The Greek Government does not provide any means of transport for your departure from your country, you must come by your own means.

Individuals that hold a Ukrainian passport, with or without biometric features, may enter Greece through all entry points (land and air). However, a transit visa is additionally required for holders of a Ukrainian passport without biometric features. They will be issued with a Police Note that allows a maximum stay of 90 days: within this period, they will be able to apply for temporary protection.

Displaced persons from Ukraine travelling with children will need to show a certificate of marital status or a birth certificate. If you are not in possession of either of these documents, you will have to fill in and submit a solemn declaration stating the number of children, their first name, surname, gender, and date of birth.

The Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum has activated four different communication channels provided in Greek, Ukrainian and English:

• the official information portal: migration.gov.gr/ukraine
• the call center help desk (Monday to Friday 08:00-21:00, Saturday 10:00- 17:00): +30 213 1629600
• E-mail: ukraine@migration.gov.gr

Chatbot to help Ukrainians around the world from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

The chatbot can simultaneously serve several users and provide advice on the most common questions, namely:

• rules of entry to a foreign country;
• registration of temporary protection;
• social security;
• return to Ukraine;
• consular services.

You can get help through the chatbot at the link .

In addition to the chatbot, citizens can also contact the call center at +38 (044) 224-57-20.

You can enter Greece with any of the following documents:

• A biometric passport.
• Ukrainian ID. According to the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service (DPSU), the citizens of Ukraine who can leave Ukraine with an internal passport are currently only those evacuating from occupied territories or territories where hostilities are taking place, the list of which is approved in accordance with the Order of the Ministry on Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine of December 22, 2022 No. 309 . Citizens from other territories must have a biometric passport to travel abroad.

Individuals that hold a Ukrainian passport, with or without biometric features, may enter Greece through all entry points (land and air). However, a transit visa is additionally required for holders of a Ukrainian passport without biometric features. They will be issued with a Police Note that allows a maximum stay of 90 days: within this period, they will be able to apply for temporary protection.

Ukrainian citizens who do not have travel documents may enter only from the Passport Control Department in Promachonas, in the Greek-Bulgarian borders. Upon your arrival, you will be issued a document by the staff of the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece.

In case your children do not have travel documents, National Police officials will note under the entry stamp on your own passport the number of minor children you are accompanying. In this case, you will have to show a certificate of marital status or the birth certificate of your children. If you do not have either of these documents, you must complete and submit a solemn declaration stating the number of children you are accompanying, their first and last name as well as their gender and date of birth.

Upon entry to Greece in a private vehicle, the driver is required to present a valid driving license. If you enter with a private vehicle, you will need to declare your information at the city’s customs office. For a 6-month period after your entry in the country, you may move freely with your vehicle. Proceed to the Customs office at the border crossing point to receive a paper slip marking the date of the car’s entry in Greece. You should contact the Customs office at your place of residence for further information.

The telephone number of the DPSU hotline ("Trust" Service) is 1598. You can use it for questions of a consultative nature within the competence of the State Border Service of Ukraine.

For more information about the documents with which you can cross the border, and about the categories of citizens who are allowed to travel outside Ukraine, see here .

Within the 90-day period, you will be granted a one (1)-year temporary protection by the Asylum Service of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum; this gives you the right of access to the labor market and to medical care, in accordance with Directive 2001/55 of the Council of the European Union. Regarding the procedure for granting temporary protection, please contact by phone 0030-2131629600 or via email: ukraine@migration.gov.gr

The process of granting temporary protection is provided free of charge by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. More specifically, free interpreting services are provided at the helpdesk during the full registration procedure in order for the temporary protection residence permit to be served to the beneficiary. The permit also indicates your/ provides you with tax identification number (AFM) and social security number (AMKA).

There is the possibility of short-term accommodation in the open structure of Sintiki for those who wish, until the process of issuing travel documents, where required, is completed.

You can use public transport. In Athens, using the metro is free for Ukrainians under temporary protection. Transportation to Athens and Thessaloniki is free of charge for 90 days.

From 30.05.2022, with your AMKA and an identification document (passport or service note or temporary protection residence permit) you can go to a metro ticket office and get your personalized card, the athena card. Subsequently, you visit the website of IDIKA and follow the procedures there for the activation of 90 days free travel

You need to wait for 3 working days before you can go to a metro station and put your athena card in a machine and press subsidy, the card is then subsidized for 90 days of free travel. After 90 days you need to re-subsidize. More information here (Q5).

