Applying for a Schengen Visa to Greece

You will have to apply for a visa when travelling to Greece if you are:

• A citizen of a non-EU country that has not reached a visa liberalisation agreement with the EU.
• A citizen of a non-EU country that has reached a visa liberalisation agreement with the EU, but you were rejected from entering Greece or any other Schengen country visa-free.

You are exempt from applying for a visa to enter Greece if you fall into any of the following categories:

• You are a citizen of an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland.
• You hold a passport from the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, or any other country with a visa liberalisation agreement with the EU.
• You possess a valid residence permit from any country within the Schengen area.

For those exempt from a visa, check out the required documents for entry into Greece. It’s always good to be prepared!

• Airport Transit visa. You will be issued this visa if you need to transit via Greece to your main destination.
• Tourist visa. This visa is issued if you are planning to explore Greece as a tourist.
• Visitor visa. You can apply for this visa if you are visiting a friend or family member in the country.
• Schengen visa for medical visits. If you need medical treatment in Greece for a short period, you can apply for this visa.
• Schengen visa for cultural events, sports, film crews. This visa is issued if you are planning to attend a cultural event, such as a festival or sporting event, or if you are a film crew member using Greece as a shooting location.
• Business visa. You will be issued this type of visa if you are planning to attend a business conference or meet with a potential business partner in Greece.
• Schengen visa for official visits. This visa is issued to holders of official or diplomatic passports if they will be visiting the country in an official capacity.
• Short term study visa. You can apply for this visa if you plan on participating in short-term study programs, such as language courses.

• Employment visa. You can apply for this visa if you have a job offer or a work contract in Greece.
• Seasonal worker visa. With this visa, you can only apply to do seasonal work such as farming or agriculture.
• Working holiday visa. This visa is a mix of a work visa and a tourist visa issued to young people (between ages 18 and 35) from specific countries, so not everyone is eligible to apply for this.
• Student visa. A student visa is issued for a long-term academic pursuit, such as completing a Bachelor’s or master’s degree.
• Family reunification visa. This visa is issued to family members (usually a spouse or child) who have a family member living in Greece and want to join them.
• Digital Nomad visa. For those who work remotely for a non-Greek employer and want to live in Greece.
• Greece Golden visa: Specifically designed for individuals seeking residency through investment, offering a pathway to Greek citizenship.

• If you are a resident of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, or the United Arab Emirates you should submit your application at VFS Global in your country.
  • Residents of Kyrgyzstan may also apply at the GVC center in Astana, Kazakhstan.
  • Residents of Palestinian territories may also apply at the Greek Consulate General in Jerusalem.
• If you are a resident of Armenia, Belarus, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Nepal, Philippines, Russia, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, or South Africa, you should submit your application at GVC in your country.
  • Residents of Minsk and residents of Hrodna in Belarus, may apply for a Greece visa at the Lithuanian visa processing center in Minsk and Hrodna. VFS Global handles Lithuanian visa applications in these cities.
  • Residents of Macau should apply at the Portugese Consulate General in Macau.
  • Residents of South Africa who are living in Pretoria may apply for a Greece at the Greek Embassy in Pretoria.
  • Residents of Uzbekistan may also submit their application at the Italian Embassy in Tashkent.
• If you are a resident of Tajikistan, you should submit your application at VisaMetric.
• Greece Schengen visa applications from all other countries can be submitted at the Greek Embassy or Consulate in your country.

If Greece is the only country in the Schengen Area you plan to visit, it’s straightforward – apply at the Greek embassy/consulate or the authorized Visa Application Center (VAC) in your country of residence.

However, if your journey includes Greece and at least one more Schengen state, apply at the Greek embassy/consulate/VAC in your country of residence only if:

• You will spend more days in Greece than in the other Schengen countries.
• You will spend an equal amount of time in each country, but you are starting your Schengen adventure by entering through Greece.

For more in-depth details, please refer to: How to Choose the Right Embassy/Consulate/VAC to Submit the Visa Application

Visit the GVCW website and choose your country of application; only nationalities of specific countries are able to fill out the form via the GVCW website:

Then, to start your visa application, you must either sign in to your existing account or create a new one if you don’t have one already. Note that during your initial login, the system will ask you to select a Visa Application Center (VAC) for Greece based on your residential address.

Once you’ve finished filling out your application form online, you need to print it out and bring it, along with the necessary documents, to your appointment at the VAC.

After you submit your application at the designated application center, you can track your application using your passport number and application ID, which will be stamped on your visa payment receipt. Please note that this option is available to only those who can fill out the application form online.

Depending on where you live, you can schedule an appointment in one of the following:

• Global Visa Center World if you live in Armenia, Belarus, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (GVC in Astana), Libya, Nepal, Philippines, Russia, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, or South Africa. Residents of East Jerusalem, residents of Pretoria in South Africa, may apply at the respective Greek Embassy or Consulate General in their city.
• VFS Global if you live in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, or the United Arab Emirates.
• VisaMetric if you live in Tajikistan.
• The Portugese Consualte General if you live in Macau.
• The Italian Consulate General if you live in Tashkent.
• The Lithuanian visa processing center in Minsk and Hrodna, if you live in the regions near these cities.
• Greek Embassy or Consulate if you live somewhere else; the appointment should be done by email.

