GETTING STARTED

Here is a quick guide through the Greek maze of bureaucracy you will need to contend with.
Tax number- just go to the tax office with your passport and address, they will issue you one there and then.

Residency Permit- Anybody staying longer than 3 months in theory need one of these.They are free of charge and last 5 years.
You need to go to a police station with the following.
4 x photocopies of your passport . Copy of health insurance policy if under retirement age. Copy of EKA health book if receiving a pension. Copy of Tax number form. If working, letter from employer stating that they employ you. Also they may ask to see proof of sufficient funds to support you if not working, though this is rare. Greece is a member of the EU and won't throw you out if you don't have a Residency permit, however it is a vital document to obtain and buy services and some goods, particularly a car.

Tax Returns

You will not recieve a tax return in yor first year of residency, howver keep these records as you might need them.

Pink slips, obtainable from your bank in Greece, they prove that any monies you have imported have not been earned in Greece, and are non-taxable. If not produced they will assume you have earnt this money and tax ou accordigly.

Car purchases- When you buy a car or boat in Greece you have to fill out a form to inform the Tax authorities. This is not told to you when you buy and many Ex pats including myself have been fined for not filling one in. We only found out about this after neighbours had received a fine. The form must be returned in the tax year AFTER the year of purchase. The fine for not doing this is 43 euros, rising for every year of non compliance. They also wanted to fine us 43 euros each for our boat which we co-own, so beware. We took our landlady with us to the Tax Office to help with the language. I told the guy through her that they were thieves and this info is not visible to expats. I also threatened to publish on the internet about this piracy, and the guy got very flustered and agreed to drop the fines for the boat.Reluctantly we payed for the car fine.We try to do everything correctly but in Greece tereis always another form required, so dig around when doing anything to ensure you don't fall foul of the system.
All your car documents must be in the car at all times, it is an offence not to have them,although you are unlikely to be satopped unless acting the idiot. Drinkdriving limits are similar to the UK, but often you will be fined instead of banned. My advice is don't drink drive, Greek drivers are terrible and you need to keep your wits about you.

Phone connection and Satelite TV, to get a phone account or Sat TV you need a tax number. As previously mentioned. Some folks bring their Sky system with them and continue to pay rental as if still in the UK. Technically this is illegal as Sky have no deal in this part of Europe. The Greek equivilent is NOVA. This costs about 40 euro a month and has some English channels, however if you need TV why have you moved to a Greek vilage? Get ouside and enjoy life!
Phone bills are reasonable, lcal calls very cheap, international cheap if you buy the prepaid hone cards with PIN numbers, about 3 hourscof calls to UK for 10 euros.