Since the beginning of the war, several European transport companies have been offering free transport, including rail, bus, ferry, and air travel. A list of the carriers involved is available here .

Individuals are entitled to stay in Greece for 90 days, starting from the day of their entry into Greece. Once you apply for, and receive temporary protection status, you will have the right to stay in Greece for one year and you will get access to work and medical care. This status may be extended twice for a period of six months each time.

The EU migration calculator helps to calculate the number of days of stay in EU countries for those who do not apply for temporary protection.

If you are under 18 years old and travelling alone or if you are travelling with children who have been separated from their parents or know of any child in these situations, you can contact the National Emergency Response Mechanism for the Identification and Protection of Unaccompanied Minors of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum by phone at +30 2132128888, +30 2132128380, +30 2132128381, +30 2132128382 (24/7 lines) or by e-mail at ssuam.tracing@migration.gov.gr. This mechanism will transfer the children to special emergency accommodation facilities and take care of relevant identification, where necessary, and guardianship procedures.

For public health purposes, when you enter Greece and you arrive in a Reception and Identification facility you will be tested for COVID-19 and if tested positive, you will stay in quarantine for some days, as per the instructions of the Greek Health authorities.

During quarantine, you must comply with the COVID-19 prevention measures:

• keep distance from others;
• wash your hands regularly;
• and wear a mask.

During quarantine, you have the right to ask to see a doctor; ask to speak with the medical staff of the facility immediately to inform:

• If you have a medical or psychological condition;
• If you need medication;
• If you survived sexual violence within the last 72 hours;
• If you have fever, or cough or difficulty breathing;
• If you are a child (under 18), alone without your parents;
• If you are pregnant.

If you need any basic items such as hygiene or blankets, please inform the staff of the Reception and Identification Service.

In case of emergency or if you do not feel safe, please inform the Police and the Reception and Identification Service.

You have the right to start or complete your vaccination free of charge at any vaccination center within the country, after receiving the special temporary protection card that will be given to you by the Asylum Service and which will indicate your AMKA (Social Security Registration Number).

To submit an application for temporary protection, you should use the pre-registration platform at the website of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum available at this website English / Ukrainian / Greek . You may include up to 10 members in your application.

Once you have finalised your application, you will be given an appointment for your registration. The appointment is the same for all the members included in your application and will take place in one of the four Regional Asylum Offices (RAO), located in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras and Heraklion (Crete). For any issue that may arise regarding your appointment, send an email to tp-support@migration.gov.gr. Free interpreting services are provided at the helpdesk during the full registration procedure in order for the temporary protection residence permit to be served to the beneficiary. Ukrainian refugees on their way to/from the RAO will be entitled to KTEL bus tickets for free. Applications for temporary protection are submitted electronically to the website of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.

To submit an application you will need to provide a contact email. As a first step, you will need to fill in the following information:

• date of entry in Greece;
• whether you need housing;
• whether you have a support network in Greece; if yes, the city where your support network is located;
• whether you currently have accommodation;
• the location where you wish to be registered and receive the «Beneficiary of Temporary Protection» card.

You may include up to 10 members in your request. For each one of them, you will need to fill in the following:

• complete demographic data;
• type and number of identification document;
• educational level and the field in which you/they are professionally active.

The following groups of persons who have been displaced to Greece from Ukraine on or after 24 February 2022 are eligible to temporary protection (as per Ministerial Decision 131035/04.03.2022):

• Ukrainian nationals who resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022.
• Stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who benefited from international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022.
• Family members of the persons referred to in the first two categories, even if they are not Ukrainian nationals, provided that the family existed and resided in Ukraine before 24 February 2022. Family members are considered 1) the spouse or his or her unmarried partner in a stable relationship duly attested, 2) the minor unmarried children, 3) other close relatives of 1st and 2nd degree who lived with the beneficiary as a family unit.

People in the above categories who fled Ukraine after 26 November 2021 as tensions increased or who found themselves in the territory of the EU (e.g. on holidays or for work reasons) and, as a result of the armed conflict, cannot return to Ukraine.

In Greece, the following categories are not eligible for temporary protection but can apply for international protection (asylum):

• Anybody who fled Ukraine before 26 November 2021;
• Third country nationals or stateless persons residing in Ukraine with permanent residence permits before 24 February who cannot safely return to their country of origin.

