We are US Citizens on our sailing catamaran and are thoroughly aware of the Schengen treaty rules and expected to be limited to 90 days in the EU (just Greece for this trip). Below is a recount of our trials and tribulations. The port of entry will not be disclosed to protect the innocent (and ourselves).

We entered Greece in May 2013. We went to the police (who do immigration at this location) and got our passports stamped. We then went to customs and got our transit log. The customs man was very clear that we would be allowed to stay 180 days in Greece. I questioned this and he repeated it. We then went to the Port Authority and paid a small fee.

We were confused but the customs man was explicit so we stayed for 120 days, exiting at a different port of entry/exit where the immigration people told us we had overstayed our 90-day Schengen visa. No amount of protestations would dissuade them, nor would they call customs at our entry location. We were fined 600 Euros each, payable immediately or upon re-entry into the EU during the next four years. We elected the latter option.

We re-entered Greece at the same location as before on a Monday in April, 2014. We went to the police and they told us we had to pay the 600 Euros per person. There was a lot of confusion because they admitted they had never dealt with this before. We paid and they gave us each a yellow receipt done in triplicate with carbon paper. The copy I got was so faint I could not make a backup copy. No other document (suitable at least for copying) was provided and nothing was placed in our passport indicating that we had paid. I requested both and was refused.

We then proceeded to customs and got a new person there, a lady. She issued a new transit log and said we now have 180 days in Greece and showed this to me on her computer screen. I told her what happened to us and she then telephoned the police. After half an hour animated discussion, she shrugged her shoulders and said that if we want to stay longer than 90 days, we should go to the Port Authority one day after the 90 days and pay for an extension. Nothing was done to straighten this issue out between the police (immigration) and customs.

We then went to the Port Authority and paid our small fees.

Before leaving, I asked the officer there how much a visa extension would cost if we needed it. She replied that she had no idea and the Port Authority doesn’t deal with this. Note: The customs office and the Port Authority office are both on ground level right next to each other.

After this experience on Monday, I went back to the police on Tuesday to see if the penalty flags on our computer records had been removed in the system for the whole EU. Dimitri said no but also said it usually takes 48 hours to remove the flags. He recommended I return on Thursday to check. I did return on Thursday and a new Dimitri #2 had heard of our problems. This was a young officer whose favourite (possibly only) English phrase was “DON’T WORRY”. He did not appear to check our computer records and as they are in Greek, I didn’t ask to see them. After about 25 Don’t Worry, I left.

I returned on Friday and was pleased to see an apparently higher level officer who spoke good English. He understood my situation and said he would be glad to help. After I gave him copious thanks, he said: “Unfortunately we have a power outage, can you come back tomorrow?”

You should know that in every trip to the police up through Friday, I never saw any person twice. Some had heard of our difficulties but I had to re-explain the situation every time. (To be fair, I don’t speak Greek.)

I returned on Saturday and found Dimitri #1 who told me he had looked in the system and the flags had been removed. I have no way to verify this. Only time will tell.

Schengen Visas [BROKEN LINK]

Greece Formalities