Sorry, have to mention Brexit
First, though… Remember: Monday 25th (today) evening, 7.30, at the Sunrise Café, a meeting with Ilias M Tsavaris to discuss your thoughts on the island. This is the first consultation of this year’s mayoral elections specifically arranged for non-Greek residents. Elias is one of the candidates running for office this time around. The last date to register to vote at the Town Hall is March 28th. Get on the register before then, or you will lose your last democratic right to vote anywhere post Brexit.
Sorry, that was the first mention of the B word, and here are a few more.
With March 29th approaching, time is running out for you to get your papers in order in case of a no deal Brexit. Brits abroad seem to have been mainly forgotten by what’s left of the Government over there and although Greece has officially said those here, registered and in the system will be protected, there’s still that clause which suggests they will reciprocate whatever the yUK government does to Greek nationals living in Britain after the historic mess really kicks off which, of course, could be anything, So, I say do what you can to protect yourself now. As far as I can see (and I’m not an official source, so do your research), you will need to have a few things in place. The list below is off the top of my head and may exceed what you need, or it may miss something, so the main piece of advice is to ask at the KEP office, the citizen’s advice department if you like. They are the one most geared up to know what’s going on. In fact, I’d say our KEP office knows more than the yUK government, but that’s my personal opinion. Here are some ideas of what to have in order, kept safe and ready to present if needed:
Residency permit issued by the police station.
ΑΦΜ number – your tax number which you will need to get a residency permit any most other things like telephone, mobile etc.
AMKA number (a national insurance number) if you are or have been in the national IKA or other health/social care system.
Up to date UK passport, of course.
Proof of sustainable income. If working for someone else, ask your employer or accountant. If you have a pension then proof of that.
Greek driving licence. You can change your British one to a Greek one via the KEP office; after 29th March you will need to resit a test in Greece if you haven’t swapped. Like any other driving license, you can use your Greek one to drive just about anywhere in the world following the rules of whatever country you are in. Some people have been worried that they can’t use a Greek licence in the UK after March, but I don’t see Greek people with driving licences having any trouble right now, and it’s the same thing.
Health insurance cover. You will need to have in place some form of health insurance. Self-employed Greek national scheme (whatever that’s called now) or IKA if you work for someone else. Or private insurance, which is what I now have. Apparently, your (forgets official name) ‘E111’ as they were called years ago will no longer be valid; that’s the temporary, reciprocal health cover for holidaymakers.
I’d also advocate making sure you have a Greek bank account with money in it (you need €330 + to get your residency card).
As I said, there may be other things, in fact, there probably are, but as far as I can see, the basics are: Residency card, health insurance, income, tax number, driving licence, proof of income and address – and in that last case, on Symi where an actual house address is hard to come by, I have a notary-sworn affidavit stating my address, and a mobile phone bill (which not every department accepts, hence the affidavit).
And on that note, I’ll leave my self-styled parish notices with the news that Neil now has his residency card issued under his Irish citizenship so if you also have two passports and one’s a decent European one (which is anything but British) then I’d change your residency registration to base it on that passport and not worry about any of the above.