Eligible persons applying for it will be granted Temporary Protection within 90 days from arrival, for an initial period of one (1)-year, i.e. until 4 March 2023. The status may be extended for another six months, i.e. until 4 September 2023 and then for another six months, i.e. until 4 March 2024. This status is provided by the Asylum Service of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and gives the right of access to the labor market and to medical care.

Residence Permits of Temporary Protection that expire by March 4, 2023 are automatically renewed for an additional period of six (6) months- that is, until September 4, 2023. If during the above period the European Commission does not decide to terminate temporary protection as a residence status, temporary protection residence permits will be further renewed for an additional six (6) months (until March 4, 2024).

Given the above extension, residence permits will not be further renewed and permit holders do not need to proceed to any additional actions. Source .

Healthcare

While you are waiting to be granted temporary protection, you enjoy free access to the National Health System and you are entitled to medical and health care. With the presentation of your passport or the document that you received upon your arrival in Greece, you have access to medical and nursing care in all public hospitals, nursing homes, municipal clinics, primary health care facilities, Rehabilitation and Social Care Units. In these facilities you can get prescriptions for medicine, have therapeutic operations and diagnostic examinations.

Housing and food

You can benefit from short-term accommodation in the open structure of Sintiki, until the process of issuing travel documents, where required, is completed.

Those who wish to be accommodated for a longer period of time may submit a request here . The Ministry of Migration and Asylum will provide you with accommodation and food immediately in the accommodation structures that are already available.

Education

Ukrainian children can enrol in public schools. At the website of the Ministry of Asylum and Immigration you will find detailed information on the Greek education system and how children coming from Ukraine can continue their education in Greece.

You will receive the «Beneficiary of Temporary Protection» card. The Asylum Service will not keep your passport when issuing this card, nor will you be issued another travel document. This card also indicates your tax identification number (AFM) and social security number (AMKA).

You can return to Ukraine whenever you wish and you can return to Greece while your temporary protection document is still valid.

If you hold a biometric passport, you will be able to travel within the EU countries. You can also stay in any city in Greece for as long as your temporary protection status lasts.

Temporary Protection is designed to provide immediate protection to refugees, including those who have fled areas of armed conflict. While temporary protection doesn’t obstruct the right to apply for international protection, it may reduce the need to apply immediately as you will receive a residence permit as well as associated rights. The duration of temporary protection is defined by EU law.

Beneficiaries of temporary protection can also apply for international protection (asylum) at any point they wish to, without their residence permit or temporary protection being revoked.

Asylum is an individual right, granted following a specific administrative and legal process that will determine whether you have a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. Once granted, asylum can be withdrawn whenever new elements or findings arise indicating that there are reasons to reconsider its validity.

The relevant “residence” permit of the temporary protected persons is issued shortly after the application, and it provides the holder with working rights, TIN, and social insurance number.

Exact waiting times are not known.

Holders of a Ukrainian passport without biometric features may enter Greece from all entry points; in this case, a transit visa is required. You will be issued with a Police Note that allows a maximum stay of 90 days: within this period, they will be able to apply for temporary protection.

In order to issue a foreign passport, you need to contact the Ukrainian Embassy .

A foreign passport is issued to a person who has reached the age of 16 on the basis of an application-questionnaire submitted by him personally. At the same time, the issuance of a foreign passport to a person who has been recognized by the court as having limited legal capacity or incapacity is carried out on the basis of an application-questionnaire of the guardian or other legal representative.

The following are attached to the application:

• previous passport to be exchanged (if the passport is not issued for the first time);
• internal passport in the form of a booklet (if available);
• or ID card (if available);
• a document confirming permanent residence or temporary stay abroad (if available);
• certificate of registration of the place of residence in Ukraine / certificate of registration of the place of residence of a temporarily displaced person (if available);
• a certificate of assignment of the registration number of the taxpayer's registration card (RNOKPP; if available).

In case of loss or theft of the previous passport, a document (report, certificate, etc.) issued by the competent authority of the state in which the passport was lost or stolen is attached to the application, confirming the fact of the owner's application regarding its loss or theft. Such a document is submitted without legalization and translation into Ukrainian.

In the case of issuing a passport in connection with a change in personal data (surname and/or first name), a document confirming such a change (marriage certificate, divorce certificate, court decision, etc.) is attached to the application. When issuing a foreign passport with a new surname and/or first name, the "domestic" passport (ID card) must be reissued.

In the event that the applicant has not previously been issued with an identity document, confirming Ukrainian citizenship and/or granting the right to leave Ukraine and enter Ukraine, a certificate of registration of the person as a citizen of Ukraine is provided (with the exception of cases when the person's parents at the time of his were citizens of Ukraine at birth).

