The lawyer Ms Kasatkina-Kouskou Svetlana provides legal support and advice for dealing with issues that arise after receiving a negative decision on the grant or renewal of the residence permit of foreigners in Greece.
This is a quite important issue, as lately there are many foreign citizens entering Greece. It is a fact that, usually, when foreigners address to the Municipality after a long and agonizing wait to renew their residence permit, the employees of the Department of foreigners respond that “you cannot update the documents, please contact a lawyer”. Rarely foreigners receive this news with equanimity. Others suffer shock because of the panic and fear to remain undocumented in the country while others waive the effort a little later. Third country nationals who have lived legally for a long time in Greece and have been regularly paying to some extend, their contributions for social insurance, while fulfilling their tax obligations in the country, should not be disappointed.
I would like to point out that the situation has been corrected. The main thing is that within 60 days of the receipt of the decision refusing the grant/renewal of a residence permit, you have to contact a lawyer who will take legal action on this matter. The lawyer will do everything possible for you to get a temporary extension of time by the Administrative court, before the main trial, which is likely to occur no earlier than 3-4 years. For this long time waiting it is issued for the foreigner a special certificate of legal residence in Greece, which excludes the fear of deportation from the country and most important, the foreigner has the right to travel from Greece back to homeland and work as well.
Under the provisions of Law 4251/2014 on the residence permit in Greece, it is not granted or revoked, in the following cases :
a) If a third country national does not meet the condition or general requirements imposed by the Law on the procedure of issuance or renewal of residence permits.
b) If there are violations to the rules of public order and safety
c) In the case that there are reasons related to the safety or public health ( this case is governed by the law in relation to whether the problem occurred before or after the initial authorization)
d) In the case that it is established by the law or by irrevocable decree of the competent Judicial Council, that a third country national had been in the possession of false certificates or false documents, with misleading information, which were won by fraud or by using other similar means.
In particular, the decision of not granting and the revocation of a residence permit depend on the municipality in which it was submitted, regardless of any subsequent change of residence.
The municipality or the community calls the third country national for the notification of the decision refusing to grant (renewal) or to revoke a license, at the address stated as an element of communication pursuant to his declaration of the foreigner. The notification can be in the form of letters, telegrams, or by phone, if it appears from the entry in the register, and it must include the date and the signature of the person making the notification. If a person is not found, an official of the competent authorities must make a new notification, which is sent by registered letter. Specifically it is sent within a reasonable time, which may not exceed three months. After the expiry dates of the official announcement, a copy of the decision is given to the person concerned, or his legal representative.
Third country nationals who have applied for a residence permit and have received the appropriate certificate (type A-“blue certificate”), after the rejecting answer, should certainly return the certificate to the foreign section, the legal validity of which expires automatically according to the law.
In the case that the document is lost the, foreigners should make a statement about this incident to the police department.
In the case of a rejecting decision, when a third country national cannot be found, after exhausting all the above conditions and opportunities for notification, this fact is notified by letter of the competent authorities of the Region, which informs the police and other authorities.
In EU law there are rules governing the refusal, the renewal or revocation of residence permit for third country nationals. The Law 4251/2014 provides the legal basis for the regulation of the refusal to grant the permit, the renewal and the need for action to cancel the residence permit of third country nationals. However it does not include all the basic legal provisions on the subject, which can be adjusted according to the legislation of the European Union. It should be noted that all these issues can be settled by Greek Presidential Decree and subject to the legal system of Greece or the rules of the relevant EU directive.
