Greece Visa

Greece Visa

A traveler wishing to visit Greece should first find out if they should issue a visa to enter the country. Citizens of a member – state of the European Union do not require a visa, are free to enter and stay in Greece for as long as they wish, having complete freedom of movement. These countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Citizens of other countries in Europe that do not belong to the European Union may also enter without a visa, with or without specific limitations in the permitted length of stay. These countries include Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Faroe Islands, FYROM, Guernsey, Iceland, Isle of Man, Kosovo, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and Vatican City. More specifically, passport holders of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia are exempt from issuing a visa, as long as their passports are biometric, while holders of Serbian passports that are issued by the Serbian coordination directorate are not exempt from issuing a visa. Also, the visa exemption applies to holders of service and special passports issued by Turkey.

To issue a visa, one should come in contact with the Greek consular or diplomatic authority of their country and fill in an application in person. Their status will be assessed by the authority, and they will be told of any required papers that are necessary for issuing a visa for travel or for stay in Greece. In countries where Greece does not have diplomatic or consular representation, another Schengen member state may formally represent Greece. Fees may apply to issue a visa for Greece depending on the type of visa you get as well as your citizenship.

The amount of time needed to get a visa depends both on your background, if you are eligible for a visa and the documentation you provide, as well as whether it is high season (May – September) and the amount of visa applications that are processed. You may expect a period between two and fifteen days, in general. Traveling visas within Schengen may be issued for a maximum of 90 days, at which point the traveler must have left Greece.

You should keep in mind that there is no sponsor programme available in Greece; therefore you must meet other requirements for a visa.