Extension of short-term legal stay of non-EU citizen
A non-EU citizen, who entries Greece from any third country outside EU, for touristic reasons, can stay legally until at the most 90 days during a period of time of 180 days. This rule applies either a visa (type C) must be issued or not (cases of permitted stay without the obligation to issue a visa). However, there are cases when an extension of the above time limit is permitted.
These are cases of force majeure or of serious humanitarian reasons, which prevented the non-EU citizen from leaving the territory of Greece (or any other Member State, as the EU Code of Visas foresees) before the expiry of the period of validity of or the duration of stay authorised by the visa, provided the applicant has sufficient means of living and is in the position to prove the reason of force majeure or humanitarian reasons (article 5 L 4251/2014 in combination with article 33 paragraph 1 of the Code of EU Code of Visas).
The period of validity and/or the duration of stay of an issued visa may be also extended if the visa holder provides proof of serious personal reasons justifying the extension of the period of validity or the duration of stay (article 33 paragraph 2 of the EU Code of Visas).
The difference between the above cases is that in force majeure or humanitarian reasons the competent authority shall accept the application and no fee is paid, while in cases of serious personal reasons it is in the authority’s discretion to accept the application. Furthermore, a fee of 30Euros must be paid.
The relevant application can be submitted electronically via the Hellenic Police’s website https://portal.astynomia.gr/webcenter/portal/eTap/electronic-services/alien-short-stay-permission-application?_afrLoop=381481146609760&_adf.ctrl-state=rpg9fbzdr_33#
or via email and in person to the police station, which is competent depending on the area the foreign citizen temporarily resides, at least one or 2 weeks before the expiry of the visa/permitted stay
Supporting documents:
- Passport, provided that its validity extends at least three (3) months after the date of departure from the EU state – members, includes at least 2 void pages and has been issued within the last decade prior to the entry in Greece)
- 2 photos
- Medical private insurance
- Evidence about the existence of exceptional reasons for the extension of the stay [article 5 of Greek Law 4251/2014 (Government Gazette A- 80)]
- Evidence that the applicant has sufficient living resources in our country [article 5 of Law 4251/2014 (Government Gazette-80)]
- Visa Fee (based on article 33 of Regulation (EC) 810/2009 “Visa Code” E-fee [0262], [1829])
* The information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as at the time of writing. We have no obligation to update it. We accept no responsibility against any third party who is not a client of the firm and has not signed the terms of our engagement.