# Canadian girl wants to move to greece!!



## KaylaErin

Hey all, I want to move to greece!! ... Legally. How do I go about doing this? I am so confused because I've heard so many conflicting ideas. I am Canadian and have nothing in particular to specialize in there. What do I do to be able to work and stay there legally? Do I get a travel visa? How can I renew it when it's up? Will I be able to work on a travel visa? Can I stay more than 90 days? Please tell me anything I'll need to know!
if u can help me....THANK YOU!!


----------



## wka

You need to get a Schengen visa from the Greek embassy in Canada and express your intention to them of applying for a residence permit with the right to work in Greece; they will give you a long list of documents you need to take to the visa interview. Don't be too discouraged - it is possible, I have done it three times, but it is a lot more complicated than most people are willing to deal with. You cannot work on a tourist visa. You cannot stay more than 90 days unless you have completed an application for a residence permit and have the paper to prove that (which you do in Greece within one month of arrival). Renewal is not the hard part - the hard part is getting the initial residence permit. You have to have a really good reason to get it - and "wanting to live in Greece" isn't on their list of "really good reasons." I sincerely wish you good luck - finding a job in Greece is the basic first step to applying for residency and this is not a good time to be looking for a job here.


----------



## KaylaErin

Thank you!! What would be "a really good reason" to get approved for a residence permit, besides marriage? And what type of requirements do I need to get that type of visa? Can just anyone get it? 
Its too bad I can't get residence just because I really want to be there, it's a beautiful place with beautiful people and so much culture. It's so much easier to move to Canada since Canada is multi-cultural, and therefore I have absolutely no idea how to go about doing this. I really do appreciate your help.


----------



## wka

A really good reason would be getting signed to a Greek sports team, or being an archaeologist with the Canadian Institute in Athens, or investing to start a new company in Greece, something like that. 

Getting married to an EU citizen (not just Greek) puts you into an entirely different category - your "rights" don't change, but your new spouse - as an EU citizen - has the right to have you live with him and therefore he has the right to get you a residence permit. I'm oversimplifying but that is basically the concept. 

Unfortunately, there are very few "needed careers" in Greece. There are already far too many doctors, lawyers, teachers, computer programmers, etc, in the country. 

So, to answer your question, no, not just anyone can get a residence permit. You will need the backing of your employer in Greece, who will have to prove that no EU citizen is either qualified or willing to take the position (which usually means they have to put an ad in the newspaper advertising the position). 

I have elsewhere on this forum posted a detailed description of what is needed at the visa interview for someone being vetted by the Greek Embassy in Washington, DC. It will depend on the embassy or consulate with which you work and bear in mind I most recently did an application of that sort in 2009 (I am now married to a Greek citizen so I fall under a different heading - it is also a lot of paperwork but my husband has great legal protection as a citizen). I will not re-type the post, just read it here: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/gr...eece/30698-esl-teacher-her-way-her-dream.html , especially post #8.


----------



## KaylaErin

Wow, that really leaves me no options. I don't know what to do now. Hmmm. What if I stayed in Greece for the allowed time period of 90 days, and then left Greece for a couple days, and then went back for another 90 days, and so on? I'd just keep renewing my visa and tell them I want to stay longer to learn about Greece?


----------



## Crawford

KaylaErin said:


> Wow, that really leaves me no options. I don't know what to do now. Hmmm. What if I stayed in Greece for the allowed time period of 90 days, and then left Greece for a couple days, and then went back for another 90 days, and so on? I'd just keep renewing my visa and tell them I want to stay longer to learn about Greece?



Do you speak any Greek? 

Greece is in a dire financial crisis at the moment with people out of work (and with further monetary restictions being imposed more are likely), so if you don't speak Greek what work are you likely to get to support yourself? Waitressing/bar tender? - don't you think there are plenty of Greeks to do this? 

I would seriously consider getting a decent job in Canada, saving some money and then taking a vacation to Greece, before you do anything else.


----------



## parosred

*Canadian girl to Greece*

These guys are all correct.