You can register the birth of a child only at the consulate. There, the determination of his origin and the assignment of his surname, first name, and patronymic are carried out.

The application for registration must be submitted immediately, but no later than one month after the birth of the child, and in the case of a stillborn child - no later than three days.

The registration process takes place at the place of birth or at the place of residence of the child's parents or one of them (with a written application). At the same time, in case of illness, death of the parents or for other reasons it is impossible to register the birth - the application can be submitted by relatives or other persons authorized by the representative of the health care institution in which the child was born or is currently.

What is required for registration?

• a document from a medical institution about the birth of a child, passports certifying the identity of the parents;
• application (written or addressed orally) to enter information about the father.

Registration is free, and based on its results, parents are issued a birth certificate.

How to return to the homeland with a child born in the Greece?

In order for Ukrainians to return home with a child born in the Greece, they must have with them:

• a document certifying his identity;
• a child's birth certificate issued by a consular institution.

Is the status of a citizen of Ukraine preserved during the birth of a child in the Greece?

A newborn Ukrainian in the Greece retains the status of a citizen of Ukraine. Data on citizenship and nationality in the act record of birth and certificate are not filled in, which is why a corresponding entry is made in the column "For marks".

In addition, a person whose parents or one of his parents were citizens of Ukraine at the time of his birth is a citizen of Ukraine. The place of birth of the baby does not affect the possibility of him acquiring Ukrainian citizenship.

Greek citizenship will be granted to children whose parents have legally resided in the country for at least 5 years prior to birth. Also, if the parents' residence requirement has been fulfilled, but the child was born in another country, he can get citizenship if he studies for 6 years in a Greek school.

There are several steps involved in the process of body repatriation from abroad to Ukraine:

1. Notify the authorities.

The first step of body repatriation from abroad to Ukraine is to contact the local authorities in Greece, so you can register the death. Ukrainian embassy should also be able to help you in the process of registering the death abroad.

2. Arrange the correct documents.

You’ll need to have all the right paperwork before you can repatriate your loved one home from abroad to Ukraine. If you are repatriating a body to Ukraine for burial or cremation, the documents you will need include:

• Death Certificate.
• Certificate or Affidavit from the local health authorities stating that the cause of death of the individual to be shipped to Ukraine was not a communicable disease or infections.
• A Document about the absence of any excessive objects inside the casket or urn with the ashes.
• The Certificate of Cremation issued be the Funeral home or Cremation office.

All the mentioned documents should be authenticated, legalized and translated into Ukrainian by the certified translator. The originals of abovementioned documents and notarized translations, must accompany the casket containing the deceased, or urn with ashes, to Ukraine.

The passport of the deceased person should be sent to the Embassy of Ukraine along with a notarized and authenticated copy of the Certificate of Death, and a translation from Greek to Ukrainian. The Embassy is to make correspondent procedures with the passport and can forward it back if it is required to accompany the casket containing the deceased, or urn with ashes, to Ukraine.

The Embassy is to be informed of the date, time, and the place of delivery of the casket containing the deceased, or urn with ashes, to Ukraine. Only the next of kin relatives of the deceased, or persons correspondingly authorized by them, can receive the casket or urn.

3. Transport the deceased to Ukraine.

The casket containing the body, or urn with ashes, must be sealed by the Funeral Home. There are no strict requirements with respect to the urn with ashes; however, the body should be transported in a metal casket, made of zinc-plated steel or tinplate not more than 0,4 thick.

For the air cargo transportation, it is necessary to specify a cemetery in Ukraine as well as Ukrainian Funeral Home which will take care of the casket, or the urn with ashes, in Ukraine. Both are a subject of private choice by the relatives or friends of the deceased person. Source .

There are numerous shops that offer such services. Look for photo studio & copy centers as they can provide you with this.

You can translate your documents at any translation agency in your city. Search for «μετάφραση εγγράφων» on Google.

Greek Foreign Ministry - Department of Translation

At: Arionos St. 10, Psirri, 105 54 Athens

Tel: 210 328 5712/5711

Previously, mobile operators OTE/Cosmote, WIND Hellas and Vodafone distributed free SIM cards to Ukrainian refugees. At the moment, the promotion has expired, so you will have to buy SIM cards yourself in stores.

Cosmote has the widest coverage and fastest data speeds, while Wind offers low prices in a small coverage area. Vodafone is somewhere in the middle on speed, coverage, and price.