# American marrying a Greek in Greece



## wka

Since my fiance and I are getting married in Greece, I thought I would write a post describing what we've done. It may be of use to someone in the future, if you are in the same situation. I'm not giving advice, just saying what we did.

I'm an American citizen; my fiance is a Greek citizen. I am living in Greece (since June 2009) and we plan to live in Greece permanently. I applied for a 1-yr residence permit back when I got here last summer but I only have the βεβαίωση so far. 

I live in Athens so I had to get a marriage license issued by Athens.

1) I sent a written request to the Department of Vital Statistics in the US where I was born for them to send an original birth certificate with a "live signature." I had it sent to my parents' address because I live in Greece. My parents were then going to mail it, once they got it, to the office that does Apostille seals in that state. It so happened that there was a lot of snow this winter, and they closed for weeks, and after a month when they still hadn't received the birth certificate (much less with apostille), my mother drove to the state where I was born and did it in person (same day). So it ended up being quite a hassle, although it shouldn't have been. She sent it to me by FedEx here in Athens.

2) I went to the American Embassy in Athens and swore before a consular official that I have never been married before. To do that I had to have my American passport, my fiance's Greek ID number, and I had to fill out a form (with things like our parents' names). I also paid €21 (that day's equivalent of the $30 charge). The piece of paper I got from the consular official is called Ένορκη Δήλωση για Τέλεση Γάμου and is in Greek on the front and English on the back.

3) I gave my birth certificate with apostille, a copy of my passport, and a copy of my βεβαίωση to my lawyer, who took them to be officially translated and stamped them with his seal. You don't have to do this through a lawyer. I did because I already had a lawyer but you can take it to the translation office (Αρίωνος 10, Μοναστηράκι) and do it yourself for about €20. It takes about 10 days before the translation is ready. You then have to have a lawyer seal it - you cannot do this at a ΚΕΠ or other usual place for επικυρώσεις because it's a foreign language document, so it does have to be a lawyer for this part. 

4) We went together to the Civil Marriages office of the City of Athens which is located at Ακαδημίας 50 above the Theater Museum, on the 1st floor (turn left at the top of the stairs). There we met with the official who issues the licenses and she went over what paperwork we had and what we still needed. Obviously you don't have to do this if you know exactly what you need, but we didn't, so we went.

5) We went to Ακαδημίας 3 which is the Department of the Exterior, to the office where they do επικυρώσεις for foreign embassy officials' signatures. As you enter the stoa at Ak.3, it's on your right, it's a small office and very easy to take care of your επικύρωση. However, we didn't realize that we needed to go to the ΔΟΥ to get a παράβολο! They told us the address of the closest one. 

6) We went to the ΔΟΥ and got a παράβολο for €20. We also got two for €10 and two for €5. This is because you need €15 for each marriage license (and my fiance has to get one too, although his is FAR easier!). 

7) We went back to Ακαδημίας 3 to get the επικύρωση on the Ένορκη Δήλωση για Τέλεση Γάμου. This is required by the City of Athens for the marriage license. They stamped the paper and we left. (The office is open daily 9:30am til 1:30pm - we left at 1:29pm... don't be like us....)

8) Then we went to a newspaper office in Athens. We filled out a form for Αγγελία Προ Γάμου (Ι think that's what it's called anyway). You just fill out your names, your parents names, and where you were born and where you'll get married. You have to write the names in Greek characters (phonetically, if you are not Greek). This cost us €24, but different papers may have different prices. They publish it the next day. You can do this at any daily Athenian newspaper.

9) We went to our lawyer's office to pick up the original birth certificate with apostille and the official translation with the lawyer's επικύρωση.

10) The day after we went to the newspaper, we bought some copies of the paper (you need to have two copies for the marriage licenses).

11) We are now at the very last step: to return to Ακαδημίας 50, to get the marriage license:

We'll show them: my passport, a copy of my passport photo page, my residence permit, a copy of my residence permit, my birth certificate with apostille, the official translation of birth certificate and apostille with επικύρωση, the παράβολο for €15 (which costs €18 by the way, but only shows €15), proof of residence in Athens (this can be an OTE bill, ΔΕΗ bill, rent contract, etc), one original copy of the newspaper with our announcement, and my Ένορκη Δήλωση with the επικύρωση by the Dept. of the Exterior.

It should take 8 days for them to issue the marriage license. I don't know yet if they'll mail it to me or if I'll go pick it up. I know it will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

Once my marriage license is issued, and my fiance's as well (which is a very simple procedure and I'm not going to describe it), we will make an appointment with the authorities in the place where we want to get married. On the day of our wedding I need to have my passport and my marriage license; I'll bring my βεβαίωση just in case although I don't think it will be necessary. I'm not sure yet about the fee, we still have to ask about that.

That's it so far... I'll update if I find out anything more.


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## wka

Okay I guess I should update!

We went back to the Civil Marriage office and handed in all the paperwork/newspaper. I filled out a very simple application. You do have to say where you will get married (the demos / koinotita) but you do not have to give a specific date.

I was told to come back one week later to pick up the license, and to pay my €15 at that time (paravolo).


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## paroshep

I always find it in interesting in Greece that for any licensing and permits each person will only tell you what they need from you at that time. No one will give you a complete list from start to finish.
Thanks for providing all this valuable information.


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## wka

Paroshep! Hi! I'm Xaroula from LP  Good to see you on here! In fact I was just reading your blog a few weeks ago  

Here's another update on the marriage stuff: it's been a week so we went back today to the same office (Akadimias 50) where we filed the paperwork last week. I gave them the €10 and €5 paravola and they gave me the license! It's very ... hmm. It's handwritten (fill in the blanks) on a photocopy, with a stamp. VERY Greek LOL! But it's official and it's good for six months!!  

Mission accomplished until the actual wedding!

Now we have to take my license and my fiance's license to the Dimarcheio (although in our case it's actually a Koinotita) to set a date for the wedding itself.


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## wka

Time for another update!

We got married (civil ceremony) on Tuesday, it was very laid back as we did it on the island where we live and everyone knows us so they didn't ask for ID and all that. The next day my husband went to the koinotita and picked up the marriage certificates. We got five copies with epikyrwsh (stamped).

The next move is for him to file for his salary increase (which he's entitled to for being married), and for me to be added to his insurance. That should happen soon I hope, because once I get my vivliario (βιβλιάριο υγείας) I can change my status and hopefully get my new residence permit soon. I STILL haven't got a straight answer on whether it's a 5 or 10 year permit! My lawyer says one thing, and my residence permit liaison says the other!


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## mariek

Hi there, 
Our situations seem fairly similar . . . I married my (Greek) husband last year and received my residence permit in March. It is for five years. Unless there is something very different about your situation then you will likely receive a similar time frame. 
Hope that helps . . though probably not without all the little details


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## wka

Marie, thanks, that does help. Both people who are advising me are both 100% convinced that it is either 5 or 10 and it is good to know that it is actually 5! Then I suppose I will renew it after 5 years one more time and then get citizenship (or maybe renew it a third time) - or maybe the laws will have changed by then, who knows. 

I still haven't received my one-year residence permit that I applied for last summer, so I'm not in any hurry to receive my 5 yr permit. I just want to get the application completed so I can relax! There is nothing "weird" about my situation at all so I am sure it will be the same as yours.


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## kath.26

Hi wka,

Congratulations !!! Sounds really complicated is that because your from America ? Dont think we had as much trouble, but i was asked to get papers from the priest of my church that would prove i wasn't married, these papers don't exist, but he wrote a little note with a stamp on and they accepted it - luckily.

Hope you had a lovely day


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## wka

kath I think it was complicated both because I'm from the US, and because it's 2010, i.e., more complicated than it was in the past. if you got married more than a few years ago I'm not surprised it was simpler. Also we did a civil ceremony and I don't have a church to get papers from so I had to go through the US embassy.


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## wka

I'm going to post another update. Anyone else in a similar situation (American marrying a Greek in Greece) will probably want to know WHAT NEXT!?!?! And since there is OH so much more lovely paperwork to file... here's the followup!

After we got married in April, we got a bunch of original marriage certificates (απόσπασμα ληξιαρχειακής πράξης γάμου). Get a bunch. You will go through them like mad. 

The first thing we had to do was to open an oikogeneiaki merida (οικογενειακή μερίδα). The oikogeneiaki merida is basically a bureaucratic designation of family. Until my husband and I got married, he "belonged" (since birth) to the oikogeneiaki merida that included his parents and his younger (unmarried) brother. Now that we're married, he officially has left his parents'/brother's oikogeneiaki merida and has started his own, which now includes himself and me, and if we ever have children, they'll get stuck in there too until they get married. People are legally required to do this when they get married. So first step after getting your marriage certificates is to "open an oikogeneiaki merida." You do it in the place where you are a "dimotis" (or rather, where your Greek spouse is a dimotis), meaning, most likely where their parents' oikogeneiaki merida is also, or wherever they vote/file taxes/etc. For us, that was the city of Alexandroupoli. We live absolutely nowhere near Alexandroupoli, but that's where his parents live and where he pays taxes, and so that's where we opened ours.

He faxed our marriage certificate directly to the Alexandroupoli dimarxeio through our local KEP. The idea was for them to do the necessary paperwork and mail the "certificate of familial status" (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης) which is the proof of having opened a new oikogeneiaki merida, to us.

Which, of course, they did, twelve days later. And, sadly, it showed that my husband was married to himself. This was not really what we had in mind. Very luckily for us, his mom was available to go to the mayor's office and berate them into changing it and then she mailed the papers to us herself. So we got them 2 days later, much faster, so no harm done really. But if she hadn't been able to do that, we would have bumped up against the deadline for filing other paperwork which I'll get to in a second.

So, just over 2 weeks after the wedding, we had several ORIGINALS (again, important) of the πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης. You'll need these for various things so it's good to have them.

Next, as a foreigner living in Greece, I was obligated by law to file a "change in personal status" with the government. ALL foreigners are obligated to do this whenever you change marital status or even change your address. I don't believe everyone does it every time they move, but you're supposed to. For marriage, you definitely have to! So, for this, I needed:

- an original copy of our marriage certificate
- an original copy of our certificate of familial status
- a copy of my passport ID page that had been notarized by a lawyer (MUST be by a lawyer)
- a copy of my residence permit (in my case, the blue paper [βεβαίωση κατάθεσης αίτησης άδειας διαμονής] that shows that I've applied for a residence permit) that has been notarized (this does NOT have to be by a lawyer - KEP is fine for this one)
- some ID-size photographs

I gave all of this stuff to the Liksiarxeio in Athens and they kept all of it. Could I have gone with less and still been okay? Who knows. But they kept whatever I gave them. NOTE: You must do this within 30 DAYS of the wedding!! I got very nervous when our certificate of familial status was wrong and had to be redone, as things like that will NOT win you an extension. Luckily it was resolved by my husband's mother but if you're not so lucky... well just be aware that you need to get on this immediately as anything can happen. IF you miss the 30 day deadline there is a fine of several hundred euros!! (I'm not sure of the exact amount.)

When you submit this paperwork, at the same time they give you a little slip of paper with a stamp on it with your "protocol number." You must NEVER EVER lose this little slip of paper. Like all other pieces of paper the government gives you.

At the same time that all of this was happening, we were also getting me added to his health insurance. This is necessary because my travel health insurance that I bought in the US is horrible and doesn't actually pay claims, and anyway, you want to get on local insurance as soon as possible. As his wife, I am "under his protection" legally so I can be added to his insurance at no expense. It may be that different insurance programs in Greece work differently; his is the "Dimosio" so I really don't know about the others.

