Jobs in Greece

Looking for job opportunities overseas? You can give Greece a thought for work because of its healthy environment and friendly people. Living in Greece is also more affordable than in a few other EU countries. Let's discuss a few topics as to why one should choose Greece for work.

Why go for jobs in Greece?

There are many benefits of working in Greece, let's discuss a few of these.

• Health Insurance:

Employees who have worked for at least 50 days in the last 15 months for a company are guaranteed health insurance and are eligible for free dental care and health care through social security.

• Social Security:

social security contributions differ depending on the social security benefit plans, funds, and any other supplementary insurance. In addition to the employee's salary, social security contributions must be deducted by the employer and paid to the employee each month.

• Holiday/Vacation Leave:

Vacation leaves are granted according to the amount of time the employee has been in service. Annual vacation leave is 20 days for a 5-day working week and 24 days for a 6-day working week. Depending on the length of service it increases by 1 day per year.

• Working Hours and Breaks:

Employees are given entitlement to working 40 hours a week, employees can split this into 8 hours a day (5 days) or 6 hours 40 minutes a day (6 days a week). For work days over 6 hours, a minimum of 15 minutes is guaranteed as rest periods or breaks.

• Maternity/Paternity:

An employee is given 17 weeks of maternity leave, 8 weeks before birth, and 9 weeks after birth. A special 6-month leave is also entitled to the mothers during which the mother is paid a statutory minimum wage per month, holiday bonuses, and allowances based on the payment amount, by the OAED. However, only 2 days of leave is guaranteed to the father on his child's birth.

• Sick Leave:

Along with sick leave, sick leave payments are also guaranteed to the employees through social security funds.

Skills Required

• The traditional growth generating and job opportunities created in Greece are the shipping industry and tourism & hospitality sectors. It is easier to find a job in these fields than in any other. However, we are known for the fact that tourism is seasonal (5 to 6 months) which means that the employees in this industry will have some time off work during the winter month.

• There is a high demand for a developer, computer research scientists, or information security analysts, as tech jobs have not been affected by the economic crisis.

• Also, there is a growing demand for customer care service jobs that require the skills of learned foreign languages.

Visa Application Process

The applicants must go to their local municipal office or police station to apply for a work permit in person, within 30 days of arriving in the country. The type of work permit and its validity depends on the position they have. Given below are the basic application steps for the work permit.

Once these steps are completed the applicants will get a blue form that acts as a receipt showing the process of the application. The applicant can begin working as soon as they get this form.

Documents Required

Work visa types

• Short stay visa(Greek C visa):

This type of visa allows a person to enter and stay in Greece for a maximum of 90 days, or 90 days within 6 months. There are different types of Short Stay Visa:

• Greece visitor Visa :

This type of visa is to visit family members and friends.

• Greece business Visa :

This type of visa is to engage in activities that are business related.

• Greece Tourist Visa :

This type of visa is to visit Greece for tourist activities and vacations.

• Greece Medical Visa :

This type of visa is to get medical treatment in Greece.

• Greece Short-Term Study Visa :

This type of visa is for candidates who are willing to engage in courses that lasts upto 3 months in 6 months periods.

• Greece Cultural Visa :

This type of visa is to participate in film shooting and cultural/sports events.

• Long Stay Visa(Greek D Visa):

This type of visa authorizes a person to enter in Greece and stay for more than 3 months. A person with this visa is allowed to engage in most type of paid activities. It is compulsory for a D visa holder to apply for a work and residence permit as soon as they enter Greece. Greek D visa is usually valid for one year.