Customs Regulations and Visa Requirements of Greece

Visa application

The rules for issuing a visa to enter Greece are largely due to the fact that it is part of the Schengen area. You can get a visa either on your own or with the help of a travel company. Check a2zdirectory for history of Greece.

The list of basic documents required for citizens of the Russian Federation to obtain a visa to Greece:

• Passport, which must be at least three months old by the end of the trip to the country. If there is an old passport with Schengen visas, then a photocopy of it is provided.
• Questionnaire (questionnaire).
• 2 color photographs (3.5×4.5 cm).
• Photocopies of the pages with the data of the internal passport.
• Certificate from the place of work on a special form, which indicates the position, salary (at least 12,000 rubles), address, telephone number of the organization. Persons working in a private organization must provide a copy of the certificate of state registration of IP / PBUL. If the tourist’s salary is less than the specified amount, a copy of the passbook or a bank statement on the state of the account is provided.
• Photocopy of birth certificate (for travelers under 18).

Non-working tourists (students, pensioners, housewives, etc.) are required to provide a photocopy of a student card or pension certificate and a statement from the sponsor who pays for their trip.

The sponsor must be a close relative of the tourist. The application is filled out by hand according to a special scheme: “I, full name, sponsor a trip (indicate the relationship and full name of the tourist) to the Schengen countries, including Greece (indicate the duration of the trip).”

Such an application must be accompanied by a certificate from the sponsor’s place of work (with a salary of at least 30,000 rubles) or a photocopy of his passbook, or a bank statement on the amount of his account, as well as a photocopy of the sponsor’s internal passport and copies of documents that confirm family relations.

Students must add a notarized copy of the birth certificate to this.

If the child is entered in the parents’ passport, then he does not need a separate questionnaire. Parents must provide 2 standard photographs of their child. For a child who has his own passport, a full package of documents is issued.

Tourists under the age of majority entering the country with one of the parents or accompanied by a third person must have a copy of the notarized power of attorney of the second parent to export the child, photocopies of the functional pages of the parents’ internal passports.

When applying for a visa on your own, you must attach to the main documents a confirmation of the hotel reservation (fax letter from the hotel) and medical insurance valid for the Schengen countries for the duration of the visa (the sum insured is 30,000 euros).

Citizens of the CIS should clarify the rules for obtaining a visa to Greece in their country.

Customs regulations

When traveling to Greece, you need to know the following customs rules and restrictions:

Allowed to import duty-free (persons over 18):

• Up to 10 kg of food and beverages (except those prohibited for import).
• Up to 250 g of tobacco or 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or up to 100 cigarillos.
• Up to 500 g of coffee or up to 200 g of coffee extract, not more than 100 g of tea or 40 g of tea extract.
• Up to 1 liter of alcoholic beverages (with an alcohol content of more than 22% by volume) or up to 2 liters of fortified, table and sparkling wines (with an alcohol content of less than 22% by volume).
• Up to 50 ml perfume and 250 ml eau de toilette.
• Audio and video equipment, small musical instruments.
• Items for personal use in the amount of up to 175 euros per adult tourist and up to 90 euros per child under the age of 15.
• Gifts for an amount not exceeding 150 euros.
• Import of currency exceeding 10,000 euros and jewelry is subject to mandatory customs declaration. When entering the country, you must have a currency in the amount of 50 euros per day per person.

If the specified limit on the import of the listed items is exceeded, they are subject to a duty of 3.5% of their customs value and VAT (except for items of sports ammunition and related equipment, subject to their mandatory export from the country). See Greece import restrictions.

Allowed to export duty-free:

Duty-free export of certain items from Greece is subject to the same rules as import.

It is forbidden to import and export from Greece:

• Drugs and narcotic drugs.
• Weapons and ammunition in the absence of a special permit.
• Plants in the ground and animals without a permit.
• Since May 1, 2009, it is forbidden to import products that contain meat or milk into the countries that are members of the European Union.
• Antiques that may be of historical and cultural value, including items from archaeological sites and found at the bottom of the sea. It is also forbidden to export souvenirs from endangered species of animals from the country. Therefore, when purchasing this or that product in Greece, for example, fur products, you need to keep a sales receipt.