For that one, I don't know all the details because he did it himself but suffice it to say it was a horrible headache that took days of traveling around between THREE different islands and tons of stamps and signatures in various offices but within only a few weeks, I have my vivliario ygeias and syntagologio, which are how insurance claims are paid in Greece. For this he needed a bunch of photos of me as well as our certificate of familial status. I gave him copies of my passport and res. permit and I have no idea if he used them. Just be prepared for a huge huge headache. It doesn't cost anything (except in his case, multiple hotels and ferries), and he got the whole thing done in a very short time.

So where do I stand now?

I have obtained a marriage license in Athens, been legally married in a civil ceremony on a Greek island, opened an oikogeneiaki merida in the city where my husband is a citizen, made an official change of personal status with the government in Athens, and been added to my husband's public health insurance policy. Separately from that, on May 12, I took the state Greek language proficiency exam (level 4) and the certificate from this will be added to my file for work privileges and eventual citizenship application.

Still to do is to apply for my residence permit on the basis of being the spouse of an EU citizen. This is a 5 year residence permit that will give me the right to live in, work in, and travel freely into and out of Greece for the next 5 years. I cannot apply for this until TWO MONTHS before the EXPIRATION of my previous residence permit.

My previous residence permit application (applied in September) has not been approved yet - but in any case, I can't apply until two months before it expires, which will be in July. So between now and July, there's nothing more I can or have to do.

When July rolls around, I will need to produce:

- certificate of familial status
- copy of my passport ID page AND residence permit page (notarized by a lawyer)
- my vivliario ygeias 
- copy of my husband's state ID (notarized by a notary public/KEP)
- 4 passport photos
- filled out application for a residence permit 

I think that's all - and there's no fee to apply. I will of course post more as the process evolves. 

I really do hope that someone out there finds this useful. I don't know if all of this is detailed anywhere online - I've looked and never found it anywhere.


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## wka

I thought I was done, but I wasn't. Since I now have my health insurance all set, I needed to sign up for an AMKA. You can do this at any KEP, it's not a big deal. I now have my AMKA number and they'll send the card at some point. This is required for all people insured under one of the Greek public insurance companies like IKA or TEBE or Dimosio or whatever.


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## wanderlusting

I realize that you're not an official of the state, but I was wondering more about your situation...

Do you know if you need a permit already to apply for the 5-year spousal permit? I know there's a lot of references online about how you cannot apply for the new permit until two months before your previous one expires (I know you mentioned that elsewhere, too). But what if you get married on a tourist visa?

Speaking of tourist visas... assuming I had all the necessary documents needed from the US when I went, how quick do you think we could get the whole process done? I realize this depends a lot on so many little factors, but I'm just curious as to your musings. 

I know that you mentioned a birth certificate with a "live signature" - is that the same as the certified copies?

Thanks!


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## wka

Hi Wanderlusting,

I really don't know anything except what I've personally experienced, and I haven't asked for any further info. I would suspect that it would be fine to get married on a tourist visa as long as you did it before the end of the first month that you were in Schengen so that you still have two full months to file for your residence permit before you become illegal, as required. Lots of people get married in Greece as tourists - I mean LOTS of them - just go to Santorini and you'll see what I mean - and they don't have residence permits, so I don't see why you shouldn't be able to.

That said, I SUSPECT it would be necessary for you to already have obtained your marriage license in the USA and go through the typical "tourist wedding" process, because obtaining a marriage license in Greece is impossible if you cannot prove that you live here. Now, they may let you get away with it, I have NO idea, if you, for example, showed that you "lived in a hotel" for a certain amount of time, but I applied for my marriage license with proof of residence in Athens along with my residence permit. 

It sounds like that's what you want to do anyway, based on your next question. How long would it take.... well, it would depend on whether you worked with a wedding planner in Greece and sent your paperwork ahead of you for them to translate for you. If you want to do it yourself (I saw a reference a few minutes ago on a travel forum I post on, where someone said they had paid their wedding planner €300 to handle the translations. If you do it yourself it's like €20 or something.) then you will need at least 7 business days because that's how long the translation says, and you do have your marriage license officially translated. Ask your local Greek consulate/ the embassy if they can do it, which should save you a lot of trouble and money.

The live signature thing - that's the term that the Department of Vital Statistics in my home state uses, and I honestly don't know what it is. Whenever you get something that will need an apostille (like your marriage license), make sure to tell them it will need an apostille, so they will know what to give you. My birth certificate LOOKS like an actual original, of course it can't possibly be, as my mother's obstetrician died years ago, but it looks very good. It's on multicolored paper and has lots of stamps  It's clearly not just a regular photocopy that's been certified.

In OUR case, the whole thing took, start to finish, 3 months, but some of that would have been avoidable. I think if you didn't have the annoying problems we had, it could be done in a month. Again, I mean OUR kind of situation. Your situation is quite different and could take more or less time, I don't know and don't want to speculate.

Sorry I can't be more helpful - keeping my own situation straight is pretty much the most I'm able to handle, so I purposefully avoided finding out details for other kinds of situations!


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## wanderlusting

Hey WKA,

So I'm in Greece now and I went to the Embassy today and filled out my Affadit form. I was just going over your process again and comparing it to what we have planned, and the biggest difference I noticed was that you needed a translated copy of your Passport! When my fiance spoke with the office in Athens (I don't know what it's called, sorry) they just said I had to bring my passport (and maybe a copy but definitely no mention of translation). Were you told specifically to have the translated copy? If so, may I ask by whom/what office?

I've already had my birth certificate with apostille translated and certified by the Greek Consulate in LA so I don't need a translation service or lawyer regarding that.

Ooh, also... what newspaper did you go to? Just out of curiosity!


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## wka

You don't need your passport translated but you need the επικύρωση done by a lawyer if it's not a Greek passport, because KEΠ (and such) can only do Greek papers. I lumped them together in the lawyer part, didn't mean it was to be translated also, sorry.

Kathimerini.


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## Espiritu

Hello,

Yes, you can get married on a tourist visa without a problem. I did it about 4 years ago without any problems. I do not remember doing anything nearly as complicated as what WKA has described to get a marriage license. I had all the required documents and apostilles before I came. I believe we just took all the required documents to the dimarxeio and were then given a date for the ceremony. I don't think it all took more than a few weeks.

No, you do not need a permit to apply for the 5 year spousal permit. You only need to take the required papers before your 3 months tourist 'visa' expires (I don't remember what all they are, we got a list and the application ahead of time from the KEP office) to your KEP office to make the application. You should call first as we found out when we got there, that they do it by appointment only. Luckily for us the guy had an opening (I think it also helped that my husband went to school with his brother!) so we were able to do it that day. Also, you should go together, we were told that because my husband (a Greek citizen) was making the application there would be no cost otherwise there is a charge for the application. 

Hope this helps

BTW the newspaper we used was Ethnos


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## Espiritu

I forgot to add that we were told a visa interview is no longer done/required for US citizens


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## wka

Espiritu, the reason yours was less complicated is because you brought paperwork with you. I was already a legal resident of Greece when I applied for my marriage license.

It is absolutely the case that my post only describes MY situation. If you are just a tourist, things are different. I was never a tourist in Greece, thus the differences.


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## Espiritu

Yes, I realise that each persons experience will be different in some ways. I was only trying to answer Wanderlusting as to what happens when you are married while on a tousit visa and then applying for a resident visa.


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## wanderlusting

Thanks to both of you for contributing! I can't wait to see how my process differs!!


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## wka

Another update to the long saga of me getting married to a Greek citizen.

Today I started the application for my 5 year Residence Permit with permission to work.

Today I just went to the office to double-check the paperwork we needed. It was a good thing too, because it was slightly different than what I had been told at the Ministry of the Interior.

So you do this at the Demos (Dimarxeio).

You need:

- 5 small color photographs (ask for the size for an ID card, not for a passport)
- photocopies of every single page in your passport, including the cover and blank pages, and you need 2 sets of these.
- 2 sets of photocopies of your vivliario ygeias: the front two ID pages, and the most recent page that has the year on it (2010) - should just be the last written-on page in your little book.
- 2 photocopies of your spouse's police ID
- 2 photocopies of your marriage certificate (lhxiarxikh praksh gamou)
- 2 copies of your pistopoihtiko oikogeneiakhs katastashs.

I will go back tomorrow and fill out the application and let you know how it goes! By the way, we are using the Dimarxeio in the city where my husband is a dimotis. 

Hope this helps someone!


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## wka

Correction to my previous post: the marriage certificate should be one original and one photocopy, not two photocopies.


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## wka

Okay, maybe it's best to ignore the last post with the list of documents because today I actually did the application and it's a little different after all. Here's how it went:

This is for a 5 year Residence Permit with the Right to Work, on the basis of being the Spouse of a GREEK citizen for a NON-EU citizen (me).

Non-EU citizen is anyone whose passport is not from the EU; I'm American so this applies to me. It would also apply to Canadians, Asians, Africans, Australians, Central and South Americans, and anyone from any country that is not in the EU.

I went to the Δήμος (Δημαρχείον) specifically to the Office for Alien Matters (Αλλοδαπών). I asked to apply for a residence permit (άδεια διαμονής). (The office that I went to is open from 8am to 1pm but they really couldn't accept anyone past 10:30am. We got there around 10am and there was no wait.)

I showed the following:

- my original passport which had my stamp on entering Greece, my earlier visa sticker for 90 days, and my earlier one year residence permit, which expires in one month (you can apply during the 2 month window before your visa or permit expires, whichever kind of visa you have, including if you are just using a plain passport). 

- two complete photocopies of the passport (including front and back cover and all pages including blank pages).

- my husband's Greek police ID (original)

- two photocopies of my husband's Greek ID

- my health insurance booklet ( βιβλιάριο υγείας )

- two photocopies of the two front ID pages of my health insurance booklet and of the page with the notation for 2010

- one original marriage certificate (ληξιαρχική πράξη γάμου)

- one photocopy of the marriage certificate

- one fresh certificate of family status (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης / οικογενειακή μερίδα) which we got from the same building, different office - has to be relatively recent, I had one from May but that was too old. (They needed a photocopy of this but they did that themselves.)

- the original of the decision (απόφαση) about my earlier (1 yr) residence permit which is expiring soon (obviously if you do not have an earlier permit, you don't need this - but if you are renewing you WILL need your απόφαση so don't lose it! At least at this particular office I did.)

- 5 small (ID-size) color photographs

- my husband and I had to both be there to sign papers.

The whole process took about 40 minutes (no waiting). At the end, I got the blue piece of paper that has my photo stapled to it and basically says that I filled out all the paperwork properly and just have to wait for the decision ( απόφαση ) about my request.

I was told that in about 2 months, we would get a request for an interview. About one month after that, we should get the decision.

I asked about the right to work and I was told that I could work as of now and don't have to wait until the decision. 

I'm still covered under by original 1-yr permit for another month, but once that expires, I will no longer have the right to leave Greece. Until Dec 31, 2010, I CAN however travel to and from my home country (USA). I will have the right to travel freely again AFTER the decision and I have my legal residence permit.

Hope this helps!


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## mariek

You probably already are expecting this but I wouldn't count on the time frame they gave you for the interview/decision. I did my application in Larisa, which wasn't a busy office (no waiting), and it took five months from the application date until I was approved for my permit. The gave me the same time frame as they gave you for the same permit. It doesn't really matter though since you are allowed to work regardless. Just a heads up. 
I hope they work faster for you. Good luck!


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## stellamitel

*Get in contact*

@WKA

Hi, I am a married American living in Greece and am looking to for some answers about personal experience and moving back to US. Would you mind emailing me please, I am not used to forums...
I would really appreciate any and all help

Thanks so much


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## wka

Hi Stella,
Obviously I can't email you as your email address was removed - I am happy to share my experiences but I don't know that they'd be relevant as I am not moving back to the US. If you have any questions feel free to ask them here and I will try to answer them if I can - otherwise maybe someone else who has more relevant knowledge can answer instead.


