Visas for Greece?

[wordcross]

A friend of mine is planning an extended visit to Greece as part of her PhD study. She's been before, but before it was only for a couple of weeks. This time she's going to be there for 6 months. Does anyone know if a student visa is sufficient for that length of time? or if that's what the appropriate document would be? It is exceedingly difficult to determine any of this information online.

Any other useful information would be appreciated as well
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[Zag]

If she hasn't been to Delphi, she has to go. I liked it much better than the Parthenon, mostly because it is less precious to the Greeks and therefore you actually can get close enough to things really to see them. Almost none of it was cordoned off.

To get the full experience, she should walk up to it from the bottom of the valley. You can just imagine walking up that steep hill on a hot day. You're headed to the arena at the top of the mountain to watch this month's games. The path takes you to the temple and all the way around three sides of it before you can continue up. There are water fountains at the temple, where you would naturally stop and chat with the priests while getting a drink. Sure, you give a little donation, as appreciation for the water, and they get a good look at just how full your purse is.

The other priests in the secret passage could hear the conversation and pass on any relevant info about wealthier travelers to the guys who interpret the rantings of the Oracle. By the time you walk all the way around the temple, there are guys waiting to tell you news that the Oracle has, only for you. The information is quite specific, clearly not just the general claptrap that bazaar fortune tellers tell, and it generally is good at getting you to open your wallet.

But that's just my cynicism. Maybe Apollo really was giving information to the Oracle. But you can totally see how they had a good setup for the other thing.

But all of the temples are truly awesome, especially when you consider that they were already ancient when Jesus was born. I doubt anything built in this century will still be standing in 3000 years.

[Thok*]

If she's from the US/UK, then I believe (doing some web research) that a Greek student visa gets her a 90 day stay, and that she would need to apply for residence permits to extend her stay one year at a time.

If she's from mainland Europe, things are easier.

Here's a webpage from the American embassy in Greece that talks about the issues: section IV seems to be the relevant information.[/url]

[Termital]

I've had some experience with undergraduate students to a private institution, although they originated from the Balkans, and, given my conversations with them, Thok is very much right. Read carefully sections IV and II of the linked page. Also, arrange a meeting with your local Greek consulate, to make sure your understanding is correct. In this visit, you should explicitly discuss about the amount of living expenses you need to provide proof of. I would expect that you need to provide bank statements from banks with Greek chapters, and/or proof of stipends to the tune of, I expect, 3000 euros for your proposed stay (but don't go about quoting me). In order to get the right information, your must make your institutional ties perfectly clear. Are you talking about a local school, a local institution (say, an archaeological society), or are you going to be doing work without a local framework? Are you going to be enrolled, employed, or associated in another manner with said institution? Is this institution public or private? that sort of thing. If you are planning on unusual living arrangements (say, a school's dormitory, your local aunt, a campsite at a dig), you are likely to get a straighter answer as to what passes for proof of residence from the consulate than the local civil servants.

When on the ground, be very persistent and patient when dealing with the civil service. Local bureaucracy is incompetent even on regular tasks, and a student from abroad isn't a regular thing. Being passed about until you chance on somebody who knows what he's doing isn't out of question. You can expect that you will spend several months without proper paperwork upon each renewal; ask for proof of application papers, which are about as useful as the real deal. Given your stay, it wouldn't shock me if you left before the paperwork came through. However, I am unsure how temporary papers affect exit-reentry. The aforementioned school had a lawyer to prod the process along, and hearsay had his tactics range from schooling officers on applicable law to bullying to prestidigitation. The majority of the under 50 population speaks some (not necessarily decent) English, so the language barrier shouldn't be too much of a hurdle, even when dealing with state employees. If you find yourself up against a brick wall, and your institution isn't helpful, consider hiring an attorney; this is not exactly ideal, but lawyer prices are not U.S. level obscene.

Pay particular attention to the restrictions on exit-reentry. These differ between provisionary and final paperwork. Typically, these restrictions are relaxed a few times a year; this is typically done by once-off ministerial orders, that coincide with local holiday periods, and are not particularly well publicised.
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[Termital]

@Zag: You neglected to mention the part where, while visiting the Delphi museum, you got distracted by a "mind the step" sign, thus tripping on the step and almost falling through the case and onto a large golden head ornament. Which seems to be an experience shared by me, and about half the visitors to the museum, that I know of. Maybe it's the prophetic fumes, or maybe it's your pace after realising you were looking too closely at phallic anathemata.


But seriously, if you like Greek religious monuments that involve a bit of a walk up, Meteora is the place to visit. Beats Mount Athos by not requiring specific permits and genitals to visit, only long sleeves and dresses. It's a bit off the tourist track, and, if the view doesn't take your breath away, the steps will. It's a collection of active monasteries, each on a high rock pillar, or -in the cases of scetes- clinging to the face of a cliff. While most of them have religious tat for sale, your access to areas and the workings of each monastery vary. The west side of Pindos is beautiful and lush (not a word oft associated with greek flora). The area can also be used as a base for active sports: skilled mountain climbers and novice rafters who don't mind freezing in the middle of summer should consider it. If you happen to be there on July the 20th, you may get to see local observant youths try to scale up a sheer cliff to a tiny church bearing red scarves. While the scarves make for an easy recovery after a plummet, betting on it is in exceedingly poor taste.
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