I am Canadian and have residency permit here took four months, I had to invest alot of money(min 60K Euros in the bank in Greece, about 100k Cad) to have a Independent Economic activity permit.

You are better off in Canada and visit here. Unemployment is over 15 % here. 

Another thing, dont get caught living or working illegal in Greece, stay home, take some good advise.

If you are persistent, call the Greek consulate and they will tell you what it takes. it isnt easy.

I am selling my bar if you have the cash 55 K Euros in Paros.


----------



## KaylaErin

Thank you for your advice, I knew it wouldn't be easy but didn't think it would be this hard either! 
I'm allowed to stay 90 days in a 130 day period. Is there a way I can stat 90 days in Greece, travel Europe 3 months , and come back to Greece for another 3 months, and so on? 
Is there a visa that will allow me to work here and there while I travel?


----------



## parosred

KaylaErin said:


> Thank you for your advice, I knew it wouldn't be easy but didn't think it would be this hard either!
> I'm allowed to stay 90 days in a 130 day period. Is there a way I can stat 90 days in Greece, travel Europe 3 months , and come back to Greece for another 3 months, and so on?
> Is there a visa that will allow me to work here and there while I travel?


Call your local Greek Consulate. By the way Greece is in Europe, you would have to go to Asia, anyway dont waste your time asking here, a number of people have told you to call the Greek Consulate.


----------



## Crawford

Your 90 day visa (for travelling) allows you 90 days in Europe, so your idea of staying in Greece for 90 days and then going to 'Europe' and returning to Greece is a non starter.

No there is no visa for you to travel and work at the same time.

You either get a work visa (sponsored by some employer) or your get a travel visa.


----------



## srider

Looks like you are stuck in the same situation as me! Where in Greece are you wanting to go? Have you got a potential employeer already?


----------



## wka

Kayla to answer your most recent question, about staying in Greece for 3 months, then traveling outside the Schengen Treaty Area for 3 months, then re-entering Greece - YES you can definitely do this, however you can't work for any of that time. Keep in mind that the Schengen Area covers a lot of Europe so you would have to go pretty far away to spend those 3 months "in exile." I imagine it would take a lot of money to do that though. 

Getting an actual residence permit IS doable, people (including me) are just being honest that it is very difficult - but you can do it. Before I met my husband, I got residence permits for Greece two separate times. It is important to educate yourself and prepare. And definitely learn Greek if you don't already speak it.


----------



## parosred

Call the Greek Consulate in Canada, they will tell you all the hoops you have to jump through.


----------



## KaylaErin

Srider, I want to go to an island in Greece. Maybe Spetses. It's beautiful there and close to the mainland as well. No employer as of yet, I was hoping to gather some opinions first. Where do u want to go?

Wka, thank you for giving me hope haha. How did you acquire residence 2x before u met your husband? On what basis did they grant it to you?


----------



## kingrulzuk

Hiya kayla
why you so mad about greece?
The best option for you is to find a european guy like me and get married
it will give you right to travel and work any where in europe

i wud like to go to greece to soon


----------



## KaylaErin

Haha because Greece is amazing! Like paradise. So much culture and so much passion! The ocean, the islands, the life! What's not to love... Besides the fact that I'm not allowed to stay there, lol. Marrying a European does not grant me rights to stay and work in Greece unless that man has Greek citizenship


----------



## wka

Actually, Kayla, you're wrong about the Europeans - if you marry a man who has citizenship in ANY of the EU countries, you DO get rights to work/live in Greece. However, I believe he ALSO has to live in Greece too, so you'd have to find someone who was equally in love with Greece. Much easier to just fall in love with a Greek man!!  (I'm not being facetious -- if you want to live here, work here, and experience Greece to the fullest, it's not that big of a stretch to find "the one" in the environment that you consider your own ideal. I have a hard time imagining that I could be happy married to someone who wasn't Greek and didn't share my own interest in / love for Greece.)

Not to be cynical but marrying a Greek or European citizen is definitely the best way to go about your goal of living and working in Greece.