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## soryps

wanderlusting said:


> Hey WKA,
> 
> So I'm in Greece now and I went to the Embassy today and filled out my Affadit form. I was just going over your process again and comparing it to what we have planned, and the biggest difference I noticed was that you needed a translated copy of your Passport! When my fiance spoke with the office in Athens (I don't know what it's called, sorry) they just said I had to bring my passport (and maybe a copy but definitely no mention of translation). Were you told specifically to have the translated copy? If so, may I ask by whom/what office?
> 
> I've already had my birth certificate with apostille translated and certified by the Greek Consulate in LA so I don't need a translation service or lawyer regarding that.
> 
> Ooh, also... what newspaper did you go to? Just out of curiosity!


I am so glad to have found someone who was basically in the same situation as I am now. I plan on getting married winter 2012 on a tourist visa then applying for a residence permit after the marriage (while still on my tourist visa). Would you mind if I asked you the entire process you had to go through for the residence permit? I've searched a lot online, but just keep getting confusing, conflicting information. For example, I've read contradicting statements on all of the following things:

Greek spouse has to prove a yearly income above X amount (true or false?)
You need to already have international health insurance when you apply (true or false?)
You need to get some kind of health certificate from a Greek doctor (true or false?)
An interview is/isn't required for American citizens?

I would just really prefer to be prepared completely and do everything in my power to help the process along.


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## wanderlusting

soryps said:


> I am so glad to have found someone who was basically in the same situation as I am now. I plan on getting married winter 2012 on a tourist visa then applying for a residence permit after the marriage (while still on my tourist visa). Would you mind if I asked you the entire process you had to go through for the residence permit? I've searched a lot online, but just keep getting confusing, conflicting information. For example, I've read contradicting statements on all of the following things:
> 
> Greek spouse has to prove a yearly income above X amount (true or false?)
> You need to already have international health insurance when you apply (true or false?)
> You need to get some kind of health certificate from a Greek doctor (true or false?)
> An interview is/isn't required for American citizens?
> 
> I would just really prefer to be prepared completely and do everything in my power to help the process along.



Congratulations on getting engaged! 
I can assure you that the best way to be prepared in Greece is to be ready for anything and roll with it! I can tell you more about my experience as I just received my permit (applied for in July 2010).

In regards to your questions there is conflicting information because while the rules might all these things are required, you might not ever encounter anyone who actually asks for it. This was definitely the case when I applied for my AMKA number (like a social security number). I took many documents with me but was only actually asked for my passport.

- My spouse didn't have to prove their income. 
- You do need to have approved insurance at the time of application - I bought a simple plan from InterAmerican here in Athens.
- I was never asked to provide a health certificate. I've heard that this is usually only asked for if they see/feel you look less than in good health.
- I did not have an interview (I'm American) and the few Americans I've met also have not. This is not a rule, simply a common situation. Again, interviews are generally held if there is reason to believe that something is suspicious (an employee of the periferea told us this). 

The biggest issue is that you are prepared for the length of time it can take - currently it is taking six months (the legal limit for spouse permits) to process. What this means is that you will not be able to travel freely across border lines. Currently for 2011 the Greek government has issued permission for people waiting for their permits (you will get the blue paper/bebaiosi/proof of application in the meantime) to travel to and from their home countries only. They may not extend this permission to 2012, but even if they do, you can only travel between Greece and the USA (if you're American). If you choose to travel to any other country, your permit process is scrapped and you are considered a regular visitor in need of regular visas/permissions when you try to enter Greece again.


----------



## Imsonar

*Help!*

Hello,

Thank you so much for posting this! I too, am an American and am planning on marrying my Greek fiance while residing in Greece. 

The problem is I came here a little over 3 months ago, and am technically "illegal" as of the 13th. We have researched the laws, talked to the chief of police, researched obtaining a green card, blue card, residence permit, etc. So far, both the American embassy and Greek embassy do not have answers, or even suggestions on how to stay here and take care of these legal matters. Since it is illegal for me to be here after 90 days (and I'm still here), the only information we received is that I need to go back to America! I am able to stay only with a tourist visa, for 3 month periods- that is, if they allow me back in Greece! 

I know I need my birth certificate. As I understood, you were able to stay within this country, and have your mother send it to you- signed. How were you able to do this without physically being there? 

As fiance keeps calling officials, we were given a nice (and more affordable) potential opportunity to travel outside of Greece, and come back to start the process....we'll see. 

Again, thank you so much for your guidance!! You have been INCREDIBLY helpful!!


----------



## soryps

wanderlusting said:


> Congratulations on getting engaged!


Thanks 



> I can assure you that the best way to be prepared in Greece is to be ready for anything and roll with it! I can tell you more about my experience as I just received my permit (applied for in July 2010).
> 
> In regards to your questions there is conflicting information because while the rules might all these things are required, you might not ever encounter anyone who actually asks for it. This was definitely the case when I applied for my AMKA number (like a social security number). I took many documents with me but was only actually asked for my passport.


Since you got married on a tourist visa and resided in Greece immediately after, what did you do about your name on your passport, ID etc? For example, if you get married then want to travel back to the US a few months, a year later, two years later and your passport still has your maiden name, does that pose a problem? Is it possible to get that stuff changed in Greece or do you have to be in the US for it?



> - My spouse didn't have to prove their income.
> - You do need to have approved insurance at the time of application - I bought a simple plan from InterAmerican here in Athens.
> - I was never asked to provide a health certificate. I've heard that this is usually only asked for if they see/feel you look less than in good health.
> - I did not have an interview (I'm American) and the few Americans I've met also have not. This is not a rule, simply a common situation. Again, interviews are generally held if there is reason to believe that something is suspicious (an employee of the periferea told us this).


This information is really helpful! Did you get all your stuff done in Athens?



> The biggest issue is that you are prepared for the length of time it can take - currently it is taking six months (the legal limit for spouse permits) to process. What this means is that you will not be able to travel freely across border lines. Currently for 2011 the Greek government has issued permission for people waiting for their permits (you will get the blue paper/bebaiosi/proof of application in the meantime) to travel to and from their home countries only. They may not extend this permission to 2012, but even if they do, you can only travel between Greece and the USA (if you're American). If you choose to travel to any other country, your permit process is scrapped and you are considered a regular visitor in need of regular visas/permissions when you try to enter Greece again.


So after I submit my application, it will presumably not be approved for a few months, and my tourist visa will have expired, but that's ok as long as I have my application in and everything submitted, correct? I was worried that during the waiting time for the decision of the residence permit I would be staying illegally in Greece

And I also see you're from Seattle too?


----------



## tortuga76

*Question re: American marrying a Greek in Greece*

Hi! Thank you SO much for all this information. I am hoping you might be able to answer a few questions I have about marrying a Greek here in Greece, or atleast be able to point me in the direction of someone who can help. My situation is that I am here as a tourist right now, which means I can only stay for 3 months. My fiance & I want to get married b/4 that 3 months expires, so my question is, do you know if you can get married here to a Greek if you don't have a residency permit? Alternatively, how did you get your residency permit? I do not fall under any of the categories of either being a) a student, b) a sponsored worker, c) a retired person, or d) having Greek heritage. So until I get married, I have no way of staying here legally. Except for the residency permit, I have all the other paperwork from the US that I think I need to get the marriage license. Anyway, any info. you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for writing all that you did!

-Anna




wka said:


> I'm going to post another update. Anyone else in a similar situation (American marrying a Greek in Greece) will probably want to know WHAT NEXT!?!?! And since there is OH so much more lovely paperwork to file... here's the followup!
> 
> After we got married in April, we got a bunch of original marriage certificates (απόσπασμα ληξιαρχειακής πράξης γάμου). Get a bunch. You will go through them like mad.
> 
> The first thing we had to do was to open an oikogeneiaki merida (οικογενειακή μερίδα). The oikogeneiaki merida is basically a bureaucratic designation of family. Until my husband and I got married, he "belonged" (since birth) to the oikogeneiaki merida that included his parents and his younger (unmarried) brother. Now that we're married, he officially has left his parents'/brother's oikogeneiaki merida and has started his own, which now includes himself and me, and if we ever have children, they'll get stuck in there too until they get married. People are legally required to do this when they get married. So first step after getting your marriage certificates is to "open an oikogeneiaki merida." You do it in the place where you are a "dimotis" (or rather, where your Greek spouse is a dimotis), meaning, most likely where their parents' oikogeneiaki merida is also, or wherever they vote/file taxes/etc. For us, that was the city of Alexandroupoli. We live absolutely nowhere near Alexandroupoli, but that's where his parents live and where he pays taxes, and so that's where we opened ours.
> 
> He faxed our marriage certificate directly to the Alexandroupoli dimarxeio through our local KEP. The idea was for them to do the necessary paperwork and mail the "certificate of familial status" (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης) which is the proof of having opened a new oikogeneiaki merida, to us.
> 
> Which, of course, they did, twelve days later. And, sadly, it showed that my husband was married to himself. This was not really what we had in mind. Very luckily for us, his mom was available to go to the mayor's office and berate them into changing it and then she mailed the papers to us herself. So we got them 2 days later, much faster, so no harm done really. But if she hadn't been able to do that, we would have bumped up against the deadline for filing other paperwork which I'll get to in a second.
> 
> So, just over 2 weeks after the wedding, we had several ORIGINALS (again, important) of the πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης. You'll need these for various things so it's good to have them.
> 
> Next, as a foreigner living in Greece, I was obligated by law to file a "change in personal status" with the government. ALL foreigners are obligated to do this whenever you change marital status or even change your address. I don't believe everyone does it every time they move, but you're supposed to. For marriage, you definitely have to! So, for this, I needed:
> 
> - an original copy of our marriage certificate
> - an original copy of our certificate of familial status
> - a copy of my passport ID page that had been notarized by a lawyer (MUST be by a lawyer)
> - a copy of my residence permit (in my case, the blue paper [βεβαίωση κατάθεσης αίτησης άδειας διαμονής] that shows that I've applied for a residence permit) that has been notarized (this does NOT have to be by a lawyer - KEP is fine for this one)
> - some ID-size photographs
> 
> I gave all of this stuff to the Liksiarxeio in Athens and they kept all of it. Could I have gone with less and still been okay? Who knows. But they kept whatever I gave them. NOTE: You must do this within 30 DAYS of the wedding!! I got very nervous when our certificate of familial status was wrong and had to be redone, as things like that will NOT win you an extension. Luckily it was resolved by my husband's mother but if you're not so lucky... well just be aware that you need to get on this immediately as anything can happen. IF you miss the 30 day deadline there is a fine of several hundred euros!! (I'm not sure of the exact amount.)
> 
> When you submit this paperwork, at the same time they give you a little slip of paper with a stamp on it with your "protocol number." You must NEVER EVER lose this little slip of paper. Like all other pieces of paper the government gives you.
> 
> At the same time that all of this was happening, we were also getting me added to his health insurance. This is necessary because my travel health insurance that I bought in the US is horrible and doesn't actually pay claims, and anyway, you want to get on local insurance as soon as possible. As his wife, I am "under his protection" legally so I can be added to his insurance at no expense. It may be that different insurance programs in Greece work differently; his is the "Dimosio" so I really don't know about the others.
> 
> For that one, I don't know all the details because he did it himself but suffice it to say it was a horrible headache that took days of traveling around between THREE different islands and tons of stamps and signatures in various offices but within only a few weeks, I have my vivliario ygeias and syntagologio, which are how insurance claims are paid in Greece. For this he needed a bunch of photos of me as well as our certificate of familial status. I gave him copies of my passport and res. permit and I have no idea if he used them. Just be prepared for a huge huge headache. It doesn't cost anything (except in his case, multiple hotels and ferries), and he got the whole thing done in a very short time.
> 
> So where do I stand now?
> 
> I have obtained a marriage license in Athens, been legally married in a civil ceremony on a Greek island, opened an oikogeneiaki merida in the city where my husband is a citizen, made an official change of personal status with the government in Athens, and been added to my husband's public health insurance policy. Separately from that, on May 12, I took the state Greek language proficiency exam (level 4) and the certificate from this will be added to my file for work privileges and eventual citizenship application.
> 
> Still to do is to apply for my residence permit on the basis of being the spouse of an EU citizen. This is a 5 year residence permit that will give me the right to live in, work in, and travel freely into and out of Greece for the next 5 years. I cannot apply for this until TWO MONTHS before the EXPIRATION of my previous residence permit.
> 
> My previous residence permit application (applied in September) has not been approved yet - but in any case, I can't apply until two months before it expires, which will be in July. So between now and July, there's nothing more I can or have to do.
> 
> When July rolls around, I will need to produce:
> 
> - certificate of familial status
> - copy of my passport ID page AND residence permit page (notarized by a lawyer)
> - my vivliario ygeias
> - copy of my husband's state ID (notarized by a notary public/KEP)
> - 4 passport photos
> - filled out application for a residence permit
> 
> I think that's all - and there's no fee to apply. I will of course post more as the process evolves.
> 
> I really do hope that someone out there finds this useful. I don't know if all of this is detailed anywhere online - I've looked and never found it anywhere.


