# Moving to live in Greece



## mimita (Mar 12, 2010)

I want to know your opinions and suggestions on moving to live in Greece. I know that currently there is a financial crisis and things are not looking too great in Greece, in terms of unemployment and interest rates etc. However, my partner and I have been planning to move to live in Greece for a while. We are hopeful that things will change for the better, and are planning to make our move in the next 3 to 5 years. We are both 25 and currently live in Toronto, Canada (he is a Greek-Canadian). He is an electrician with about 3 years of professional experience with a big electrical company in Toronto. I have a bachelor degree in Business Economics, and I am currently working in a mid-size trading company as an administrator while also completeing a Masters in International Economics. I speak French, Spanish, Bulgarian, English and some Greek (currently taking greek courses). We both have family members in Athens, and visit Greece once every year.
I would like to get your suggestions on how smoothly do you think we can transition to live in Athens, and how challenging will it be to find employment in our related fields.
Thank you!


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi mimita and welcome to the forum!

My first question to you is: does your Greek-Canadian partner have Greek citizenship, and has he also fulfilled his required military service in the Greek army? If not, has he served in the military of any NATO country? For your relocation to be successful, he must hold citizenship and have completed his military service, which at his age is considerable (close to a year I believe).

Second: are you or will you be legally married to one another by the time you come here, or within the first 30 days of your arrival in Greece? If not, it is HIGHLY unlikely that you yourself will be able to stay (unless you marry a different Greek hehehe!)

Honestly the biggest issue for you both will be these legal residence questions. Without a legal residence permit, you cannot stay in Greece for more than 90 out of each 180 day block. If you have questions about this, please ask, as I have been through some of it and am currently going through it now.

As far as employment goes. I'm not going to tell you that I know 40 electricians and how they're doing - but we are friends with a couple of which the husband is an electrician, and they do very well. They live on our island and he has plenty of work and they own a small but beautiful home (they are in their early 30s). He's Greek, of course, with a Greek degree. I don't know how easily it is to get your partner's degree recognized in Greece, but that will be important. You can't just show up with claims to be an electrician obviously! If he has to go through the ΔΟΑΤΑΠ process, I know from a friend's experience that it can take upwards of two years (and my friend went to Oxford, so it could be even longer for a less-well-known institution to be recognized). I have to do this myself but haven't had the courage to get going on it yet as the thought of it gives me nightmares!!

As far as you... you MIGHT decide to get your degree recognized through ΔΟΑΤΑΠ as it can help find work in your field, however, I do not think it would be necessary as you would be hired by a private company that be able to recognize your degree if it wanted to. The main problem for you will be that I cannot imagine working in the "business world" in Greece without being fluent in Greek (with only a few very specific exceptions where you are working for a multinational corporation or something like that). Personally after 11 years studying Greek, including 4 years of 5-day/week classes (I started at age 18, yikes I can't believe it's been that long!!! Yes, I am getting old!) I am STILL learning and my fiance corrects me ALL the time! It is an extremely difficult language once you get past the basics, but IT CAN BE DONE. I hate to be a negative Nancy and I'm seriously not trying to be. Seriously, you CAN become a fluent Greek speaker, but it will take the better part of a decade. Okay now I should clarify: living in Greece will speed it up some (I only lived in Greece for 2 years during the 11 years I've been learning Greek). But be prepared for some serious coursework / studying time. It's not a language you just "pick up" especially if you want to be literate enough for the business world.

I just noticed that you are also working on a master's degree. If you do decide to get it officially recognized, you will need to get your bachelor's degree recognized first and then re-do the process for your master's - they do them one at a time so that can double the amount of time it takes. 

As I'm an American (similar laws to Canadians) and am going through the same stuff, I would be very happy to answer any additional questions you have, as well as I can. I dreamed of moving to Greece starting when I was 14, and although it took me 14 more years to do it, I have NO regrets at all. If this is your dream, YOU CAN DO IT.


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## scoobie (May 25, 2009)

mimita said:


> I want to know your opinions and suggestions on moving to live in Greece. I know that currently there is a financial crisis and things are not looking too great in Greece, in terms of unemployment and interest rates etc. However, my partner and I have been planning to move to live in Greece for a while. We are hopeful that things will change for the better, and are planning to make our move in the next 3 to 5 years. We are both 25 and currently live in Toronto, Canada (he is a Greek-Canadian). He is an electrician with about 3 years of professional experience with a big electrical company in Toronto. I have a bachelor degree in Business Economics, and I am currently working in a mid-size trading company as an administrator while also completeing a Masters in International Economics. I speak French, Spanish, Bulgarian, English and some Greek (currently taking greek courses). We both have family members in Athens, and visit Greece once every year.
> I would like to get your suggestions on how smoothly do you think we can transition to live in Athens, and how challenging will it be to find employment in our related fields.
> Thank you!


The financial crisis is in many countries in Europe but for sure Greece is getting the biggest press on it and it seems unlike the Uk and others no one wants to buy their debt. The fact you are looking to move in about 3 to 5 years then things will have improved by then. You have family here so that is a huge support system for you and it would be a good idea if you can take a long vacation here during the next few years so you know you would enjoy living here rather than just for holidays. As far as your careers go, there is a high unemployment rate currently, though there are still jobs available especially in the summer months around Greece. I would think your family in Athens would be the best people to monitor the situation for you as far as work goes. You could write to companies in your field to get an idea of how you stand there. I am sure by the time you arrive your Greek will be to a good standard which will help you alot as far as work goes.
PS , Canada is a fantastic country also, really beautiful.


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## mimita (Mar 12, 2010)

wka said:


> Hi mimita and welcome to the forum!
> 
> My first question to you is: does your Greek-Canadian partner have Greek citizenship, and has he also fulfilled his required military service in the Greek army? If not, has he served in the military of any NATO country? For your relocation to be successful, he must hold citizenship and have completed his military service, which at his age is considerable (close to a year I believe).
> 
> ...


Hi scoobie,

Thank you so much for this valuable info. 
To answer you questions: 1. He has the citizenship, but has not served in any sort of army. We looked in to this a about six months ago when we were in greece and they told us that as he was not born in Greece he would be required to serve a six month oeriod only. 
2. We will most likely be married by the time we move. However i hold a bulgarian citizenship (part of EU) which as far as I know will allow me to reside, but has some limitations on working in the country.

As for the language I am somewhat frightened of it myself (i can carry on very basic conversations at this point). And that will probably be the biggest barrier for me. I have registered for a two month immersion course in athens this spring and I hope this will get me going.
And I would like to get our degree's recognized through ΔΟΑΤΑΠ if it really makes a difference when jobhunting. How long does this process take?


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## wka (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi Mimita,

Okay a few things - first, your partner WILL need to fulfill his military obligation before he's allowed to stay in Greece. You, on the other hand, since you have EU citizenship, have a much easier time. I assumed you were Canadian. As an EU citizen, you should have a relatively easy time - however, I'm not the one to ask for details, but there are a LOT of knowledgeable EU citizens living in Greece on this board. I can only help with the non-EU citizen stuff 

As far as ΔΟΑΤΑΠ, it is required for public sector jobs and for jobs with certification requirements - and it can take from 1 to 2 years. I haven't done it yet. I wouldn't bother for you but I think your partner has to (I am NOT sure though).


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