Military Service Exemptions

All male Greek citizens, aged between 19 and 45, are required to serve in the Armed Forces.

Permanent residents who were born abroad and have been permanently residing abroad have the right to serve for a reduced period (usually 3 months instead of the full service period of 12 or more months).

If you permanently residing out of Greece, you also have the right to postpone your conscription while you remain abroad. You are automatically exempted from military obligations when you reach the age of 45.

The first contact that citizens who are due for conscription have with the Armed Forces is a Document of Census (known as a call-up document) which is sent to the Greek Consulate / family member in Greece in January or February of the year in which they enter the age of 18.

The year following the submission of the Document of Census, applicants are obliged to either be conscripted or to seek an exemption. Please note that this is a legal obligation and omitting it may have serious consequences, such as being declared a military deserter.

The postponement is granted by the conscription service of the Armed Forces, on the basis of a certificate of permanent residence abroad, issued exclusively by Greek Consular Authorities. The supporting documents are filed only once and not every year and it is your responsibility to notify the Authorities if you stop residing abroad and you move to Greece.

Prerequisites to qualify as Permanent Resident Abroad

a. You have been living permanently outside of Greece for at least eleven (11) years immediately prior, in one or more countries, without spending more than six months in Greece within any calendar year.

OR

b. You have been working systematically on a full-time basis and have been living continuously outside of Greece for at least seven (7) years in one or more countries. Years of study abroad and part-time student jobs are NOT included in the 7-year systematic work scheme.

Responsible Consular Authority and partial exemptions

The Consular Authority where you should apply for the issuance of a certificate of permanent residence abroad for military use is dependent on your current place of residence. In case you have lived in countries other than South Africa in the past, you should first contact the corresponding Greek Consular Authority to confirm the years spent in their area of responsibility. Conversely, if you have spent some years in the past in South Africa and then moved abroad, we will provide you with a partial exemption until the date you departed and you will finalize the procedure at the Consulate responsible for your current residence.

Procedure & supporting documents and information

You may start the procedure for your exemption by sending an email to the Consulate General of Greece in Johannesburg ( ), attaching clear, scanned copies of all the following documents (please adjust the resolution to limit file size, or use a service like WeTransfer, Dropbox share etc):

• Applicant’s All Passports – All pages (Greek & South African )
• List of Travels to Greece (Exit – Entry Dates )
• Proof of Schooling Primary – Matric
• Proof of University
• Proof of Employment
• Proof of Residence
• Parents' Current Passports (only front page)
• Parents' Greek ID (both sides)
• Any document sent to you by the Military Service.
• In addition to the above, you may submit any other evidence that you live permanently outside Greece, such as a birth certificate abroad, a contract for renting or buying a house, a marriage certificate, birth certificates of your children etc.
• You will also need to provide the following information:

◦ Contact Number
◦ Height
◦ Weight
◦ Shoe Size
◦ Blood Type (if known)
◦ Religion
◦ Occupation
◦ Father’s Occupation

If you want to apply for a permanent resident's certificate through the 7-year full-time employment scheme (option “b” above), continuous and systematic work proof is required. This includes attestations from your employers ,certified by a notary public or verification of employment from the Human Resources Department, where the period you have worked to date, your position in the company and your scope of work should be mentioned. If you are self-employed (e.g. a company owner), you must provide the Company's statute as well as your tax returns.

The certificate of permanent residence abroad is issued by the Consulate and is sent to the appropriate Military Service Office in Greece. The Consulate will inform you as soon as it receives the certificate of the postponement of your conscription.

Fees
€ 50 equivalent in Rand