----------



## wka

> Hi! Thank you SO much for all this information. I am hoping you might be able to answer a few questions I have about marrying a Greek here in Greece, or atleast be able to point me in the direction of someone who can help. My situation is that I am here as a tourist right now, which means I can only stay for 3 months. My fiance & I want to get married b/4 that 3 months expires, so my question is, do you know if you can get married here to a Greek if you don't have a residency permit? Alternatively, how did you get your residency permit? I do not fall under any of the categories of either being a) a student, b) a sponsored worker, c) a retired person, or d) having Greek heritage. So until I get married, I have no way of staying here legally. Except for the residency permit, I have all the other paperwork from the US that I think I need to get the marriage license. Anyway, any info. you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for writing all that you did!


Hi Anna, 
If I'm understanding correctly, you are intending to marry your Greek fiance in Greece, but you don't have in your hands an AMERICAN marriage license - and you want to get a GREEK marriage license in order to move forward. I think this is where you will run into problems. To my knowledge (which, again, is based PURELY on personal experience!!), you cannot get a Greek marriage license if you are not a legal resident in Greece, and, as a tourist, you are not. When I got my Greek (Deme of Athens) marriage license, I was a legal resident of Athens, and I had to prove that. You prove that by showing a rental agreement in your name, or an electric bill in your name, or, in my case, getting a signed affidavit from my employer since I was living in housing provided by my employer and therefore had nothing house-related in my own name. The problem is that marriage licenses are issued by each Demos, and they want proof that you are a resident of their demos before they will issue one. There are a bunch of other things you have to do too, like get an advertisement printed in a newspaper, and so on. The easiest thing to do, I hate to say it, will probably be to fly back to the US, get a valid marriage license (they're usually good for several months), and then fly back to Greece and get married using it.

Before you do that, though, where does your fiance live? If he lives in a very small community where they know him very well, they may issue you a marriage license without all the documents. I say this again based on personal experience. Although my marriage license was issued through the Deme of Athens with 46 supporting documents, my then-fiance's was issued by a community with around 200 residents (at the time it wasn't even a deme, now, as of Jan 1, it is one) and they didn't ask him for most of the paperwork that I had to present. For example, the newspaper announcement isn't made here (in the tiny community which is also where I'm typing from) as there are no local newspapers, instead they post a piece of paper in the town square IF they feel like it. So my point is, if your fiance is from Ano Traganoplagia or whatever tiny little village they might just give it to you.

Otherwise, I think you may need to return to the US to procure the license and then get married here. Once you are married, you follow the same course I did and you should have no problem getting your 5 year residence permit application in and, with that, you get to stay here and even work legally while they ponder whether to accept the application.

Always remember during this process that while you, as an American, may not have "rights", your fiance does. He has the right to have his spouse live with him in Greece, so it is very difficult for them to kick you out once you are married.

By the way, to answer your question about how I got my original residence permit (pre-marriage), it was because I fall into one of the "Special Exception" career categories, of which there are a handful (including some rare ones like star athletes).


----------



## jacquest

wka said:


> Hi Anna,
> If I'm understanding correctly, you are intending to marry your Greek fiance in Greece, but you don't have in your hands an AMERICAN marriage license - and you want to get a GREEK marriage license in order to move forward. I think this is where you will run into problems. To my knowledge (which, again, is based PURELY on personal experience!!), you cannot get a Greek marriage license if you are not a legal resident in Greece, and, as a tourist, you are not.


Hi Anna and wka,

As a foreign national, I got married in Athens *as a tourist*. My wife (then my fiancée) did all the "paperwork" (I sent her all my relevant documents -passport, ID card, baptism certificate, etc.), published the ad in Kathimerini, etc., and I arrived in Athens 5 days before the marriage.

As wka said, this is personal experience, but done in Athens (not a small community) without any special "acquaintance", simple "citizens".

jacques.


----------



## amavrides

wka said:


> Another update to the long saga of me getting married to a Greek citizen.
> 
> Today I started the application for my 5 year Residence Permit with permission to work.
> 
> Today I just went to the office to double-check the paperwork we needed. It was a good thing too, because it was slightly different than what I had been told at the Ministry of the Interior.
> 
> So you do this at the Demos (Dimarxeio).
> 
> You need:
> 
> - 5 small color photographs (ask for the size for an ID card, not for a passport)
> - photocopies of every single page in your passport, including the cover and blank pages, and you need 2 sets of these.
> - 2 sets of photocopies of your vivliario ygeias: the front two ID pages, and the most recent page that has the year on it (2010) - should just be the last written-on page in your little book.
> - 2 photocopies of your spouse's police ID
> - 2 photocopies of your marriage certificate (lhxiarxikh praksh gamou)
> - 2 copies of your pistopoihtiko oikogeneiakhs katastashs.
> 
> I will go back tomorrow and fill out the application and let you know how it goes! By the way, we are using the Dimarxeio in the city where my husband is a dimotis.
> 
> Hope this helps someone!


Hello,

I am going to be in a similar situation very soon... I am Greek American but will be marrying a Greek... I am also already here in Greece.... any way to contact you to discuss your experiences...... Thank you...


----------



## wanderlusting

tortuga76 said:


> Hi! Thank you SO much for all this information. I am hoping you might be able to answer a few questions I have about marrying a Greek here in Greece, or atleast be able to point me in the direction of someone who can help. My situation is that I am here as a tourist right now, which means I can only stay for 3 months. My fiance & I want to get married b/4 that 3 months expires, so my question is, do you know if you can get married here to a Greek if you don't have a residency permit? Alternatively, how did you get your residency permit? I do not fall under any of the categories of either being a) a student, b) a sponsored worker, c) a retired person, or d) having Greek heritage. So until I get married, I have no way of staying here legally. Except for the residency permit, I have all the other paperwork from the US that I think I need to get the marriage license. Anyway, any info. you might have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for writing all that you did!
> 
> -Anna


I got my marriage license from the central office in Athens and there was never any question or discussion of my residency. I was here on my three-month visa free tourist stay. Once you have your marriage license, you can apply to stay as a resident since you are the spouse of an EU citizen.


----------



## wanderlusting

Yay Seattle!

I didn't change my family name - in my experience it's not that uncommon to keep your name (my mother-in-law, many professionals I have met, etc). I know that back in the US and if/when we have children this will make things interesting, but since countries like the US are more familiar with the practice of keeping names it shouldn't be a reason to do it. If you do decide to take a new name, I believe you can handle these affairs at the US embassy - you will need to get a new passport I believe.

I came to Athens with all the paperwork I needed from home, and then got my insurance here, made the marriage announcement here, and filed for the marriage license.

After you apply for a residence permit you will get a blue piece of paper that is your proof of an accepted application. With this paper you cannot travel freely in/out of Greece (for 2011 you are allowed to travel to/from your home country only - nowhere else) but you are legally allowed to stay in Greece and work. As a spouse the EU states that a permit MUST be received within six months (which is what you can expect) but it could take longer, too. 




soryps said:


> Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> Since you got married on a tourist visa and resided in Greece immediately after, what did you do about your name on your passport, ID etc? For example, if you get married then want to travel back to the US a few months, a year later, two years later and your passport still has your maiden name, does that pose a problem? Is it possible to get that stuff changed in Greece or do you have to be in the US for it?
> 
> 
> 
> This information is really helpful! Did you get all your stuff done in Athens?
> 
> 
> 
> So after I submit my application, it will presumably not be approved for a few months, and my tourist visa will have expired, but that's ok as long as I have my application in and everything submitted, correct? I was worried that during the waiting time for the decision of the residence permit I would be staying illegally in Greece
> 
> And I also see you're from Seattle too?


----------



## chrisrobert

Dear users

I reall all above replies and i am so confused...PLEASE ANYONE HELP ME in my request.

I am planning to get married in Greece next month and i will tavel on a visa tourist , we will get married at the Church , i want to know what are the steps after to get the residence since my fiancee can not get all the information.
Simply , after the wedding how many days is waiting to get the BLUE CARD ( residence ) and what are the documents required to have it , i think as far as i read in this topic is the wedding certificate and passport copies and photo copies , and i will be added on the insurance of my wife book since she is Greek
Also , do i need to present any other documents to receive the blue card , health certificate is required or not as here no one mentioned it is a must.
How long waiting till i take the resisdence for 5 years.
Is there an interview for me and my wife.

Simply , anyone went through this write me his experience in details since i will have only a visa valid for 30 days and i am scared that something they request and i can not present it

Your immediate reply is highly appreicated

Please reply to me asap

Thanks in advance

Chris Robert


----------



## chrisrobert

Dear users

Add to below they ask me today for CERTIFICATE OF HEALTH ...what kind of analysis they do in the hospital for that

I reall all above replies and i am so confused...PLEASE ANYONE HELP ME in my request.

I am planning to get married in Greece next month and i will tavel on a visa tourist , we will get married at the Church , i want to know what are the steps after to get the residence since my fiancee can not get all the information.
Simply , after the wedding how many days is waiting to get the BLUE CARD ( residence ) and what are the documents required to have it , i think as far as i read in this topic is the wedding certificate and passport copies and photo copies , and i will be added on the insurance of my wife book since she is Greek
Also , do i need to present any other documents to receive the blue card , health certificate is required or not as here no one mentioned it is a must.
How long waiting till i take the resisdence for 5 years.
Is there an interview for me and my wife.



Simply , anyone went through this write me his experience in details since i will have only a visa valid for 30 days and i am scared that something they request and i can not present it

Your immediate reply is highly appreicated

Please reply to me asap

Thanks in advance

Chris Robert


----------



## wka

Just a brief update as the topic came up again:

If you recall, I got my βεβαίωση for my 5 yr permit in mid-August, 2010. It's now late July, 2011. I still have not received a request for the interview, which is necessary for the decision and the issuing of the residence permit. That means that for the past 11 months, I have been unable to leave Greece legally.

We called the Demos here where my husband is a dimotis and were told the following:

"Your paperwork left the Demos last year and is now at the Perifereia. Call them."

We called the Perifereia. They told us:

"The last application that we were able to interview was in July, 2010. We have stopped doing interviews, reviewing applications, and issuing residence permits since that time. We are awaiting the issuance of a new law this week or next week that should enable us to continue. At that time, we will start with last July's applications."

The insinuation was that it should not be that much longer before we get a call for the interview. Luckily, we have moved and will be living half an hour away from the Perifereia, rather than a 9 hour drive + 9 hour ferry that we used to live!!

Since I applied for my residence permit, I have not had any emergencies making it necessary for me to leave Greece, so I cannot comment on any potential procedure for getting around this rule. I have also not investigated amnesties if they exist because I haven't needed them, but if you are in this situation and need an amnesty don't take my post to mean you can't get one, as I simply don't know.