I'll PM you about my own reasons for getting a residence permit.


----------



## kingrulzuk

see there you go.......

so now go on planty of fish and start looking for someone 
kidding heheheeeee


----------



## LGK616

I thought the same thing too when I moved from Canada to Greece - but the reality is, it's only a beautiful, passionate life IF you can afford to stay here!

I've been here 8 years. Am married to a Greek (which is why I came in 2003), we have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and no future for her here. So we will most likely pack it up and go back to Canada. And we live on the mainland - Thessaloniki.

You could try and get a student visa as long as you have applied to attend a Greek school (for example, Aristotelos University in Thessaloniki and apply at the School for Modern Greek). You can take a 1 month intensive course (which I did), or a longer course - see if you like it here BEFORE you make the commitment to move here. It's a VERY hard life if you don't have the means to support yourself.

Good luck, however you decide. Just don't get married for the sake of having EU status for goodness sake!!! Thankfully, I had EU status PRIOR to meeting my husband as I was born in the UK but was raised in Canada.


----------



## KaylaErin

Thanks Lgk616. School there would be a
Good idea as well as a good reason to stay. Although u may not work on a travel visa. Ive heard, yes economy is bad, but it will be easy(so to speak) for me to aquire a job as a fluent English speaking person as a waitress or in a hotel, because companies prefer it for high tourist places. Is this true and how do I go about finding such a job?


----------



## wka

A few things: you would still need to speak Greek. English speakers = theoretically everyone in Greece who has graduated from high school. (English is taught in Greece from elementary through high school. People who don't speak it are the ones that didn't pay attention or can't remember, or who are too old to remember. But MOST Greeks speak PLENTY of English to be able to do a job like that.) Being a waitress is not going to get you a work permit - you need something special to make you stand out. In the current economic climate I would think it would be extraordinarily difficult to find such a job for more than 3-4 months per year. Even Greeks with multiple foreign languages and college degrees in Tourism and Hospitality are not getting hired for these jobs. Furthermore, you'd have to be prepared to survive on the salary which would probably be around €600/month after taxes. In Athens, a small apartment runs about €350/month. On an island, about €190-320/month.


----------



## LGK616

You are a bit late for the 2011 season as they start hiring in January/February for the summer coming. There may be some who are still looking but generally, you are too late. Now you will have to go where you want to be and walk around asking for work.

It is helpful if you speak another language and at the moment the preferred 2nd languages in Greece are German, Italian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Russian. Native English is not so important anymore as most Greeks do speak it so they can hire Greeks, but the hoteliers are really looking for these other speakers I mentioned.

You would be better trying an island in the Cyclades or the Dodekinisa as the tourist season lasts from about April to November. On the West coast (by Corfu) and in Halkidki (near Thessaloniki), the season is generally May till September.

You could think about being a tourist rep with say Thomas Cook or another travel agency that has charters to Greece often. Try:

Portal for Work Abroad, Study Abroad, Cultural Travel and Living Overseas
Jobs: Holiday Rep in Greece (1)

Also check out Thomas Cook/TUI


----------



## wka

Here on the island where I live (Cyclades), they are not looking for workers who don't have work permits already (citizens or EU citizens or foreigners with work permits). They won't sponsor a foreigner, it's not worth the effort. In touristy places like this, you don't want to come in January to look for work, the employers aren't on the island. If you were able to work legally, you'd want to show up in April or May.


----------



## laurentboye

*move to europe*

hi,

are you still looking to move to europe?


----------



## backpacker44

Did you have any luck with the job hunt? I'm currently doing the same thing. I leave january 15th...


----------



## LGK616

backpacker44 said:


> Did you have any luck with the job hunt? I'm currently doing the same thing. I leave january 15th...


Are you going back to Canada?


