Retiring to the Greek Islands
By Sue Willett
Steve and I have been visiting Zakynthos on Zante for fifteen years and love everything about it - the food, the people and the climate. We had always planned to retire here and the opportunity arose last year when Steve was made redundant and I was able to take early retirement from nursing. We decided to take the plunge.
After looking at several properties we visited the Alykes site and thought it was just what we wanted. The mobile home was spacious and comfortable and the surrounding area was absolutely beautiful. With the support of our families, we managed to sell our house in Manchester and finally made the move in March 2009.
Our Journey to Zante began with Steve and I doing a lot of research and taking advice from the Zante expats' website, from expats who had already made the journey and who are now happily living on the Island.
The Journey begins
We planned to make the trip in our tranny van with most of our belongings packed in the back. When the big day arrived we made our way out of Manchester and down to the port of Dover where we boarded the ferry for the short crossing to Calais. From Calais we headed towards Reims where we had our first overnight stop.
The next morning we set off bright and early heading through France and into Switzerland. The journey through the Alps was fantastic with breathtaking views all around and then on to Bologna in Northern Italy for our next overnight stop.
On day three we headed to Ancona for the early afternoon ferry that would take us through the night to Patras on mainland Greece. We left the ferry and made the short drive across Greece to Killini for the 4.30 pm crossing to Zante.
At last we arrived in Zante and drove the short distance to our new mobile home in Alykes. It was a lovely experience when we arrived. Spiros, Marietta and Dionysious were there to welcome us and present us with a bottle of their home made wine. A wonderful start to our retirement.
Useful Information if you plan to live on Zante
How to obtain a Greek tax number
A tax number is necessary for purchasing property or land, buying a car, installing a land line telephone and internet connection and opening a bank account. All the necessary forms are available from the local tax office in Zakynthos town.
Telephone and Internet Access
We visited the OTE Telephone Shop in Zante Town for our landline telephone and internet connection. We needed our new Greek tax number and our passports and here we applied for our new phone and internet access. A week later our new phone line was installed. You will need to buy your own telephone and socket box for the wall. We then visited PC express in town where we were able to arrange for a modem, fast internet connection and wifi for only 30 euro a month. This was installed and all working within 5 days.
Residence Permit
You will need a Residency permit if you want to buy or import a car. EU rules require you to register at a local police station and the Greek authorities will issue you with a permit. You need passport pictures, a photocopy of your passport, your passport, your parents names, your new Greek address, tax number, date of arrival in Greece, two copies of your European health card, proof of income. pensions etc or contract of employment.
Healthcare in Zante
In Greece you will be treated by a state healthcare provider but you must remember that for some services you may need to pay part of the treatment and this may be reimbursed when you return to the UK. The Greek social security office IKA-ETAM is located in Zante town. Here you will need your E106 form, your passports, tax numbers and a passport sized photograph.
The emergency number in Greece is 166.
Opening a bank account
We took the advice of several expats and went to Alpha Bank in Solomon square in Zante town. Here again we needed our passports, tax numbers and proof of our new address. It only took half an hour with the help of the bank assistant and we came away with our new bank book. Alpha bank has a website with English translation for easy use.
Buying or importing a car
If you want to buy or import a car there are various steps you must take.
Firstly you need to visit the Greek embassy for a certificate of change of residence. When you drive or ship the car into Greece keep your tickets as proof of the date of entry. You will also need your tax number and your residency permit.
You must visit customs within one month of the car arriving in Greece, pay a reduced registration tax and have an entry in the owners and spouses passport by customs.
You then have to take your car to KETO the Government MOT test station. Once this is complete you need to go to the vehicle Registration office at the transport department.
Next you need to arrange your new Greek car insurance and then send your export slip from your UK registration document to DVLA.
There are a few good car showrooms around Zante and second hands cars are advertised in bars and in the local free paper.
Shopping in Zante
There is a good range of shops in Zante. The main shopping area is Alexandrou Roma in Zante town and you will find most types of stores here. There is a farmers market in the Laiki Agora on Mondays, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Here you can buy lots of freshly grown fruit, vegetables and locally laid eggs. Fresh fish may be purchased straight from the fishing boats moored in the harbour.
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