----------



## wka

Okay so now we have a date for our interview - in less than two weeks!

I hope it is not too intimidating (or too nosy!)... I will let you know what it's like and how it goes....


----------



## FEIwannabe

I'll be waiting to hear what happens. Good luck!
We are about to start the application process for my husband in a couple of days. Unfortunately, it took me 2 months to get my greek id, so now we are in a crunch to get his paperwork in order.


----------



## wka

Update as promised! 

We showed up at the Perifereia and waited with a bunch of people - I think they save up all their interviews and do them in bunches. From what I could tell sitting in the waiting area, we were the only Greek spouse + Foreign spouse couple. The rest seemed to be foreign families who were there on work permits who needed to renew. 

There was indeed a 7-member panel to interview us, but only 2 people on it actually spoke. When we entered, we gave them my passport, my vevaiosi, and my husband's tautotita. They never separated us. They asked us a few questions about my work - actually it was quite funny and we were all laughing a bit which made it quite pleasant. After that, they asked where my husband was born, where I was born, and how long we had been married. That was the entire interview. They said they would call us to let us know to go to our local City Hall (Dimarcheio) to pick up my permit. I still don't know if it's for 5 or 10 years - I'll find out when I get it, I suppose. I've heard both from many people. 

They didn't ask us anything really personal and they never separated us so we didn't feel like we were "suspected" of anything. It really seemed like just to make sure we were who we claimed to be.


----------



## wka

I picked up my residence permit (Deltio Diamonis) today from the Dimarcheio. It is good for 4 years (I was very confused about how long it would last!). Two months before it expires, I have to renew it. Then five years later, again, but for 10 years. After 20 years total, I can apply for a permanent one. 

The card says right on it that it is for being a family member of a Union citizen, and that I have the right to work. It has my photo and presumably is acceptable in cases where they would ask for an astynomiki tautotita meaning I no longer have to carry my passport around on me everywhere I go. I don't know if it's valid as an ID to travel in Schengen or if I'd need to have my passport for that.

(It says 5 years on the card but it's actually 4 years because it took over a year for them to issue the card. The 5 year period starts when the application is forwarded from the Dimarcheio to the Perifereia, which in my case was a year ago.)

So... that is the end of this thread. I hope it was of use to somebody.


----------



## Espiritu

I know that every case is different, but 

I just picked my residence permit up today and we were never called for an interview. Also, we were told when we submitted the papers that there would not be an interview. 

We were told that yes the permit allows you to travel within the EU without a passport.


----------



## wka

Espiritu, it probably depends on the Perifereia where you belong.


----------



## EriEli

Espiritu said:


> I know that every case is different, but
> 
> I just picked my residence permit up today and we were never called for an interview. Also, we were told when we submitted the papers that there would not be an interview.
> 
> We were told that yes the permit allows you to travel within the EU without a passport.


Espiritu,

How long did it take for your permit to be processed? Just curious - I'm about to do mine this winter but I need to travel some within Europe before and would love to know approx how long it took. Are you in Athens?


----------



## Espiritu

EriEli,

When we submitted the application we were told it would take about 6 months, but in reality it took more like 16 months.

I don't know about traveling in Europe, but I was able to travel to the USA with just the blue paper you get when you submit your application. 

We are now living outside Athens, close to Xalkida.


----------



## EriEli

Thanks for the info Espiritu. I am pretty sure anywhere outside of your home country is off limits, my fiancé is going to check. But wow! 16mos is pretty major. I guess that is the norm. Good to know what to expect ahead of time, who knows, I could be happily surprised. Maybe little optimism will bring me good luck!

I was in Xalkoutsi for two days last summer staying with a friend who has a house there - it was such a fun weekend! Are you nearby or further north?


----------



## qwertyalex

wka said:


> Since my fiance and I are getting married in Greece, I thought I would write a post describing what we've done. It may be of use to someone in the future, if you are in the same situation. I'm not giving advice, just saying what we did.
> 
> I'm an American citizen; my fiance is a Greek citizen. I am living in Greece (since June 2009) and we plan to live in Greece permanently. I applied for a 1-yr residence permit back when I got here last summer but I only have the βεβαίωση so far.
> 
> I live in Athens so I had to get a marriage license issued by Athens.
> 
> 1) I sent a written request to the Department of Vital Statistics in the US where I was born for them to send an original birth certificate with a "live signature." I had it sent to my parents' address because I live in Greece. My parents were then going to mail it, once they got it, to the office that does Apostille seals in that state. It so happened that there was a lot of snow this winter, and they closed for weeks, and after a month when they still hadn't received the birth certificate (much less with apostille), my mother drove to the state where I was born and did it in person (same day). So it ended up being quite a hassle, although it shouldn't have been. She sent it to me by FedEx here in Athens.
> 
> 2) I went to the American Embassy in Athens and swore before a consular official that I have never been married before. To do that I had to have my American passport, my fiance's Greek ID number, and I had to fill out a form (with things like our parents' names). I also paid €21 (that day's equivalent of the $30 charge). The piece of paper I got from the consular official is called Ένορκη Δήλωση για Τέλεση Γάμου and is in Greek on the front and English on the back.
> 
> 3) I gave my birth certificate with apostille, a copy of my passport, and a copy of my βεβαίωση to my lawyer, who took them to be officially translated and stamped them with his seal. You don't have to do this through a lawyer. I did because I already had a lawyer but you can take it to the translation office (Αρίωνος 10, Μοναστηράκι) and do it yourself for about €20. It takes about 10 days before the translation is ready. You then have to have a lawyer seal it - you cannot do this at a ΚΕΠ or other usual place for επικυρώσεις because it's a foreign language document, so it does have to be a lawyer for this part.
> 
> 4) We went together to the Civil Marriages office of the City of Athens which is located at Ακαδημίας 50 above the Theater Museum, on the 1st floor (turn left at the top of the stairs). There we met with the official who issues the licenses and she went over what paperwork we had and what we still needed. Obviously you don't have to do this if you know exactly what you need, but we didn't, so we went.
> 
> 5) We went to Ακαδημίας 3 which is the Department of the Exterior, to the office where they do επικυρώσεις for foreign embassy officials' signatures. As you enter the stoa at Ak.3, it's on your right, it's a small office and very easy to take care of your επικύρωση. However, we didn't realize that we needed to go to the ΔΟΥ to get a παράβολο! They told us the address of the closest one.
> 
> 6) We went to the ΔΟΥ and got a παράβολο for €20. We also got two for €10 and two for €5. This is because you need €15 for each marriage license (and my fiance has to get one too, although his is FAR easier!).
> 
> 7) We went back to Ακαδημίας 3 to get the επικύρωση on the Ένορκη Δήλωση για Τέλεση Γάμου. This is required by the City of Athens for the marriage license. They stamped the paper and we left. (The office is open daily 9:30am til 1:30pm - we left at 1:29pm... don't be like us....)
> 
> 8) Then we went to a newspaper office in Athens. We filled out a form for Αγγελία Προ Γάμου (Ι think that's what it's called anyway). You just fill out your names, your parents names, and where you were born and where you'll get married. You have to write the names in Greek characters (phonetically, if you are not Greek). This cost us €24, but different papers may have different prices. They publish it the next day. You can do this at any daily Athenian newspaper.
> 
> 9) We went to our lawyer's office to pick up the original birth certificate with apostille and the official translation with the lawyer's επικύρωση.
> 
> 10) The day after we went to the newspaper, we bought some copies of the paper (you need to have two copies for the marriage licenses).
> 
> 11) We are now at the very last step: to return to Ακαδημίας 50, to get the marriage license:
> 
> We'll show them: my passport, a copy of my passport photo page, my residence permit, a copy of my residence permit, my birth certificate with apostille, the official translation of birth certificate and apostille with επικύρωση, the παράβολο for €15 (which costs €18 by the way, but only shows €15), proof of residence in Athens (this can be an OTE bill, ΔΕΗ bill, rent contract, etc), one original copy of the newspaper with our announcement, and my Ένορκη Δήλωση with the επικύρωση by the Dept. of the Exterior.
> 
> It should take 8 days for them to issue the marriage license. I don't know yet if they'll mail it to me or if I'll go pick it up. I know it will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue.
> 
> Once my marriage license is issued, and my fiance's as well (which is a very simple procedure and I'm not going to describe it), we will make an appointment with the authorities in the place where we want to get married. On the day of our wedding I need to have my passport and my marriage license; I'll bring my βεβαίωση just in case although I don't think it will be necessary. I'm not sure yet about the fee, we still have to ask about that.
> 
> That's it so far... I'll update if I find out anything more.


Wow, all that? I am uk resident not registered here officially as I travel between the two countries almost every month and have all financial interests in uk. All I had to do was get local priest (who is a friend) to marry us (my greek wife) a year ago. We went to town hall for some papers a couple of weeks after and i had to get a tax number but that was it. Maybe I have done something wrong or missing something then.


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## wka

qwertyalex, did you get official papers and file them?


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## qwertyalex

wka said:


> qwertyalex, did you get official papers and file them?


Not sure, ill check with wife. She did some papers in townhall and tax office but that was it, it was all greek to me.


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## wka

You must have had a marriage license. The reason I went through so much is that I had to get a marriage license IN GREECE. That's what expats have to do. If you live in the UK you can get one there, which is probably what you did, so of course you wouldn't have to do the stuff I did. 

On the other hand, if you were married without a marriage license, the marriage was illegal, but if the papers were filed properly, I don't think they do anything about it now.


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## eirinaki83

wka said:


> qwertyalex, did you get official papers and file them?


Hi, I heard through a friend that incase of war the US embassy ships out citizens in a foreign country and that I should notify the embassy that I live abroad. I decided to do some research and came across your thread. I think I'm in for alot more than just the above. 

I have a US passport but am living in Greece. I'm here since June of '09 and got married that summer. We have a marriage license, I have a Greek ID and health insurance. I even went back to NY Christmas of '10 to visit with no problems. The thing is I never notified anyone in the US that I was leaving. I didn't know I had to file for any kind of visa. I do not work here but we file income taxes as a couple. I don't even know where to begin. Anything you can provide would be great! Thanks.


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## mariek

eirinaki83 said:


> Hi, I heard through a friend that incase of war the US embassy ships out citizens in a foreign country and that I should notify the embassy that I live abroad. I decided to do some research and came across your thread. I think I'm in for alot more than just the above.
> 
> I have a US passport but am living in Greece. I'm here since June of '09 and got married that summer. We have a marriage license, I have a Greek ID and health insurance. I even went back to NY Christmas of '10 to visit with no problems. The thing is I never notified anyone in the US that I was leaving. I didn't know I had to file for any kind of visa. I do not work here but we file income taxes as a couple. I don't even know where to begin. Anything you can provide would be great! Thanks.



Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but you don't really need to notify anyone you are leaving the US. When I moved here I just sent a quick message to the Athens embassy saying that I live here . . . the reason for that was so I can get any updates the embassy sends out. They are few and far between. 
Also if you don't work here then you don't need to file taxes in the US so there is no problem there either. (Even if you do work here you have to make a certain amount before you have to file back in the US.)

If you have your Greek ID, having gone through the residency application process, then it seems that you are all set.


----------



## wka

eirinaki83 said:


> Hi, I heard through a friend that incase of war the US embassy ships out citizens in a foreign country and that I should notify the embassy that I live abroad. I decided to do some research and came across your thread. I think I'm in for alot more than just the above.


If it makes you feel better, you can register with the US Embassy. It's free. I'm registered with them apparently but have never received anything from them (and I haven't updated them with any of my multiple changes of address since then). I'm not too interested in doing it since I wouldn't leave without my husband, who is Greek. If there were a war, he'd be in it, so I wouldn't see much point in leaving. But that's a personal decision of course.



