In Greece, there is no financial assistance for persons with temporary protection. Cash assistance from the Greek authorities is provided only to persons who have applied for international protection (asylum seekers) and who live in official accommodation provided by the Greek authorities.

The documents required to open a bank account vary, depending on the bank. A list of commonly asked documents include:

• identification Document (valid passport and/or residence permit, valid international protection applicants’ card)
• confirmation of the main residence address (Certified public document by a public authority or consulate of the residence location, from which the main residence address occurs)
• Income Certification and Tax Registration Number (AFM)
• Tax Residence Certificate
• Last Tax Clearance and Tax Return Certificate
• Confirmation of profession/ business address and telephone number (Employer’s certificate or document from a public authority, embassy, or consulate from which the professional status arises.

Confirmation of contact telephone number (mobile/ landline number)

In case an interpreter is needed during the procedure of opening the account, the interpreter must provide a solemn declaration including the following text “I have a thorough knowledge of the Greek Language as well as the … language, so that I can accurately translate the terms of the documents in which I will co-sign.”

Each bank, depending on its pricing policy, may charge for the creation of this account.

You can withdraw cash at a bank or at an ATM. You can exchange currencies at banks, exchange bureaus or at an ATM. A few typical places where you will spot ATMs are large squares, metro stations, supermarkets, shopping streets, and of course at the airport and all the major ports of Athens.

You can exchange foreign currency at all the Greek and foreign banks as well as at currency exchange bureaus which you can find at the Athens International Airport, the port of Piraeus, and in the most popular areas downtown like Syntagma and Omonoia.

Keep in mind that you will need a passport to exchange cash and that the process may take longer than you would think if you choose to go to a local bank for the exchange.

More information here .

Everyone who has a local tax registration number (AFM), including refugees and asylum-seekers in Greece, are obliged by Greek law to submit an income tax declaration every year.

You need to submit a tax declaration every year even if you didn’t earn any income. Declaring taxes is critical to accessing social benefits provided by the Greek state.

Find more information on the procedure and deadlines, here .

There is taxation only on income from paid employment, business, or real estate leasing. Social Allowances are tax-free. There are no specific guidelines for Ukrainian refugees, so the procedure is the same as for others.

In this case, individual consultation with a professional lawyer is necessary.

Information about taxation here .

There is an ingenious, but not perfect, solution — to prove to the tax authority of the state in which the citizen does not plan to pay taxes that he is a resident of another country where he fulfills this duty.

A natural person has such a right, as Ukraine has valid conventions and treaties on the avoidance of double taxation with 73 countries of the world. Among them are almost all European countries, as well as the USA and Canada. According to these conventions, Ukrainians who pay taxes in Ukraine have the right to avoid taxation in the country of residence.

If such a situation arises in which a citizen falls under the criteria of a tax resident of Ukraine and at the same time another state defines him as its resident, he has the right to contact the tax authorities of the country of residence and make a request to the Ukrainian tax authorities to confirm that he pays taxes.

That is, in order to prevent double taxation, it is necessary to determine the resident status of an individual and, if necessary, obtain a document that will confirm it. But this may require the help of specialists - tax consultants or lawyers. Specialists advise in advance to collect evidence of the presence of a center of economic interests in Ukraine (if you plan to pay taxes only in Ukraine).

Among them may be:

• certificate of payment of taxes in Ukraine;
• certificate of tax resident of Ukraine (soon to be available in electronic form);
• actual place of registration in Ukraine;
• evidence of the presence of an individual entrepreneur registered in Ukraine (registration documents and tax declarations);
• certificates of current accounts in Ukrainian banks;
• certificates about the child's attendance at educational institutions in Ukraine;
• receipts for the payment of utility bills.

If a citizen of Ukraine is recognized as a resident of Ukraine, but paid taxes in another country, the taxes paid can be credited in Ukraine. But if a person does not meet the criteria of a resident of Ukraine, it allows to change the tax resident status and consider another country as the place of tax payment.

It is important to check the registration of a natural person as a subject of entrepreneurial activity in the Unified State Register. Even if the activity has not been carried out for a long time, but the registration has not been terminated, this is a criterion for recognizing a person as a resident of Ukraine, which is accompanied by the obligation to pay taxes on income received abroad in Ukraine.

Being a citizen of Ukraine, but a tax NON-resident, you will still have to pay taxes in Ukraine for some types of income:

• when receiving inheritance and gifts from persons who are not relatives of the 1st and 2nd degrees of kinship;
• when receiving an investment profit;
• when selling/leasing immovable and movable property to a natural person.

Source .

You can transfer money from Greece to Ukraine via an international transfer or money transfer at a corresponding provider or a bank.

For an international transfer at the bank you have to fill out a special form and usually pay fees. Other special money transfer providers (e.g. Western Union, Moneygram, Wise, Revolut, Paypal) are often a cheaper and faster alternative.