Job Opportunities in Greece

The Perks of Working Overseas

The major perk of working in Greece, aside from the incredible overall experience, the beautiful scenery, and the feeling that you're on vacation even though you're working, is the potential for higher pay. In the business and teaching fields, for example, highly skilled Americans can significantly increase their income by working in Greece.

The Downside: the Process

For an American to pick up his or her things and move to Greece, there's a complicated process involved. Unless you have your own Internet-based business, which you can run from there almost as easily as you run it from America, you'll need to take care of some things.

The first thing you'll need is a visa. You have to have it to take up employment in Greece if you're not from a European Union country. If you are a member of an EU country, however, you get the same employment rights as someone native to Greece. Need to know more about your visa application? Contact the embassy or Consulate of Greece.

Another thing to consider is the military obligation if you are a young male and you wish to become a citizen of Greece. For more information on becoming a Greek citizen, read How to Become a Greek Citizen by Christos Iliopoulos.

Explanation of Visas

If you want to actually work in Greece, don't be confused by the other guidelines and visas that come with visiting and even living temporarily in Greece. To visit or conduct business that does not include working for compensation, citizens of the United States, Canada, and other European Union nations do not need a visa. That applies for a stay that lasts up to three months.

There are business visas, but again, citizens of the United States, Canada, and other European Union nations do not need to apply if they do not plan to stay longer than 90 days. You only need a visa if your stay lasts longer than 90 days or you wish to work for compensation in Greece.

When you find job opportunities in Greece that will work for you, how do you actually get there? A work visa. This is where things get tricky, of course. The visa requires you to have a sponsor who will apply for you at the Ministry of Labor. You won't automatically get to stay there as long as your heart desires, even then. You'll have an employment contract worked out with the Ministry of Labor that states how long you can stay.

If all application processes go smoothly and you find your sponsor, you should have your visa in five to seven days.

What You Need

According to this Greek Travel Guide, to get your work permit, you'll need the following things:

• Visa application
• Valid passport
• United States resident card (if you're a resident of the U.S., of course)
• Photograph of yourself, passport-sized
• Proof that you have sufficient funds for your stay
• Fee to cover the work permit
• An employment contract with the company for which you will be working if the Greek Ministry of Labor grants you the work permit

The visa can be extended if you have a very good reason. You'll have to present your case to the Alien Bureau.

Researching Job Opportunities in Greece

The following sites can help you locate potential job opportunities in Greece:

• Jobs Abroad allows you to choose the city of Greece that most interests you.
• American TESOL Institute lists jobs for teachers of English as a second language.
• Anywork Anywhere shows you job opportunities in Greece and tells you how many vacancies there are.
• In2Greece is another site that allows employers to post their help wanted ads for job seekers.
• This Greek Job forum is an excellent resource for finding a job in Greece.
• Transitions Abroad has a list of some of the top employers in Greece. It's hard to know if the ad you're replying to is legitimate sometimes when you do a job search online, so lists like this are incredibly valuable. This list will take some of the footwork out of your job search.

Remember

If you find a job opportunity online that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do your research on the company before you drop everything to rush over and work for them. Living and working in Greece may be your dream, but don't throw caution to the wind!