> I have a US passport but am living in Greece. I'm here since June of '09 and got married that summer.


I'm here as of June 09 as well .


> We have a marriage license,


There's a difference between a marriage license and a marriage certificate - you should have a certificate. A license is what you have before you get married, a certificate certifies that you were married legally. 



> I have a Greek ID and health insurance. I even went back to NY Christmas of '10 to visit with no problems.


Hang onto your Greek ID and you're fine.



> The thing is I never notified anyone in the US that I was leaving. I didn't know I had to file for any kind of visa.


You didn't have to. The visa is for those who want to live in Greece for more than 3 months without having been married. Since you got married within the first couple months of coming to Greece, you came here on a tourist visa (that's your passport without a special visa in it) and then with your marriage, you were able to get a Greek residence permit.



> I do not work here but we file income taxes as a couple. I don't even know where to begin. Anything you can provide would be great! Thanks.


You should be fine. Filing taxes as a couple is just fine. 

It sounds like you are covered. As long as the "Greek ID" you mentioned up above is the residence permit (or a Greek αστυνομική ταυτότητα / astynomiki tautotita (most forum members aren't eligible for this - you need to be Greek to get this)) then you have given them all the paperwork they needed in order to issue that. 

Your only concern is to renew your residence permit 2 months before it expires (should be in a couple years from now).


----------



## eirinaki83

My mistake... I'm sure it's a marriage certificate. But I don't remember seeing anything in my paperwork about a residence permit and an expiration date. 

And I have an astinomiki tautotita and a Greek drivers license.


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## wka

Eirinaki, if you have an astynomiki tautotita, you're Greek. So what's the problem?


----------



## soryps

wka said:


> Since my fiance and I are getting married in Greece, I thought I would write a post describing what we've done. It may be of use to someone in the future, if you are in the same situation. I'm not giving advice, just saying what we did.
> 
> I'm an American citizen; my fiance is a Greek citizen. I am living in Greece (since June 2009) and we plan to live in Greece permanently. I applied for a 1-yr residence permit back when I got here last summer but I only have the βεβαίωση so far.
> 
> I live in Athens so I had to get a marriage license issued by Athens.
> 
> 1) I sent a written request to the Department of Vital Statistics in the US where I was born for them to send an original birth certificate with a "live signature." I had it sent to my parents' address because I live in Greece. My parents were then going to mail it, once they got it, to the office that does Apostille seals in that state. It so happened that there was a lot of snow this winter, and they closed for weeks, and after a month when they still hadn't received the birth certificate (much less with apostille), my mother drove to the state where I was born and did it in person (same day). So it ended up being quite a hassle, although it shouldn't have been. She sent it to me by FedEx here in Athens.
> 
> 2) I went to the American Embassy in Athens and swore before a consular official that I have never been married before. To do that I had to have my American passport, my fiance's Greek ID number, and I had to fill out a form (with things like our parents' names). I also paid €21 (that day's equivalent of the $30 charge). The piece of paper I got from the consular official is called Ένορκη Δήλωση για Τέλεση Γάμου and is in Greek on the front and English on the back.
> 
> 3) I gave my birth certificate with apostille, a copy of my passport, and a copy of my βεβαίωση to my lawyer, who took them to be officially translated and stamped them with his seal. You don't have to do this through a lawyer. I did because I already had a lawyer but you can take it to the translation office (Αρίωνος 10, Μοναστηράκι) and do it yourself for about €20. It takes about 10 days before the translation is ready. You then have to have a lawyer seal it - you cannot do this at a ΚΕΠ or other usual place for επικυρώσεις because it's a foreign language document, so it does have to be a lawyer for this part.
> 
> 4) We went together to the Civil Marriages office of the City of Athens which is located at Ακαδημίας 50 above the Theater Museum, on the 1st floor (turn left at the top of the stairs). There we met with the official who issues the licenses and she went over what paperwork we had and what we still needed. Obviously you don't have to do this if you know exactly what you need, but we didn't, so we went.
> 
> 5) We went to Ακαδημίας 3 which is the Department of the Exterior, to the office where they do επικυρώσεις for foreign embassy officials' signatures. As you enter the stoa at Ak.3, it's on your right, it's a small office and very easy to take care of your επικύρωση. However, we didn't realize that we needed to go to the ΔΟΥ to get a παράβολο! They told us the address of the closest one.
> 
> 6) We went to the ΔΟΥ and got a παράβολο for €20. We also got two for €10 and two for €5. This is because you need €15 for each marriage license (and my fiance has to get one too, although his is FAR easier!).
> 
> 7) We went back to Ακαδημίας 3 to get the επικύρωση on the Ένορκη Δήλωση για Τέλεση Γάμου. This is required by the City of Athens for the marriage license. They stamped the paper and we left. (The office is open daily 9:30am til 1:30pm - we left at 1:29pm... don't be like us....)
> 
> 8) Then we went to a newspaper office in Athens. We filled out a form for Αγγελία Προ Γάμου (Ι think that's what it's called anyway). You just fill out your names, your parents names, and where you were born and where you'll get married. You have to write the names in Greek characters (phonetically, if you are not Greek). This cost us €24, but different papers may have different prices. They publish it the next day. You can do this at any daily Athenian newspaper.
> 
> 9) We went to our lawyer's office to pick up the original birth certificate with apostille and the official translation with the lawyer's επικύρωση.
> 
> 10) The day after we went to the newspaper, we bought some copies of the paper (you need to have two copies for the marriage licenses).
> 
> 11) We are now at the very last step: to return to Ακαδημίας 50, to get the marriage license:
> 
> We'll show them: my passport, a copy of my passport photo page, my residence permit, a copy of my residence permit, my birth certificate with apostille, the official translation of birth certificate and apostille with επικύρωση, the παράβολο for €15 (which costs €18 by the way, but only shows €15), proof of residence in Athens (this can be an OTE bill, ΔΕΗ bill, rent contract, etc), one original copy of the newspaper with our announcement, and my Ένορκη Δήλωση with the επικύρωση by the Dept. of the Exterior.
> 
> It should take 8 days for them to issue the marriage license. I don't know yet if they'll mail it to me or if I'll go pick it up. I know it will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue.
> 
> Once my marriage license is issued, and my fiance's as well (which is a very simple procedure and I'm not going to describe it), we will make an appointment with the authorities in the place where we want to get married. On the day of our wedding I need to have my passport and my marriage license; I'll bring my βεβαίωση just in case although I don't think it will be necessary. I'm not sure yet about the fee, we still have to ask about that.
> 
> That's it so far... I'll update if I find out anything more.


Just wanted to comment that we got married in Athens and only had to do about 80% of what you listed here in order to get our marriage license.

For steps 1-3 we basically did as you describe, but we were not required to do this part (and I'm not even sure what you mean by "seal" either):

_You then have to have a lawyer seal it - you cannot do this at a ΚΕΠ or other usual place for επικυρώσεις because it's a foreign language document, so it does have to be a lawyer for this part. _

We did not have to deal with a lawyer for anything during the whole process. As for the rest of the steps, they're a bit confusing, but I don't remember us having to do a lot of that. Were you married in a city hall/civil ceremony? I ask because you keep referencing obtaining a copy of the marriage license, which is also something we never had to do. We also didn't bring the marriage license to the actual ceremony (which we couldn't have even if were supposed to because they never gave us one), but I'm assuming this might be because we got married in the same city hall that issued the license.




> That said, I SUSPECT it would be necessary for you to already have obtained your marriage license in the USA and go through the typical "tourist wedding" process, *because obtaining a marriage license in Greece is impossible if you cannot prove that you live here.* Now, they may let you get away with it, I have NO idea, if you, for example, showed that you "lived in a hotel" for a certain amount of time, but I applied for my marriage license with proof of residence in Athens along with my residence permit.


This wasn't the case for us. When we applied for our marriage license while I was on a tourist visa and I was most certainly not living in Greece then. I actually had to go back to the US for 3 months in between the time we applied for the license and planned to get married. My husband was required to provide proof of residency, but I was not and I assume he merely told them we lived together and that was fine with them.



> It sounds like that's what you want to do anyway, based on your next question. How long would it take.... well, it would depend on whether you worked with a wedding planner in Greece and sent your paperwork ahead of you for them to translate for you. If you want to do it yourself (I saw a reference a few minutes ago on a travel forum I post on, where someone said they had paid their wedding planner €300 to handle the translations. If you do it yourself it's like €20 or something.) then you will need at least 7 business days because that's how long the translation says, and you do have your marriage license officially translated. Ask your local Greek consulate/ the embassy if they can do it, which should save you a lot of trouble and money.
> 
> In OUR case, the whole thing took, start to finish, 3 months, but some of that would have been avoidable. I think if you didn't have the annoying problems we had, it could be done in a month. Again, I mean OUR kind of situation. Your situation is quite different and could take more or less time, I don't know and don't want to speculate.
> 
> Sorry I can't be more helpful - keeping my own situation straight is pretty much the most I'm able to handle, so I purposefully avoided finding out details for other kinds of situations!


I just wanted to add, for comparison, the whole process took about 2 or 3 weeks for us. The only thing I came with "prepared" was the certified copy of my birth certificate


----------



## wka

soryps said:


> Just wanted to comment that we got married in Athens and only had to do about 80% of what you listed here in order to get our marriage license.
> 
> For steps 1-3 we basically did as you describe, but we were not required to do this part (and I'm not even sure what you mean by "seal" either):
> 
> _You then have to have a lawyer seal it - you cannot do this at a ΚΕΠ or other usual place for επικυρώσεις because it's a foreign language document, so it does have to be a lawyer for this part. _
> 
> We did not have to deal with a lawyer for anything during the whole process. As for the rest of the steps, they're a bit confusing, but I don't remember us having to do a lot of that. Were you married in a city hall/civil ceremony? I ask because you keep referencing obtaining a copy of the marriage license, which is also something we never had to do. We also didn't bring the marriage license to the actual ceremony (which we couldn't have even if were supposed to because they never gave us one), but I'm assuming this might be because we got married in the same city hall that issued the license.


What I mean by "seal" is to have a document stamped, I didn't mean a waxen seal, sorry if that was confusing. KEP will not stamp anything that does not bear the round cross stamp of the Greek government (or so I have been told on many occasions, even if the paper originates from a Ministry as in one case the other day!). The copy of your passport is supposed to be επικυρωμένο (notarized) which KEP can't do because it's issued by the US government.

I obviously can't comment on your experience, but technically you DO need a valid marriage license to get married legally in Greece. If it wasn't asked of you, that's great, but it was asked of us and I certainly wouldn't want to be caught without one. My license was from Athens and we were married in a totally different part of Greece, incidentally. Yes, we were married in a civil ceremony.

Some of what we were required to do may have been specific to Athens, although for example the having to go to get the Enorki Dilosi gia telesi gamou stamped since it was from a foreign consulate, we ran into a couple who was getting married in the Ionian islands and they had to go all the way to Athens just for this one step. It is quite possible that you weren't asked to do certain things if you were married in a different place where they either don't know or don't care that this is part of the rules; or maybe the rules vary from place to place (although of course they should not).



> This wasn't the case for us. When we applied for our marriage license while I was on a tourist visa and I was most certainly not living in Greece then. I actually had to go back to the US for 3 months in between the time we applied for the license and planned to get married. My husband was required to provide proof of residency, but I was not and I assume he merely told them we lived together and that was fine with them.


You aren't the first person to say this on this thread - I was required to show proof of residence which I did by getting a letter from my landlord, but certainly if you are not required to, you wouldn't bother to go to the trouble!



> I just wanted to add, for comparison, the whole process took about 2 or 3 weeks for us. The only thing I came with "prepared" was the certified copy of my birth certificate


That's great! Of course I don't worry about it anymore as it's all in the past and we are now enjoying marital bliss, but I did find it a bit of a hassle at the time. I did point out that most of the time wasted was avoidable (because of snow problems in the USA) and that the actual Greek side of things only added up to I believe 12 business days.


