Help with residency status

[Kilkis]

If you store things and somebody asks for them then you haven't got a problem. If you don't store them and somebody asks for them then you might have a problem. I'm a hoarder.

In the days when keeping receipts was required I had 3 tax audits in different years for various reasons. In each case I had to provide receipts for that year. If I had not been able to provide them I would have had to repay the tax rebate I had been granted in that year, i.e. equivalent to losing your tax free allowance in the UK. I still retain all the receipts going back to when the rule was introduced, obviously minus the years I had already submitted. Now it is based on electronic payments made through the banking system but, as an older person, I could opt to use receipts if I wished.

If you read the official police guidance for applying for a biometric residence card, anybody with a permanent residence certificate , i.e. blue, issued more than 5 years before the date of application, is supposed to provide proof that they had not left Greece for more than 5 years since the certificate was issued. One way of doing that would be to submit electric bills showing almost constant electricity consumption during the period. As it happens they don't seem to be enforcing that particular rule but if they had how would you prove it, Mike?

I receive some bills electronically but I also save them to disk. I have every P60 since I started work properly in 1970.

Warwick

[P&B]

I have a beige card and my appointment for the biometric permit is on April 28th in Chania

There seems to be a difference of opinion as to whether I need proof of income and private health insurance. What have people with the beige card, who have successfully received the documents, had to supply? If health insurance is required, there is a health insurance offered by Stavros (mentioned often on this site) is that adequate? I don't have a Greek bank account but can prove sufficient funds in a UK account, that was adequate for my beige card, do I now need a Greek bank account too?

I am also probably listed as self-sufficient and have not reached retirement age.

I went yesterday with a 3 year old beige card. Like you, I have not reached retirement age. There was no mention of health insurance. I simply handed over a folder containing Passport, Residency Card, 4 Photos (dimensions 40x60mm), Tax Return and Rental Agreement. I'm not totally sure they needed the actual Tax Return or whether any piece of documentation including the Tax Number would have been accepted.

For the Rental Agreement, you need the official document from Taxisnet. If you cant find it yourself then ask your accountant to email it to you.

I've been back this morning for fingerprints. It was all completed withing 10 minutes.... Greek efficiency at its finest!!

Perhaps it has already been covered here but as a holder of a 3 year old beige permit I assumed that I would be given a beige biometric permit that would only be valid for a further 2 years (after which I would upgrade to a blue biometric) but it seems that I will get a new beige biometric permit for 5 years. I asked the lady in the fingerprint office what would happen after 5 more years and she pretty much said "your guess is as good as mine".

Can anyone clarify at all? As I say, I thought I would keep my 3 years of beige credit but seems I'm back on rung one of the residents ladder.

[Rick]

This issue has been covered before, and I posted the following comment:

It seems that you can convert to a 10 year biometric permit earlier than 5 years - see extract below.
Presumably, the police will be able to identify the date your beige res certificate was issued prior to the issuance of your 5 year biometric? Probably a good idea to keep a copy of your beige cert before the police retain it.

Quote from Julia Cross - British in Greece:
"Those who have already got some years on their beige permits will be able to effectively transfer these years by applying for the permanent 10 year biometric permit before their 5 year biometric permit expires. So if you were issued your beige permit in 2018 and your 5 year biometric in 2021, you can apply for the permanent 10 year permit in 2023. "

[BST]

BST wrote

They didn't want to see 12 years of utility bills for some reason

Why would you want to keep bills for 12 years??. I have been here for 12 years and never kept any, in fact for the past few years all bill, except for Mains water, are emailed to me. Much more environment friendlier. When I have had to present a bill I use the latest one. Or print one from the Utility Website as I had to do so for the Biometric card. I know at one time we had to keep receipts, I stopped after the first 6 months as I noticed the ink fads very quickly. Was never asked by my Accountant for them.

Some people have used their stack of utility bills to get the 10year biometric. You never know when they might come in handy!
The utility stuff for our UK house is all online.