Greece visa and entry requirements

Under the Schengen Borders Code, a third-country national's travel document must be valid for at least three months after the intended date of departure from the territory of the Member States and must have been issued within the previous 10 years.

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No official source we read lists a vaccination certificate required for entry.

The Visa Code requires applicants for a uniform visa for one or two entries to prove that they hold adequate and valid travel medical insurance, valid throughout the territory of the Member States for the entire intended stay, with minimum coverage of €30,000.

No official source we could read states that a return or onward ticket is required to enter. The Schengen Borders Code lists a return or round-trip ticket among the supporting documents as regards return.

The European Commission's table of reference amounts gives Greece's as EUR 50, EUR 25 for minors, and EUR 300 for a stay of up to 5 days.

• EES — Entry/Exit System (biometric registration) — The EU's Travel to Europe site says that the first time you arrive at a border crossing point since the EES started, passport control officers will take a photo of your face and/or scan your fingerprints, and your passport will not be stamped; this can be quicker if you register some of your data in advance using a self-service system or a mobile application, where available. The UK government's travel advice says there is no cost for EES registration. (at the border on first entry) travel-europe.europa.eu ↗(opens in a new tab)
• ETIAS — European Travel Information and Authorization System — ETIAS is the new travel authorisation for visa-exempt travellers to enter 30 European countries, Greece among them. It is currently not in operation and no applications are being collected; the EU will announce the start date several months before launch. (before travel, once etias starts) travel-europe.europa.eu ↗(opens in a new tab)

A third-country national who breaches the voluntary-departure deadline, or otherwise stays unlawfully for up to 30 days, must pay on departure a fine of four times the fee for a one-year residence permit. For an unlawful stay longer than 30 days, the fine is eight times that fee. Exempt from fines: minors; ethnic Greeks; spouses or parents of Greek nationals, ethnic Greeks or EU citizens; people in voluntary return procedures and programmes; and people who exceed their lawful stay because of force majeure, if they leave within 30 days after the cause ends.

• Climate crisis resilience fee (Τέλος ανθεκτικότητας στην κλιματική κρίση) — Per room or apartment per day of use. April to October: hotels 1-2 stars EUR 2.00, 3 stars EUR 5.00, 4 stars EUR 10.00, 5 stars EUR 15.00; rented furnished rooms and apartments EUR 2.00; short-term rentals EUR 8.00 (detached houses over 80 m² EUR 15.00); villas EUR 15.00; tourist furnished residences EUR 8.00 (under 80 m²) or EUR 15.00 (80 m² and over). November to March: hotels 1-2 stars EUR 0.50, 3 stars EUR 1.50, 4 stars EUR 3.00, 5 stars EUR 4.00; rented furnished rooms and apartments EUR 0.50; short-term rentals EUR 2.00 (detached houses over 80 m² EUR 4.00); villas EUR 4.00; tourist furnished residences EUR 2.00 (under 80 m²) or EUR 4.00 (80 m² and over). Paid at the accommodation.

  A climate crisis resilience fee is charged per day of use per room or apartment, at rates set by accommodation type and star rating, with one set of rates for April to October and another for November to March. It is borne by the guest who used the room or apartment and is charged after the stay and before departure from the accommodation. It replaces the accommodation tax.

If you enter or leave the EU with €10,000 in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies), you must declare it to the customs authorities in the EU country you are entering or leaving, using the EU cash declaration form.

• Entering the EU from a non-EU country, the EU's Your Europe portal lists duty-free allowances of 4 litres of still wine and 16 litres of beer, plus 1 litre of spirits over 22% vol. or 2 litres of fortified or sparkling wine, and other goods up to €300 per traveller or €430 for travellers by air and sea. For tobacco it lists Greece among the countries that apply the lower limit to land and sea travellers: 40 cigarettes or 20 cigarillos or 10 cigars or 50 g tobacco (the higher limit is 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g tobacco). Travellers under 17 are not entitled to a duty-free allowance for tobacco or alcohol.
• Travelling between EU countries, the EU's Your Europe portal says no further payments are due on alcohol and tobacco bought for your own use and not for resale, as taxes are included in the price in the country where you bought them. Each EU country can set guideline values, which may not be lower than, for example, 800 cigarettes or 10 litres of spirits.
• The UK Foreign Office says you cannot take meat, milk or products containing them into EU countries, with some exceptions such as powdered baby milk, baby food and special foods or pet feed required for medical reasons.