----------



## precociousindy

Thanks wka, this has been abundantly helpful. 

I will be returning to the states soon with intentions of coming back to Greece to be married but there are some obstacles that hopefully can be worked out by my fiancé while I am away. Mainly, he is still technically married though has been separated for many years. 

Interestingly, he keeps trying to convince me that there is a Very recent change in law that would allow for me to stay with a residence permit (though I believe it is only for a year or two) if we go through the hoops claiming that I am his agape, partner, however you want to say it short of being married. This document I have seen him read after many ruthless hours of searching the web is of course in Greek, is lengthy and not very Exact in terms of proper procedure ( surprise, surprise). Also the official at the Foreign office was completely unaware of this change. Our next step will be to take the print out to him I am guessing. 

I hope our situation will be resolved easier than yours seemed to be. Thanks again for detailing the process you went though.


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## precociousindy

Another update just in case anyone is curious about this new protocol which allows a partner of a Greek to obtain an extension of 8 months from the 90 day travel visa aka schengen visa



It's protocol 23443 7 September 2011 
Ministry of Interior

Aka in Greek (for those distinguished individuals who have obtained the mastery of the Greek language) ...The divisions that signed this agreement


Hope this is helpful to someone. We shall see if it will be in my case. Stay tuned.


----------



## wka

What I believe your fiance is referring to is the "cohabitation agreement" (symvolaio symviosis / συμβόλαιο συμβίωσης or symfono symviosis / σύμφωνο συμβίωσης), which does in fact exist. It's been around since 2009, so it's not THAT new. I believe it was an EU mandate that it exist, which is probably the only way such a thing would make it into the Greek code. It's meant to provide partnership benefits to non-spouse partners, and it is a real thing, but it's not the same as being married, especially within Greece. I would not settle for that myself. It is extremely easy to dissolve and I believe you have no / few legal rights if it is dissolved; it is dissolved outside of court - I think at a notary public's office....

This is something I have no direct knowledge of, but I can give you the basics:

A Greek (or other EU) citizen has the right to a non-EU citizen entering and living with them in Greece if they can prove they have a stable relationship. The non-EU partner then has to submit an application to stay (for a special permit) to the Ministry of the Interior, showing proof of cohabitation and relationship. They need to have either the legal "cohabitation agreement" (as mentioned above) or a child together; and it helps to show having long-term financial, legal, and social obligations together.

If approved, the non-EU partner receives a 1 year permit which is then renewed every 2 years thereafter. 

The Ministry of the Interior reserves the right to perform checks on the couple. (Yes, this probably does mean barging into your house at 4am to see if you are sleeping in the same bed - at least in theory. Who knows if it's actually done.)

The person can work legally as an employee, but under certain conditions that do not apply to spouses.

If the couple met in Greece, they have to be able to prove that the non-EU citizen was in Greece for a substantial period of time at least 1 year prior to the beginning of the cohabitation agreement.

Any foreign documents involved have to be officially translated and stamped by a lawyer as usual.

Overall it's even more paperwork than the marriage process but the benefits are fewer and most people have never heard of the "cohabitation agreement" concept. 

NOTE: IKA does NOT recognize the partner as a "protected family member" and will NOT extend coverage to the partner in this situation! However, at some point they were going to pass another law to fix that - you would definitely want to check and see if that has gone through.

So far it has been used for priests to remarry after the death of a spouse, and for people who are already married to "marry" again (this is not illegal when it is this cohabitation agreement).


----------



## wka

precociousindy said:


> Another update just in case anyone is curious about this new protocol which allows a partner of a Greek to obtain an extension of 8 months from the 90 day travel visa aka schengen visa
> 
> 
> 
> It's protocol 23443 7 September 2011
> Ministry of Interior
> 
> Hope this is helpful to someone. We shall see if it will be in my case. Stay tuned.


Yes, this is basically exactly what I outlined in my post just before - you found it right before I posted  So you got it - this is not comparable to marriage, I would steer clear, but you have the decision before you so you can see all the requirements.


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## soryps

So we just finished the residency paperwork today and while it wasn't that bad, it was still kind of hassle. Since I didn't come with any health insurance, I needed to get some for the residency application and I ended up getting added to my husbands insurance (I think it's OAEE). This part took the most time and paperwork, but we were eventually about to get me addded to it (it took about 1.5-2 weeks total). After that we took our documents to the City Hall and thought we were done, but again they requested another two papers that they did not include on the list they originally gave us. Other than that issue, it was pretty easy/straightforward. I also able to get an AMKA number during the health insurance process, which to my understanding was a special exception because you don't normally get until after you have some sort of visa/residency permit and start working.


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## wka

soryps, I'm not too clear on the AMKA myself. I have the AMKA number, and they said they'd send a plastic card to my address, but that was almost two years ago and nothing. who knows....


----------



## soryps

wka said:


> soryps, I'm not too clear on the AMKA myself. I have the AMKA number, and they said they'd send a plastic card to my address, but that was almost two years ago and nothing. who knows....


Yeah I'm not even sure what it is either. My husband explained it was kind of like a social security number and once you start working you need to get this document for your employer anyway, so it makes it a bit more convenient I was able to get it now.

Anyway, I was wondering if I'm now officially able to work since I have my temporary document for the residency permit? I was also wondering when your application is approved, do they just give you some type of card or do they also put something in your passport? If there's nothing added to your passport, how does going through customs work? And do you still go through the non-EU passports/residents line at customs? Kind of silly questions, but I've never read anything about this stuff . 

Oh and one last thing, when the "official" card is given to me, does that mean I can travel to the EU freely or am I still really only allowed to travel to and from the US?


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## wka

I believe the purpose of the AMKA is that everyone in the country has a health insurance number of the same type. At one point, I think, it was supposed to be required for healthcare or maybe was meant to replace the regular insurance ID number. I don't know anymore though. I luckily haven't had to use my insurance in a long time.

I was told by City Hall that I did have the right to work once I got my registration paper (the blue page with the photograph stapled to it). 

When your application is approved, they take the blue page back, and give you a card. Nothing goes in your passport. You go through customs with your passport (non-EU citizens line) and you show your card together with your passport. You can travel freely in the EU with your card, but I think you are supposed to have your passport too. They may tell you that you can travel without your passport but I have run into so many public services in Greece who have never seen the EU residence card before, some think it's fake even, that I would never want to travel without my passport too.


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## soryps

I may have asked this already, but with my temporary blue paper, can I travel through the EU or do I have to wait until I get the permanent card?


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## wka

Soryps, you're not allowed to leave Greece at all. However, they sometimes announce an "amnesty" (usually around Christmas or Easter) where you're allowed to go back to your OWN country. I took advantage of that once to go to the US for a week. I had to show my blue page but it wasn't a big deal.


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## soryps

wka said:


> Soryps, you're not allowed to leave Greece at all. However, they sometimes announce an "amnesty" (usually around Christmas or Easter) where you're allowed to go back to your OWN country. I took advantage of that once to go to the US for a week. I had to show my blue page but it wasn't a big deal.


Hmm interesting because I've read multiple places that you're allowed to travel to and from your home country. I should verify with the City Hall, but to be honest they're not even that knowledgeable themselves


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## wka

soryps said:


> Hmm interesting because I've read multiple places that you're allowed to travel to and from your home country. I should verify with the City Hall, but to be honest they're not even that knowledgeable themselves


There is often confusion on this point because amnesties have been called for entire years, leading people to believe that it is always possible. So it's a good idea to make sure before buying plane tickets.


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## EriEli

I'm in the middle of this process myself right now...thought I might shed some light by adding what my experience has been (especially during these crazy times). I was married in a politikos gamos less than a week ago and already have my blue paper. It was fairly painless (though i will say that my experience has been nothing like others have explained here - and I've spent the last 3 days standing in gov offices waiting and pushing to get a turn). The bright side has been that I've been successful and it's been fast. By tomorrow I will have my health insurance booklet and everything (my husband is superman - this is an important detail in this insane process - he doesn't get easily discouraged and always found a second way to get a document if we were told no by someone in one office - being creative is key here!)

Anyway, Today I grilled the woman who gave me my blue paper about travel restrictions (I have a friends wedding in Sweden to go to in june) and she swore up and down that I, as an American, will have zero problem traveling freely while I wait for my residence card. Not sure I should trust her word - but don't know who else to ask. 

I'd be happy to share my exact experience and process in more detail for those interested - just say the word!

Good luck!


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## wka

EriEli said:


> I'm in the middle of this process myself right now...thought I might shed some light by adding what my experience has been (especially during these crazy times). I was married in a politikos gamos less than a week ago and already have my blue paper. It was fairly painless (though i will say that my experience has been nothing like others have explained here - and I've spent the last 3 days standing in gov offices waiting and pushing to get a turn). The bright side has been that I've been successful and it's been fast. By tomorrow I will have my health insurance booklet and everything (my husband is superman - this is an important detail in this insane process - he doesn't get easily discouraged and always found a second way to get a document if we were told no by someone in one office - being creative is key here!)
> 
> Anyway, Today I grilled the woman who gave me my blue paper about travel restrictions (I have a friends wedding in Sweden to go to in june) and she swore up and down that I, as an American, will have zero problem traveling freely while I wait for my residence card. Not sure I should trust her word - but don't know who else to ask.
> 
> I'd be happy to share my exact experience and process in more detail for those interested - just say the word!
> 
> Good luck!


It shouldn't take long to get the blue paper. In my case, it took one 40 minute visit to city hall. The reason that it sounds in my posts like it took longer is because I was under a different permit at the time. You can't apply for a new permit until the old one is 2 months from expiration so I just waited until that time to apply - but then it only took 40 minutes. It's not difficult to do.

My vivliario took longer because we lived on a very small island and it required my husband going to two other places, which meant finding ferries and getting hotels and time off work, so couldn't be done immediately, but I think it was done within 2 weeks. I'm not sure. Once he actually got to the right place, he got it the same day. So your one week sounds like a lot of time to me. But what matters is that you have it. Get an AMKA if they didn't give you one with the vivliario - it's completely useless without it. (They probably give it out at the same time now but when I got mine they didn't.)


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## AmyB

Has anyone been divorced and married a Greek citizen? How is the process different? I'm American and divorced. He is Greek and never been married. All this information here is overwhelming. I'm not sure where to start, I just know I'm tired of all the travel back and forth and the long periods of time without him. I'll be going back to the US, what paperwork do I need from the US?(just the US side). Is there a visa for someone planning to marry a Greek citizen? 
Thanks,
AmyB


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## wka

I recall from when I did it that they wanted to see a final divorce decree (or whatever it's called) if divorced. I never understood how that could be acceptable since who's to say that you haven't remarried someone else in the interim - but they never say you should also have a document saying you're currently unmarried, at least not when I did it. Don't you have a piece of paper from when your divorce was finalized? You'll probably need to have it officially translated but I doubt you'd need anything further unless they've updated the law recently.


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## SRuth

I have to thank you, and all of those that have commented, on your wealth of information and your time commitment to this sharing of knowledge.

I am a non-EU (America) and I have followed your site (and the US embassy site of Athens) in applying for a marriage license and we have a date for the city hall of Alimos, Athens, Greece for October.

I will just review my experience so far: 

* I prepared my birth certificate with Apositlle stamp
* I enter Greece on a tourist visa
* In Athens I got my birth certificate translated (the guard at the translation department asked me to 'show my gold sticker'/ Apostille stamp before even going in to the translation offices (that was because it was close to closing time).
- I paid extra, and got my translation done in 3 days (only a 7 euro and so difference)
* I made an appointment at the embassy, and the next day I went there I did an affidavit of marriage the the US embassy in Athens (50 USD)
* Fiance collected his electrical bill, passport, ID, birth certificate
* We went and each got some sort of tax stamp cards to pay for our marriage license (Honestly, I dont know what this was, but we both needed it, i showed my fiance what we needed and we went to an office and got these stamps in less than a minute)
* Newspaper announcement, went to the KATHIMERINI office in athens, paid, and it was published the next day. Get TWO copies!!

