Admission of international students to Greek Universities
MINISTRY of EDUCATION
LIFELONG LEARNING
and RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS
DIRECTORATE of ORGANIZING
and CONDUCTING EXAMINATIONS
Department A΄
37 Andrea Papandreou Str.
151 80 – Marousi
PHONE NUMBERS: 210-3442100, 210-3442705, 2103442696
Fax: 210-3442077
WEBSITE: www.minedu.gov.gr
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE ADMISSION TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREECE OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:
A) GRADUATES OF FOREIGN ORIGIN OF NON-E.U. LYCEUMS
B) GRADUATES OF LYCEUMS OR EQUIVALENT SCHOOLS OF E.U. MEMBER STATES WHO ARE OF NON-GREEK ORIGIN
1. According to the Ministerial Decision F.151/20049/Β6/20.02.2007 (FEK 272B/01-03-07), as modified and in effect today various categories of candidates can be admitted to Higher Education in Greece under special provisions. Two such categories are:
A) Graduates of foreign origin of Non-E.U. Lyceums and
B) Graduates of Lyceums or Equivalent Schools of E.U. Member States of non-Greek origin. Candidates belong to one of these categories on condition that neither they themselves nor their parents are of Greek origin.
ATTENTION: Graduates of Greek secondary schools, which operate in Greece, are not entitled to apply for admission to Higher Education in Greece according to these specific provisions (Φ.151/41977/Β6/6.04.2011 ΦΕΚ832Β/12.05.2011).
NOTE: Candidates of the above-mentioned categories are not entitled to reapply if they have already been admitted and have acquired a Higher Education Degree in Greece according to the specific provisions.
ATTENTION: CANDIDATES WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE DATES FOR APPLYING BY A LATER ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE WEBSITE OF THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION LIFELONG LEARNING AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS AT THE ADDRESS: www.minedu.gov.gr (section «ΕΞΕΤΑΣΕΙΣ», subsection «Αλλοδαποί-Αλλογενείς»)
2. The required documents submitted by the candidate to the Secretariat of the University of Entry are the following:
a) The original graduation certificate, validated by the competent educational authority of the candidate’s country.
NOTE: Graduation certificates that are acquired by distance are not accepted
b) A certificate of his/her total marks average, issued either by the Ministry of Education or by the competent educational authority of the candidate’s country, or by the Embassy of his/her country in Greece. The total marks average should be issued on a 0-20 mark scale, 20 being the top mark and 0 the lowest mark (form II).
An entry certificate with the total mark, required for holders of a graduation certificate from a Lyceum of the Republic of Cyprus.
c) A certificate issued by the competent educational or diplomatic authority of the candidate’s country, confirming that his/her graduation certificate entitles him/her to enter a Higher Education Institution in his/her own country (form III).
This certificate is not necessary for the holders of a graduation certificate from a Cypriot Lyceum.
d) A certificate issued by the competent educational or diplomatic authority of the candidate’s country, confirming the country and the curriculum of the candidate’s graduation school (form IV).
This certificate is not necessary for the holders of a graduation certificate from a Cypriot Lyceum.
e) A certificate issued by the competent educational or diplomatic authority of the candidate’s country, confirming that he/she has fully attended the last year of a Lyceum or equivalent school in the country of his/her graduation, the student should have attended the school courses from beginning to end of the school year. (form V)
f) A certificate showing not only the candidate's origin, but also his/her parents’ origin (it should be clearly confirmed that none of them is of Greek origin). (form I)
g) Two small-size photographs of the candidate.
h) A validated copy of the candidate’s passport (VISA) or stay-permit, about the candidate’s legal presence in Greece
i) An official statement that the candidate:
i. does not hold a graduation certificate of a Greek secondary school which operates in Greece
ii. does not hold any degree of Greek Higher Education Faculty or Department and
iii. has not been admitted to any Greek Higher Education Faculty or Department in the year 2010 or earlier. Candidates, holders of a graduation certificate from a Cypriot Lyceum formally state that they hold an entry certificate with the total mark of the current year.
3. All the documents issued by a foreign authority (school, educational authority, etc.) must be:
i. validated for the signature authenticity of the undersigned person either by a Greek diplomatic authority abroad or by the diplomatic authority of the foreign country in Greece (in the latter case, these documents must be validated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Greece) and
ii. translated into Greek either by a Greek diplomatic authority abroad or by the Translation Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Greece.
Attention should be paid to the documents issued by foreign schools in Greece. The Greek Educational Authorities responsible for the specific school (i.e. Directorate of Secondary Education that the school belongs to) should validate the authenticity of the documents issued by the school and state the legal operation status of the school.