You should book an appointment with the Greek consular authority at least 15 days before your planned trip but no earlier than 6 months before your intended travel date.

It may take from weeks to months to be able to find an open slot for your appointment. This depends on the season when you apply (usually, summer and spring are the busiest seasons). This is why you should look into scheduling an appointment well in advance.

Scheduling an appointment for a German visa application is free of charge. However, there are other fees associated with the application process, which we have outlined below in this article.

To reschedule or cancel your appointment, you need to contact your visa application centre and see how they operate. Some VFS offices allow you to cancel an appointment but not reschedule, while others only allow you to reschedule but not cancel.

Either way, you can only reschedule or cancel your appointment a minimum of 24 hours prior to your appointment.

Travel Medical Insurance is compulsory for Schengen visas under Regulation (EU) 2009/810 of the European Parliament.

Greek visa applicants can obtain visa insurance from either Europ Assistance or vti.travel, a European insurance comparison website, comparing insurance policies of AXA, Allianz, Europ Assistance and Mutuaide.

These insurance providers are acknowledged and accepted by Greek Embassies and Consulates worldwide. Moreover, you can cancel the insurance at no cost by submitting proof of Greek visa rejection.

To obtain a Schengen visa for Greece, you must have a minimum of €50 per day in your bank account. If you plan to stay in Greece for up to five days, you’ll need €300. However, for minor visa applicants, these amounts are reduced by 50%.

On the day of your appointment, you have to submit your biometric information, i.e., your fingerprints and biometric photographs. You may be exempt from the biometric requirement if you have applied for a Schengen visa sometime in the last 5 years. The visa application centre will be able to use the information you already provided.

You’ll need to pay a €90 Greece visa application fee during your appointment. Payment can be made in the currency of your home country. It’s essential to contact the embassy to verify accepted payment methods.

If you’re applying through Global Visa Center World, you will also need to pay an additional service fee, usually around €30, depending on the currency exchange. On the other hand, applications submitted through the VFS Global may vary in their service fees.

Payment methods through the visa application center may vary depending on your country of application. Be sure to inquire about accepted payment methods when scheduling your appointment.

When you visit the designated appointment for your application, you will be required to attend a short visa interview. Here, you must answer a series of questions related to your trip to Greece, how long you will be staying, what you plan on doing, and questions of similar nature. Be sure to keep calm and answer the questions truthfully.

Yes, someone else can apply for a Schengen visa on your behalf. However, this is only allowed if you have authorized them to do so and if you are not required to submit your biometric data.

This option is valid only if you are a national of 17 countries who are eligible to apply with GVWC. After you submit your Greece visa application, on the receipt of your visa fee, you will have an application code which you can use together with your passport number to track the progress of your application.

If you receive a positive answer on your Greece visa application, you will be notified by the designated application centre on how and when to collect your passport. You can then safely travel to Greece for your trip.

The Greek consular authorities decide the duration of your allowed stay; visas are issued for a maximum of 90 days but may also be issued for a shorter period.

Visas can be issued for single, double, or multiple entries.

If you receive a negative answer from Greek consular authorities, you will receive a notification detailing the reasons for your visa refusal and what you can do next— you have two options:

• Appeal against the decision — the instructions on how to proceed are available in your decision letter, but you must submit an appeal request to the embassy/consulate who made the final decision.
• Re-apply for the visa. You can resubmit your application but make sure you address the reasons for your denial to ensure this time your application is successful.

Visa fees are non-refundable. Once you have paid the visa fee and submitted your application, it is impossible to obtain a refund, regardless of whether your visa is approved or denied.

A Schengen Greece visa is valid for short stays of up to 90 days within 180 days. But sometimes, depending on what the consulate decides, it might be shorter. You can use the Schengen calculator to count your days correctly.

You can extend your Schengen visa, but for only a few specific reasons. The Migration Department within your district where you are staying in Greece is in charge of visa extensions. Please make sure to contact them, as they can tell you how to submit a request for an extension and which documents you need.

If you overstay your visa, you may face consequences such as fines, deportation, or being banned from entering the Schengen Area in the future. It’s essential to adhere to the terms of your visa and leave the country before it expires to avoid any legal issues.

Yes, you can visit other Schengen countries with a Greece visa as long as it’s still valid and you haven’t exceeded the maximum duration of stay allowed in the Schengen Area. Just ensure that your primary destination is Greece and that your visit to other Schengen countries is secondary.

If you meet certain criteria and fulfill entry requirements, you may be able to travel to non-Schengen countries with a Greece Schengen visa. However, this is subject to the regulations of the specific non-Schengen country you intend to visit, so it’s essential to verify their entry requirements beforehand.

No, you cannot work in Greece with a Schengen visa. Schengen visas are issued for short-term tourism, business, or family visits. If you wish to work in Greece, you must apply for a specific work visa , which typically requires a job offer from a Greek employer and approval from the relevant authorities.

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