(Sounds like a lot - as people have said- but if planned and appointments made, you only need 3 or 4 days)

Took all of this to city hall where he is born/resident. They were confused by my affidavit, they wanted something else. But according to my country's site (athens.usembassy. gov/marriage.html), that is what they give to meet the requirements of not currently being married, and with my fiance being a smooth operator (and all Greek government offices being a bit confused)

Filled out more paper work there, they photocopied things, and we were given a date for October (we were there end of August). We also never received an actual license because we are getting married at the city all that is issuing it to us.

OK, now this is where I need help (and it gets a bit confusing)

My fiance is a student at school in the UK, and that is where we are both living (I am also just on a tourist visa here too)

We will be flying back for the marriage, and I know we need to register our marriage in 40 days and I am trying to be as prepared as possible and also allow enough time to do everything, but my fiance will not be able to miss much school.

My main goal is for us to register our marriage, with in the 40 days, return to London, then go back to Greece to apply for 5 year Residence Permit with the Right to Work. And then I will stay there (and the USA since I can legally as of right now, waiting to here for the 2013 exiting and re-entering stipulations from the Ministry of Citizen Protection)

Questions:

o	Can we register our marriage that day at Vital Statistics Office (Lixiarhio) of the city where performed?
•	More in depth: Can we register immediately without having to follow all the steps outlined or is "certificate of familial status" (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης) needed to register?
o	How long is the time period between opening a oikogeneiaki merida (οικογενειακή μερίδα) (where fiance is a “dimotis” and have me added) receiving the "certificate of familial status" (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης)
•	Can we create and file for "certificate of familial status" the day we are married? 
o	If we can get our marriage certificates endorsed with an Apostille stamp at this place (Dimarxeio), or do you have information on how/where we can do that of a greek document to be used internationally (I only knew where to get my American documents endorsed)?


I hope my account was of help, but I am really drained and hoping to find some answers to these questions!


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## wka

SRuth said:


> o	Can we register our marriage that day at Vital Statistics Office (Lixiarhio) of the city where performed?


Probably. Certainly the day after, which is when we did it.



> •	More in depth: Can we register immediately without having to follow all the steps outlined or is "certificate of familial status" (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης) needed to register?


What steps are those? We just took our signed papers to the KEP and got the lixiarxiki praksi gamou the next morning and faxed it to the city hall where my husband is a dimotis for the oik/ki merida.


> o	How long is the time period between opening a oikogeneiaki merida (οικογενειακή μερίδα) (where fiance is a “dimotis” and have me added) receiving the "certificate of familial status" (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης)


Immediately, as far as I know. As soon as you they put it in the computer they print it out for you and hand it to you / fax / mail it to you depending on the circumstances (in my experience).



> •	Can we create and file for "certificate of familial status" the day we are married?


Don't know, we did ours the next morning.


> o	If we can get our marriage certificates endorsed with an Apostille stamp at this place (Dimarxeio), or do you have information on how/where we can do that of a greek document to be used internationally (I only knew where to get my American documents endorsed)?


This one I can't answer. I haven't had to prove my marital status outside Greece so I haven't had to do this. If you figure it out, let us know how you do it.

Congratulations on your marriage, I hope you have a wonderful life together


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## Baby Firefly

*Change in Status????*



wka said:


> I'm going to post another update. Anyone else in a similar situation (American marrying a Greek in Greece) will probably want to know WHAT NEXT!?!?! And since there is OH so much more lovely paperwork to file... here's the followup!
> 
> After we got married in April, we got a bunch of original marriage certificates (απόσπασμα ληξιαρχειακής πράξης γάμου). Get a bunch. You will go through them like mad.
> 
> The first thing we had to do was to open an oikogeneiaki merida (οικογενειακή μερίδα). The oikogeneiaki merida is basically a bureaucratic designation of family. Until my husband and I got married, he "belonged" (since birth) to the oikogeneiaki merida that included his parents and his younger (unmarried) brother. Now that we're married, he officially has left his parents'/brother's oikogeneiaki merida and has started his own, which now includes himself and me, and if we ever have children, they'll get stuck in there too until they get married. People are legally required to do this when they get married. So first step after getting your marriage certificates is to "open an oikogeneiaki merida." You do it in the place where you are a "dimotis" (or rather, where your Greek spouse is a dimotis), meaning, most likely where their parents' oikogeneiaki merida is also, or wherever they vote/file taxes/etc. For us, that was the city of Alexandroupoli. We live absolutely nowhere near Alexandroupoli, but that's where his parents live and where he pays taxes, and so that's where we opened ours.
> 
> He faxed our marriage certificate directly to the Alexandroupoli dimarxeio through our local KEP. The idea was for them to do the necessary paperwork and mail the "certificate of familial status" (πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης) which is the proof of having opened a new oikogeneiaki merida, to us.
> 
> Which, of course, they did, twelve days later. And, sadly, it showed that my husband was married to himself. This was not really what we had in mind. Very luckily for us, his mom was available to go to the mayor's office and berate them into changing it and then she mailed the papers to us herself. So we got them 2 days later, much faster, so no harm done really. But if she hadn't been able to do that, we would have bumped up against the deadline for filing other paperwork which I'll get to in a second.
> 
> So, just over 2 weeks after the wedding, we had several ORIGINALS (again, important) of the πιστοποιητικό οικογενειακής κατάστασης. You'll need these for various things so it's good to have them.
> 
> Next, as a foreigner living in Greece, I was obligated by law to file a "change in personal status" with the government. ALL foreigners are obligated to do this whenever you change marital status or even change your address. I don't believe everyone does it every time they move, but you're supposed to. For marriage, you definitely have to! So, for this, I needed:
> 
> - an original copy of our marriage certificate
> - an original copy of our certificate of familial status
> - a copy of my passport ID page that had been notarized by a lawyer (MUST be by a lawyer)
> - a copy of my residence permit (in my case, the blue paper [βεβαίωση κατάθεσης αίτησης άδειας διαμονής] that shows that I've applied for a residence permit) that has been notarized (this does NOT have to be by a lawyer - KEP is fine for this one)
> - some ID-size photographs
> 
> I gave all of this stuff to the Liksiarxeio in Athens and they kept all of it. Could I have gone with less and still been okay? Who knows. But they kept whatever I gave them. NOTE: You must do this within 30 DAYS of the wedding!! I got very nervous when our certificate of familial status was wrong and had to be redone, as things like that will NOT win you an extension. Luckily it was resolved by my husband's mother but if you're not so lucky... well just be aware that you need to get on this immediately as anything can happen. IF you miss the 30 day deadline there is a fine of several hundred euros!! (I'm not sure of the exact amount.)
> 
> When you submit this paperwork, at the same time they give you a little slip of paper with a stamp on it with your "protocol number." You must NEVER EVER lose this little slip of paper. Like all other pieces of paper the government gives you.
> 
> At the same time that all of this was happening, we were also getting me added to his health insurance. This is necessary because my travel health insurance that I bought in the US is horrible and doesn't actually pay claims, and anyway, you want to get on local insurance as soon as possible. As his wife, I am "under his protection" legally so I can be added to his insurance at no expense. It may be that different insurance programs in Greece work differently; his is the "Dimosio" so I really don't know about the others.
> 
> For that one, I don't know all the details because he did it himself but suffice it to say it was a horrible headache that took days of traveling around between THREE different islands and tons of stamps and signatures in various offices but within only a few weeks, I have my vivliario ygeias and syntagologio, which are how insurance claims are paid in Greece. For this he needed a bunch of photos of me as well as our certificate of familial status. I gave him copies of my passport and res. permit and I have no idea if he used them. Just be prepared for a huge huge headache. It doesn't cost anything (except in his case, multiple hotels and ferries), and he got the whole thing done in a very short time.
> 
> So where do I stand now?
> 
> I have obtained a marriage license in Athens, been legally married in a civil ceremony on a Greek island, opened an oikogeneiaki merida in the city where my husband is a citizen, made an official change of personal status with the government in Athens, and been added to my husband's public health insurance policy. Separately from that, on May 12, I took the state Greek language proficiency exam (level 4) and the certificate from this will be added to my file for work privileges and eventual citizenship application.
> 
> Still to do is to apply for my residence permit on the basis of being the spouse of an EU citizen. This is a 5 year residence permit that will give me the right to live in, work in, and travel freely into and out of Greece for the next 5 years. I cannot apply for this until TWO MONTHS before the EXPIRATION of my previous residence permit.
> 
> My previous residence permit application (applied in September) has not been approved yet - but in any case, I can't apply until two months before it expires, which will be in July. So between now and July, there's nothing more I can or have to do.
> 
> When July rolls around, I will need to produce:
> 
> - certificate of familial status
> - copy of my passport ID page AND residence permit page (notarized by a lawyer)
> - my vivliario ygeias
> - copy of my husband's state ID (notarized by a notary public/KEP)
> - 4 passport photos
> - filled out application for a residence permit
> 
> I think that's all - and there's no fee to apply. I will of course post more as the process evolves.
> 
> I really do hope that someone out there finds this useful. I don't know if all of this is detailed anywhere online - I've looked and never found it anywhere.


Hello! Can you tell me more about the change in status? My husband and I were married a few weeks ago and I don't think we did this part. A couple weeks ago I called and asked the American Embassy if I needed to file anything with them, they said NO. Only if we move back to the states we will need to file our marriage then.


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## Baby Firefly

wka said:


> I recall from when I did it that they wanted to see a final divorce decree (or whatever it's called) if divorced. I never understood how that could be acceptable since who's to say that you haven't remarried someone else in the interim - but they never say you should also have a document saying you're currently unmarried, at least not when I did it. Don't you have a piece of paper from when your divorce was finalized? You'll probably need to have it officially translated but I doubt you'd need anything further unless they've updated the law recently.


I realize this is an older post, but just went through this so I can tell you what they asked for. Yes, the Original Stamped divorce decree  and this needs the Apostille stamp. I also went to my city's Court house office and asked for a paper verifying that I have not applied for a marriage license or been remarried. I think that was about $5.00. Both the divorce decree and court house paper had to be translated to Greek. If you have children/custody involved in your divorce decree, and its possible to have these translated in USA by the Greek Embassy I would highly recommend this. My situation with this and the translator in Athens was an absolute nightmare.
PS Thank you WKA for your original post on your experience getting married in Greece. This was the most helpful information on the web. It helped me tremendously!


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## SRuth

wka said:


> Don't know, we did ours the next morning.
> This one I can't answer. I haven't had to prove my marital status outside Greece so I haven't had to do this. If you figure it out, let us know how you do it.
> )


Well... I am married! We were fortunate enough to have great support from his mother, and she lives in Athens (which made the entire process that much easier- and quicker!)

We were married yesterday, and as far as all the paper work goes for 'declaring our marriage' in the 40 day time period, it is already done. And the copies of the documents are already handed in to the translation department at Foreign Affairs with the HAGS/apostille stamp and being translated in to English, so we can start our permit for London (where my _husband is a student and where we live_

But the one question I couldn't find on the internet, a question on this forum, and that took a dozen phone calls from his mom to find out: Where can we get these documents stamped with HAGS/apostille authentication/stamp for international use.

Well you can do it for free, and fairly quickly in person if you are able to get to the Decentralized Administration office: Katechaki avenue 56, floor2

Now we can have our marriage count in other countries and have our marriage documents valid for our move


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## Judithjas

Wow! Bless you both. Perseverance is the key. I am contemplating the same thing here in Mexico, so thank you so much for your information.


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