# Moving to Greece:help wanted from someone who has made the move



## KefiClaire (Jan 9, 2013)

Hi! Just wondered if someone who has recently made the move to Greece would mind giving me a few tips on the basics and requirements for an EU citizen moving there. Many thanks


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## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Being an EU citizen you are permitted to move to Greece without any major issues. You will however need to gain a residency certificate from the local police station within the first 3 months.
Other things to do:-
Open a Greek bank account
Obtain a AFM (tax number).....
a useful organisation is KEP (something like citizens advice in UK) that can guide you.

You have not said if you intend to work in Greece, but a word of caution...the current climate will make it extremely difficult for you to find work. If you can not support yourself 100% please think again about your move at this time.


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## KefiClaire (Jan 9, 2013)

Thanks the grocer. My husband is semi-retired and intends to become fully retired when and if we move and has sufficient pension to do so. We will have enough money behind us to take time from work (for myself), but I would like to find work during the summer months to pay for day-to-day living costs. I'm going to look into this further when we visit in May and we're probably looking at 2015 for the move date and hopefully by then the economy will be a little more stable. Any other advice much appreciated. Is it difficult to obtain a bank account? I've read books on people who have made the move and understand in the past it could be somewhat tricky.


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## The Grocer (May 30, 2010)

Hi again,
No bank account is easy...you will need passport and I would suggest a bank like EUROBANK which has an easy on line site so you can access your account, transfers, set up DD etc. It also has an English site!
We bought here in 2005, built our house and moved here more or less F/T in 2008, although we also keep a small home in UK. If you can afford to do that I would recommend that be the best action. Having a UK address can be a major asset to some things.....also keep a UK bank account and therefore you can move money when the rate is right etc.


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## KefiClaire (Jan 9, 2013)

Great thanks again!!!


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

KefiClaire said:


> Great thanks again!!!


hi just to ask you where you intend to reside when you move here in greece.I dont believe jobs will be easier in 2 years time,perhaps in touristy places where your english would be useful to an employer.But remember the pay would be very low now and the greek people are likely to be employed first.2014 is set to be even worse than 2013 as more cuts are expected into the future.Teaching english used to be an option but now money is so short.I think you should probably budget on only your husbands finances.Its better to be completely honest with people about the situation here otherwise you may find yourself with a shock.Your out-goings will be less much better weather great fresh food from open markets and if you have a garden you can grow so much yourself.Seven months of the year you can swim.But can you aford private medical insurance because the state medical is all over,and I had 3 ops here but I went private as my husband is coverd in his job.Many state docters are of course great but they poor things are up against a disintegrating system.So the prioities are--are you covered somewhere medically as, if you do not reside in uk you cannot just turn up wanting medical care.There are private diagnostic centres everywhere which have reasonable prices no waiting.You need to plan well.


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## KefiClaire (Jan 9, 2013)

Thanks Concertina, I knew there'd be an awful lot to consider and it's really helpful hearing all these things from someone who has first hand experience. It may be an option just to move for a few years as an experience rather than indefinitely. We're going to look at some properties this year; one of our friends is a builder and his brother-in-law has also offered to show us some properties to give us an idea. To get the best for our money we are looking at Kalithies village in Rhodes.


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## concertina (Oct 18, 2012)

hi just want to say that l didnt intend to put you off your dreams,you will probably do very well in greece and you can.We can all pull back on our monthly expences photovoltic hot water etc..spend less where we can.It takes a while to adjust to a new country other culture and peoples ways but go with the flow.Administation things can be tricky but I tend to say thankyou l million times in offices and smile from ear to ear they love that act as if you adore them,just to get that paper in my hand.greeks get very loud and sound angry very often in offices its nothing personal then they give you want you want(usually).I met a couple of guys once at athens airport british they lived all the time on samos island near turkry, they loved it, and didnt want to return to rainy depressing old england.And somestimes my husband and I swim in november in a beautiful sea fed lake, scenic,no one else around we laugh and say we are in paradise. So who knows go with the flow.I wish you to have a happy time here,best wishes. Always remember nowhere is utopia,some things we have to ignore.


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## KefiClaire (Jan 9, 2013)

Thanks Concertina!!! You didn't put me off but I just want to be realistic also; with anything in life there's good times and hard times. I've been travelling to Greece for 37 years now for holidays and have a good idea about the way of life and people. I have quite a few books that are true stories of ow people went on when moving to Greece also. I'm looking for an uncomplicated way of life and whenever possible, as I am a chef, I like to produce everything from scratch at home. I learnt the alphabet when I was 16 and am generally good with languages so I do feel I won't have a problem with that if we do move to Greece. Once again thank you for your kind words. I loved the comments about the big smiles when dealing with bureaucracy; I've worked in retail and adapted the same attitude when dealing with awkward complaining customers and you soon win them round! Best wishes to you also!


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## Corfuadvisor (Jan 18, 2013)

Hi I have lived in Corfu, Greece for 19 years and things have changed a lot in the last couple of years. Many Brits who retired here are not finding it too difficult to survive on pensions. My husband is disabled and on a basic pension that is paid in the UK but we were still taxed on our assumed income. That is the amount of money the Greek tax office guess you need to keep a car and house and live here, in our case, even though we do not earn an income in Greece. There are also taxes to pay if you buy property here, both before and after the house becomes yours.

We are covered by IKA the insurance for health because of my husbands disability but we often have to pay in full for meds and doctors because of the argument between the government and the chemists and doctors over unpaid bills.

I would say shop around for property and look at all your options, browse through the sites and compare prices, don't just form an opinion about your friends properties.

Before you contemplate work you need to know the ins and outs of the law like having to pay taxes and insurance contributions even if you get very little in return for paying them. Insurance contributions are quite expensive in Greece.


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## KefiClaire (Jan 9, 2013)

Ok thanks for that Corfuadvisor, very sound advice.


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