Residency Permit

This Residency Permit Information Page is from the Completely Crete Living in Crete Section.

THIS PAGE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING UPDATED AND MIGHT NOT BE ACCURATE AT THIS TIME

Crete and Greece insists on EU citizens having a Residency Permit if they plan to stay for more than 3 months, despite this being illegal under EU law.

And according to the British Embassy in Athens:

"The Residence Permit has been replaced by the Registration Certificate. British nationals staying longer than 3 months in Greece must hold this Certificate which will be open dated and so there will be no need for it to be renewed."

Click here for the full article about the replacement of the Residency Permit.

We found that we could not buy a car here in Crete without having a Residency Permit, despite not living in Crete permanently of full time. See our own personal experience of getting a Residency Permit in Crete.

The police and government agencies, here in Crete, still require EU citizens to hold a Residency Permit for buying a car and for starting a business in Crete.

Currently your local police station in Crete will issue you with a Residency Permit if you go along in person with a photocopy of your passport and at least 4 passport size photographs.

This is likely to change, (if and when) Crete and Greece decide to comply with EU law and issue a 5 year Registration Certificate.

The requirements then will be to attend their local Crete police station with the following documents:

Photocopy of passport
4 to 6 passport size photographs

You could also be required to produce :

An EHIC health card or proof of private health insurance
A bank book to show you can support yourself
Or an sworn statement stating you can support yourself, or a document proving that you are receiving a pension,
Or a work contract.
If you own property you may be asked for a photocopy of the deeds or building permit.