Greece is currently one of the most sought after tourist destinations. This country is visited annually by hundreds of thousands of citizens who wish to visit this "paradise". And this is not surprising. After all, the country's ancient history, rich cultural traditions, original art, wonderful sea climate, plenty of sunshine, picturesque landscapes, wide hospitality of local residents, colorful national cuisine create a unique colorful atmosphere in Greece. This is all that attracts many tourists.
Visa requirement
Greece is a country that has signed the Schengen Agreement. This is a reliable fact. And as a result of this, a Schengen visa to Greece is required to visit this country. Documents for its execution should be submitted to the appropriate consulates. It may also allow visits to other states that have also signed this agreement. Currently, many citizens are thinking about what documents are needed for a visa to Greece. This is an important issue for them. After all, applying for a visa to Greece requires the collection of necessary materials. More on this later.
Variety of visas to Greece
This is a must know. There are four types of this document. These are such as:
- Transit visa. Two types are distinguished here: “A” and “B”.
- Short term. In this case, it is type “C”.
- National Designate under type "D".
- Long term visa.
Mostly tourists are interested in the third kind. Namely, a visa under type "C". This category, in turn, is divided into several subspecies:
- Business. In this case, a trip is meant to solve various working issues of any firms, enterprises or organizations.
- Tourist. For those who planned to devote all their time in this country to rest.
- Guestbook. It is usually issued to relatives of residents of Greece, in case they wish to visit friends or relatives.
Documents required for a visa to Greece
Consider this item in more detail. To obtain this visa, you must submit the following documents for a visa to Greece to the appropriate consulate or a specific center:
- A valid passport with a validity period of at least 30 days after the end of the trip. There is also another condition. It consists in the fact that along with all the materials it is necessary to provide photocopies of all passports that were previously available if they had Schengen visas.
- Profile. It must be filled. This document can be obtained at the relevant embassy. But the best option would be to fill his house in advance. This profile can be downloaded from the Internet, for which you need to go to the official website of the Greek Embassy in Russia. Here in the questionnaire it is necessary to indicate exclusively reliable personal data. You should carefully delve into the essence of these issues. It is better to fill out the questionnaire using a pen with black paste. You need to write carefully in block letters.
- Two photos. Their size should be 3.5 x 4.5 cm. This is an important condition. They must also be performed in accordance with certain requirements for this material for a Schengen visa. This consists in the correct location of the face in the photo, as well as in the necessary background color, etc. All the subtleties of these requirements are usually known to the masters in photo studios. Therefore, you yourself can not go into all the details, but simply contact a professional in this regard, explaining to him that the pictures should be taken for a Schengen visa. It should be remembered that, in accordance with the new requirements, these photographs must be in color.
- Copies of pages of a civil passport on which any information is available. They must be quality made.
- If a person is employed, then in this case it is necessary to provide a certificate from the place of work, where the position and salary must be indicated. However, this clause is subject to a requirement as determined by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It lies in the fact that the salary of citizens who enter the specified country should be at least 20,000 rubles.
- An individual entrepreneur must provide copies of the following documents:
- Certificate of state registration of individual entrepreneurs.
- Tax return.
- Certificate of registration with the relevant authority at the place of residence. - For non-working citizens (students, pensioners, housewives, and so on), additional documents for a visa to Greece (or rather, their copies) will be required. These are copies of student tickets or pension certificates , etc. Students must also provide a photocopy of their birth certificate. It must be certified by a notary public. If they visit the specified country unaccompanied by their parents, then in this case a letter from the sponsor should be presented. This will be described in more detail below.
For children under 18 years old
This niche will require a certain visa to Greece. The list of documents in this case needs a special one. Those citizens who plan to visit Greece with their children should collect the necessary materials. If the child is inscribed in the parental passport, this allows you not to fill out a separate application form. Only two photographs should be provided. They must meet generally accepted requirements. This is important to remember. If minor children have a personal passport, then in this case a complete set of necessary materials should be collected. If you plan to travel with a minor accompanied by one of the parents, it is necessary to provide official permission of the second parent. It must be notarized. A photocopy of the birth certificate should also be provided. If one of the parents has a child in his passport, he is also registered in his visa.
Self-registration
There is nothing complicated here. You should know that not only through a travel agency a visa is issued to Greece. Documents on their own in this case can also be prepared. To do this, all of the above will still have to provide a letter from the hotel, in which the reservation of accommodation will be confirmed. You must also show medical insurance, which must be issued accordingly. The indicated letter from the hotel requires the official seal of the hotel and the signature of the official who executed this document.
Health insurance must comply with certain requirements that are established in all countries of the Schengen agreement. This condition is important. It must be compiled for the entire duration of the visa, and also have an insurance amount of at least 30,000 euros.
Visa to Athos
There are some features in this direction. Additional materials must be provided with a visa to Mount Athos. It is issued to academics, teachers, professors, students, as well as citizens who professionally specialize in such fields as philosophy, history, theology, art history, architecture, art history. The maximum validity period is 4 days. In order to obtain this visa, it is additionally necessary to provide a certificate that confirms a certain type of activity of the applicant.
Travel Sponsorship Confirmation
This is a very significant fact. If the trip is paid by another person, you must provide a notarized sponsorship letter. In some cases, it is necessary to provide a sponsorship application from a close relative. It is written by hand in a specific form. In this case, you will have to provide an additional certificate from the place of work of the sponsor. It must certainly indicate the position and salary (not less than 30,000 rubles). A photocopy of the sponsor’s passbook or an extract from his personal account with a Russian bank may also be provided. However, there is one more condition. It consists in the fact that it is necessary to present photocopies of documents confirming family ties. It is important. It should be remembered that the sponsor can only be one of the closest relatives of the person applying for a visa.
For car rides
Some citizens prefer visiting a specified country in a personal vehicle. In this case, additional copies should be provided:
- The registration certificate for the car.
- Driving license.
- Car insurance.
Visa to Greece: terms and costs
It all depends on the time of collecting the necessary documentation. The minimum period for applying for this visa is 48 hours. However, this process usually takes about 3 days or more. It is rather difficult to state the exact date for applying for a visa to Greece. Since the collection of necessary materials may take several days. This fact indicates that it is necessary to plan a trip in advance. The cost of issuing any visa to Greece is 35 euros.
The validity of the specified document depends on its type. For example, if this is a single entry visa, then it opens for a certain time, corresponding to the invitation or reservation at the hotel - up to 90 days. Multivisa is issued for a period of 0.5–1 years. However, it has certain restrictions on staying in Greece. This consists in the fact that on such a visa it is allowed to stay in this country no more than 90 days in six months.
Total
All of the above in this text will help everyone in deciding how to apply for a visa to Greece. Documents for this process can be prepared independently or with the help of relevant organizations.