----------



## backpacker44

Oh sorry... When I made my account i accidentally put that I am an expat in Greece... I thought it was where I wanted to go haha. No I leave for Greece January 15th


----------



## LGK616

backpacker44 said:


> Oh sorry... When I made my account i accidentally put that I am an expat in Greece... I thought it was where I wanted to go haha. No I leave for Greece January 15th


Good luck!! I've been here for 9 years almost, married a Greek, had a child in those years and we are leaving to go back to Canada. No future for our daughter here. 

There's a pattern - the removal companies are happy as they have never been busier moving people OUT of Greece. I hope things turn around for this country and I wish anyone staying good luck. Taxes are UNREAL here and there are more to come. They are squeezing blood from stones - which is why we are leaving. 

I hope you have a job in line once you arrive? And I hope you don't say teaching English! There's quite a long que of people teaching English or wanting to. These days - it's not as in dire need as they kids get it public schools. The languages to learn and teach are the Balkan languages or Russian or German or Chinese. English is so easy to come by here in Greece.


----------



## backpacker44

Haha no job yet... And definitely no English teaching.. I'd go to Asia for that. I learnt within my first day of being in Greece the first time that most people speak English. I'm learning Greek and thinking of taking up German just because it seems like there are a lot of jobs for German speakers in Greece.


----------



## LGK616

backpacker44 said:


> Haha no job yet... And definitely no English teaching.. I'd go to Asia for that. I learnt within my first day of being in Greece the first time that most people speak English. I'm learning Greek and thinking of taking up German just because it seems like there are a lot of jobs for German speakers in Greece.


You are absolutely right!!! Good for you for learning German as well. You can go further with that under your belt!!!

Where are you moving to? If you are moving to Thessaloniki (where I am from) and able to get to Halkidiki next season, the hotels are always looking for people who speak German or Russian or Bulgarian or Serbian. For German, the Sani Resort or Porto Carras specifically. 

In Athens, there is a company called Booking.com: 166441 hotels worldwide. Book your hotel now! and they tend to hire someone who speaks Greek and German or another language that is not English. Plus many other companies in Athens.

The islands are a different story - depending on the island you go to! Corfu always needs Italian speakers, Rhodes does look for English speakers, etc.

Good luck to you!


----------



## seaskys

You can come on a 90 day tourist visa, choose a place like Samos or ******, that are near Turkey. Well before you 90 days are up take a day trip to Turkey. You get another 90 days,
try to find a Greek husband! I spent over 15 years leaving and seeing other places. It wasn't easy then and is more difficult now as you can't go to Bulgaria or any other EU member. I readily found work teaching English and even managed to get a work permit from an English school, University degree required. Check the internet for teaching jobs abroad, a friend of mine found work in Turkey, Greece, and China shes a pottery instructor with a BA.


----------



## wka

> You can come on a 90 day tourist visa, choose a place like Samos or ******, that are near Turkey. Well before you 90 days are up take a day trip to Turkey. You get another 90 days,


This is wrong and is in fact dangerous misinformation. You are ONLY entitled to stay inside the Schengen Treaty Zone for 90 days out of ANY given 180 day period. "Visa runs" are completely useless and will NOT "reset the clock." Instead, you risk deportation and heavy fines. It may be true that as a Canadian, you are not under the microscope that other immigrants are, but you cannot stay here on a tourist visa by doing visa runs to non-Schengen countries. The visa run tactic has been obsolete for quite a few years now.


----------



## NikkiE

Hi KaylaErin,
I am also a Canadian living in Greece and I'd love to hear how you found moving here, if you even did! How did you find a job? Did you find the Greek people pleasant? Did you find cheap apartment rentals anywhere?
Any advice you have is greatly appreciated! 
Nikki


----------



## Doxfairy

KaylaErin said:


> Hey all, I want to move to greece!! ... Legally. How do I go about doing this? I am so confused because I've heard so many conflicting ideas. I am Canadian and have nothing in particular to specialize in there. What do I do to be able to work and stay there legally? Do I get a travel visa? How can I renew it when it's up? Will I be able to work on a travel visa? Can I stay more than 90 days? Please tell me anything I'll need to know!
> if u can help me....THANK YOU!!



Did you ever move to greece


----------

