# Applying to stay in Greece as Self-Sufficient Individual



## wanderlusting (May 15, 2010)

I am an American citizen with a Greek boyfriend. We have been living together in Denmark and the USA for the last two years. Now he is in Greece for one year as he finishes his PhD studies and I would like to accompany him. I recently graduated with my MA from a university in Denmark, and I quit my temporary job in the USA to pursue this visa. 

All in all, the information has been spotty at best for how to pursue a visa and residence permit as a self-sufficient individual (the officials at the consulate and embassy boiled my options down to getting married or being self-sufficient). The information I receive, even from the same individuals, has been inconsistent. _Has anyone here applied for a self-sufficient visa in Greece? _

It would be very useful for me to know what other people went through to get their visa and especially the permit. I am slightly concerned about my ability to travel internationally during my time in Greece (I know I read at least one instance where an applicant did not receive their actual permit for a very long time) as well as the likelihood of my application being approved. 

My documents collected so far include: Schengen visa form, round-trip tickets for the 90 day visa period, travel medical insurance, letter of invitation from my boyfriend (also declaring that accommodation is paid for by him), bank statement/letter showing approximately 24,000Euros, FBI record, and medical fitness letter.

Thanks for your insight and advice!


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi,

I am kind of running out the door so I'm cobbling this message together from posts I posted on other similar threads. 

Personally I am living in Greece right now on a one-year (renewable) residence permit with the right to work in one specified field. I had to go through pretty much exactly the same paperwork as someone in your situation. I described that paperwork in an earlier post, and it sounds like you have most of it:



> - a completed Schengen visa application with photo
> 
> - complete health insurance including repatriation (standard is around $100,000 for medical and $250,000 for repatriation), with a specific letter from your insurance company stating that you are covered in Greece and in what amounts - and be sure that you get TWO original copies because you will need one in the USA and one once you get to Greece. The letter can be in English at this point.
> 
> ...


Okay that was from a post I wrote last fall. A few further notes on it: they called an amnesty of one year allowing those holding the blue paper to travel back to their OWN home countries during that time if they want, as many times as they want, in recognition of the fact that it was taking too long to issue the permits. Furthermore, I have known people who have traveled with the Schengen area with the blue paper - it's not technically legal but you can do it because they don't do a regular passport check at the borders. You are not actually supposed to leave Greece except to go to your home country (USA).

I applied for my residence permit last summer and it has not been issued yet. You have to call to find out if it's been issued. Two months is the minimum, but it can take well over a year (at which point it's already invalid). Your blue paper is all you need for the duration of your stay unless you wanted to travel to other (especially non-Schengen) countries. If you want to do that, you have to wait until you get your permit - it's quite simple and straightforward. 

If during the time that you are living in Greece you get married or change address, you MUST register this officially with the government. I recently got married here and I went through the "change of family status" experience with the government. It's quite lengthy. If you think you and your boyfriend will get married during your time in Greece, post back and I'll let you know what you have to do - but be prepared as it is very involved. That is separate from and prefatory to applying for a residence permit on the basis of being the spouse of an EU citizen, which is what you would do if you marry him.

The likelihood of your application being approved: it is quite likely as long as you prove adequate funds and adequate medical insurance. That's what they are concerned about. You are NOT going to be allowed to work, so you don't want to get mixed up in that.

I hope that helps; to my knowledge no one else on the forum is an American who has applied for or received a self-sufficient permit so you may not get anything more specific than I can give you.

It would be in your best interest to read and understand the laws covering people in our situations. The law is 3386/05, and in your situation I think articles 36 and 90 apply to you. If you can't read Greek, get your boyfriend to explain it to you. It doesn't tell you anything about paperwork but it explains who is eligible and all that.


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## wanderlusting (May 15, 2010)

Thank you so much for your response! I don't think we're going to get married while in Greece and I don't intend to work, so this is my avenue of choice for now  
It's interesting the inconsistencies stateside. The San Francisico consulate is my regional office and I was told since I don't live close by that I could simply mail my application! Also, we were told that we could buy travel insurance for the visa duration and once in Greece purchase private insurance locally. I don't have applicable insurance in the USA anyway, so this idea suits me. 

I'll make sure and update as I go along. I am still waiting for my FBI records (this week is lucky #13) so that I can finish my finances and purchase tickets and insurance before I apply. Fingers crossed that I can have my visa in hand by mid-June!


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

If the embassy or consulate in YOUR jurisdiction told you to mail your application, go by that advice. The Greek Embassy in the USA doesn't allow applications by mail, and I belong to their jurisdiction, so I've always gone by their rules. You just have to follow the rules in YOUR jurisdiction.

As far as insurance: the consulate will ONLY give you a 3 month visa so they don't care if you have insurance for 3 months or 3 years. When you get to Greece you will have to prove insurance for the entire duration of stay. Whether you buy it before you leave or after you arrive is immaterial but you must have it when you apply for your residence permit before the end of your first month in Greece. 

Your FBI report should not take 13 weeks. I got mine the first time in 4 days and the second time in 2 weeks. I would inquire if I were you.

If you do buy travel medical insurance from a US company for the first 3 months YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST get in writing from them that they are your PRIMARY insurance carrier. PLEASE PLEASE do not make the mistake of not getting primary coverage as the default is NOT primary. Since you say you don't have a US insurance company you really must ask for primary coverage. It will cost more but you will be 100% NOT COVERED if you do not do this. Now, if by "I don't have applicable insurance in the US" you mean that you DO have insurance, just that it won't cover you abroad, you may be okay taking out a regular travel medical insurance plan. But if you are uninsured in the US you must specify primary coverage.


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## wanderlusting (May 15, 2010)

That's great information, thanks for sharing. 

As a matter of fact, I don't have insurance. I will definitely look into the primary care issue -- the consulate recommended that I use "Mediavisa[dot]net" for insurance, but they may also expect that I have other insurance. 

As for the FBI, well I contacted them one week after mailing the fingerprints. I had requested an expedited service, which they take requests for but generally don't oblige. The woman told me that I would receive the report in 13 weeks as they were already backed-up and that was the length of time for everybody. It does seem a bit peculiar, but then again, the consulate warned me that by far it would take the longest. 

If you think of anything else, I'm definitely interested! Thanks again.


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Sounds like you're pretty much all set - I understand that the FBI thing does vary and obviously if they're backed up, it will take longer. I must have been very lucky! I had to get my birth certificate from Washington DC earlier this year and it took them MONTHS because of a backlog from when they had closed from snowstorms over the winter. 

All the paperwork will be worth it when you come to live here 

If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Main thing would be double check your passport doesn't expire anytime in the near future - by far the simplest for you will be if your passport doesn't expire for at least 18 months after you leave for Greece, because so many things are done with your passport number and if you have to get a new one and you get a different passport number or even with the same number but a different photograph, it will screw everything up. So if you need to replace your passport do it NOW. I got a new one that expires 2019 and I am all set  Saved me a lot of trouble! But of course they won't even let you onto the plane to Greece unless your passport is good for 90 days after your return flight.

I'm also uninsured in the US and since I didn't know that the default insurance "mode" was NOT primary, I had to pay $12,000 here in Greece when I needed emergency surgery, even though I had paid for a full policy with up to $100,000 medical and had written documentation from them that it covered me in Greece. I wasn't expecting to need to use it anyway, but nobody expects appendicitis, right? So now I'm on a mission to prevent this from happening to anybody else. Now I'm on my husband's insurance here in Greece, thank goodness.


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