GREEK BUREAUCRACY

Living in Greece may seem like a dream, but when it comes to the time for paperwork and bureaucracy, it will turn into a nightmare, all the more so when you do not speak the language.

Public services will send you back and forth from service to service, department to department etc.. I try to gather up as much information as possible to make all the paperwork easier for those who apprach me and need my assistance. The most required documents in Greece are your passport, a translated version of your birth certificate and when copies of it is needed it should be verified by a lawyer, Police department or KEP accompanied by the original document, marriage certificate and a family status (a paper declaring whether you are married or single, with children or without, how many children and when they were born) and residence permit - if applicable.  

The main thing that you should bear in mind when dealing with Greek bureaucracy is that you should never ever give an original paper to any service, instead you must make a photocopy of the requested document and take it to the nearest police station or KEP office (citizen's advice bureau) in order for the photocopy to be stamped as an exact copy. If you photocopy the document it is once again useless without the required stamp on it.

The actual legal processes make you want to tear your hair out and even if you have a lot of hair, Greek bureaucracy has so many little convoluted sub-clauses, stamps, departments, papers, wrong papers - go back to start and impossible people, that even the most hirsute of heads may be rendered as bald as a baby's behind by the time you're done. The best way is to approach services like this one and I can assure you that it will help you understand the big picture without having unanswered questions.


One thing though is that they appreciate kindness..not too much, but to a certain level and always know the exact name of the document required, because it annoys them if you don't know what you are asking for.


You might find it difficult, but it is also a challange. Try and see it from a positive side and don't be judgemental.The truth is that most of these public servants deal with so much paper work that it is reasonable for them to get upset....


Will be back with more tips and ideas.... MarKy GRW Consulting Services