek salad and the Acropolis. Also, didn't democracy start in Greece?

American-Greek ties are very close, but unfortunately, most Americans are unaware of Modern Greek history, much less the full five/six thousand years of it. Below is an attempt to put into a page or so, some perspective on the past fifty years. Don't be concerned if there are references that mean nothing to you. This is a place with a complicated past and it takes time to comprehend. Another interesting activity for Americans!

Greece IS different from Western Europe and the US

It is difficult to accurately "grasp Greece" for reasons including: a history as long as any, and the fact that the Renaissance, Reformation, Age of Reason, Age of Discovery, the Industrial Revolution all by-passed Greece. A look around reveals the Classical Age of 2,500 years ago; the importance of Byzantium (300s to 1453+) is obvious (e.g. old & new churches). Only traces of the crusaders can be found, although they were around for about 250 years. Little remains of 365 to 456 years of Turkish occupation but its legacy is pervasive and important: food, language, attitudes. There isn't enough time to summarize even the key forces from pre-antiquity to today, so the focus here is since World War II.

The 1940s:

Greece suffered (deaths, refugees) from World War II, proportionately, more than any other nation except the Soviet Union.

"The decade of the 1940s was the darkest in Greece's independent history. The glories of her stand at the time of the Italian and German invasions during the winter of 1940/1 and the heroism of the resistance, both collective and individual, to the barbaric German, Italian and Bulgarian occupation brought in their wake privations on an unprecedented scale. Moreover, famine, reprisals and wanton material destruction, together with the virtual destruction of Greek Jewry, had been accompanied by internecine strife that was to culminate in outright civil war between 1946 and 1949... [There had been violent differences among Greeks before but they] ... could not compare with the ferocity of the savagely fought civil war, which was to prolong the agonies of occupation until the end of the decade.... During the second half of the decade [1945-50], the meager resources of the enfeebled state were not devoted, as elsewhere in Europe, to repairing the ravages of war and occupation, but rather to the containment of 'the enemy within'...the government's dependence on external patronage effectively made Greece a client state of the United States. Few major military, economic or, indeed, political decisions could be taken without American approval...."

--Richard Clogg, A Concise History of Greece, Cambridge University Press, 1992

A Few Other Forces/Changes/Influences on Contemporary Greece

-Military dictatorship: 1967-74; Near war with Turkey: '67, '74, '76, '84, '86, '87, '95 over Cyprus, oil, etc.; FYROM "threat", 1994-today; Kosovo- 95% of Greeks strongly opposed action, yet Greece fulfilled its NATO obligations; Conservatives & Communists join to form a government-1989; EU, 1981, Euro Group, 2000; The world communications (TV, WWW) revolution; Emigration & tourism; lst "socialist" government, 1981; Current borders established only in 1947; British & US "occupation," 1944-1990 (Truman Doctrine- 1947), 'only' one base remains today ;Plus: Relations with Orthodox churches, Western Christianity & ' traditional friends' (Russia & Serbia), deep problems with education & state bureaucracy, pollution & gridlock, ecology vs. growth, & on & on.

These are a few of the forces and serious questions facing Greece since 1940s. Greece IS different from the rest of Europe and the US!

Despite near war with Turkey seven times in recent years and continuous tensions, a new era of "SEISMIC DIPLOMACY" may have begun: Greece and Turkey, devastated by earthquakes in 1999, responded with significant aid to the other, lives were saved and the aid mutually appreciated, there is hope.

The "savior" of Modern Greek democracy was Konstantine Karamanlis; he was born a subject of the Ottoman Sultan in 1907 in Thessaloniki, then a major city of the Ottoman Empire as well as a key Jewish city with about half its population Ladino speaking Jews.

Greece is a mosaic.

And, to be perfectly clear: it is a most agreeable place to live, explore and enjoy: the people, the climate, the bread and on and on.

Come and join us!