Documents which have been issued by the following countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Barbados, Bahamas, Belarus, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei-Darussalam, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Finland, Fiji, FYROM, Germany, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lesotho, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein Luxembourg, Macao, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldavia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Norway, Oman, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, St. Lucia, San Marino, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Serbia, Samoa, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Surinam, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vanuatu, Venezuela, do not need any ratification by a Greek diplomatic authority abroad, provided that they bear the APOSTILLE stamp mentioned in the articles 3 and 4 of the Hague Convention (5th October 1961) by the local competent authorities assigned for this purpose in every contracting country according to article 6 of the Hague Convention.
For this reason, the candidates who obtain their documents from the above mentioned countries should apply to the competent authority of their own country and make sure they have the requested stamp on their documents.
ATTENTION: Candidates, holders of a graduation certificate from Cypriot Lyceums, regardless of the place of residence, in order to participate in the specific category must submit their application-entry forms ONLY at the Special centres of Collecting Applications which will specifically operate in Cyprus and must follow the instructions related to the dates, the place and the procedure of applying and submitting the required documents determined by the competent authority of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus (For further information, please contact the Ministry of Education and Culture NICOSIA: 00357 22800626, 00357 22800763 & 0035722800931).
NOTE: ONLY Christian Orthodox candidates are eligible for the Higher Ecclesiastical Academies. Candidates for the clerical studies program can ONLY be male.
USEFUL INFORMATION FOR THE SELECTED CANDIDATES
1. The selection of the candidates, who enter a Faculty or a Department of Higher Education, is made by decision of the Minister of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs. The Faculties and the Departments, to which the candidates can be admitted, are listed on the candidate’s application entry form.
2. Candidates take no entrance examinations and the selection criterion is the total mark of the entry certificate only for holders of a graduation certificate from a General Lyceum of the Republic of Cyprus, while for candidates from other countries the criterion is the overall mark of their graduation certificate
3. With regard to their registration, the candidates admitted into a Faculty or a Department, are also required to hold a certificate denoting their command of the Greek language. Such a certificate is issued after relevant examinations either by the University of Athens or by the University of Thessaloniki; alternatively, the candidates should hold a B2 (3rd) level certificate issued by the Greek Language Centre. If the candidates do not hold any of these language certificates, they can only enroll in the next academic year of their admission to a Greek University, on condition that they will by then have obtained the prerequisite language certificate. Otherwise, the candidates are disqualified from enrolling.
The examinations for the Greek language certificate are held twice a year around May and September in ATHENS, at the Modern Greek Language Centre of the University of Athens in Zografou (tel: 0030 210 7277672 / 7277971); also, in June and October in THESSALONIKI, at the School of Modern Greek Language of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (tel: 0030 2310 997571 / 2). The examinations for the B2 level certificate issued by the Greek Language Center are held in May (www.greeklanguage.gr/certification)
For further information concerning the language examinations and the exam periods, the candidates need to contact either the University of Athens or the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki at least a month prior to the exam date, to make sure that they will not miss the deadline or any potential changes of the language exam.
If a candidate holds a graduation certificate either from a Cypriot Lyceum, or from a foreign school attesting that the candidate has been taught and successfully examined in the Greek language, no Greek language certificate is required.
4. Candidates should undergo a medical examination before enrolling, according to each Faculty or Department’s regulations.
5. Foreign students who come from non-E.U. Member States and are admitted in Higher Education in Greece, pay fees so as to cover a small percentage of both the expenses of studies and the books they are granted. The amount of expenditure is to be determined by a future Ministerial decision.
6. Students of non-E.U. citizenship must bear in mind that the Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs has no authority to grant a visa or a stay-permit. The stay-permit is issued by the regional competent services of our country (Offices of Foreigners and Immigration Issues) only to those candidates who are admitted to Higher Education in Greece, provided that there are no reasons against the granting of this stay-permit.
It is also noted that according to the Greek legislation N.3386/2005 (ΦΕΚ Α΄ 212) a stay-permit (granted for study purposes) is not granted if a student changes Faculty or Department twice.
Students can change Faculty or Department only once by submitting a new application entry form within the year following their first admission to a Faculty or Department.
MODEL FORMS
FORM Ι: Certificate of origin
............................................................................................................................
(Authority of the country issuing the certificate)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
It is certified that.............................................................................. (Candidate’s full name) is of.................................................origin. His/her parents ………………………………….. (Father’s name) and …………………….. (Mother’s name) are of....................................origin.
................................ 201... (date)
The Competent Official
(signature - stamp – First Name & Surname)
FORM ΙI: Certificate of the candidate’s marks
.............................................................................................................................
(issued by the competent educational or diplomatic authority)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
It is certified that, according to the legislation of our country, the average total mark of the graduation certificate from …...................................... (school) that ........................................................................................ (candidate’s full name) has obtained, is ......................... (mark) on a 0-20 marks scale.
(The mark must be written both in numbers and fully).
............................... 201... (date)
The Competent Official
(signature - stamp – First Name & Surname)
FORM IIΙ: Document certifying the candidate’s admission right to University
…………………………………………………………………………………………
(issued by the competent educational or diplomatic authority)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
It is certified that, according to the legislation of our country, the graduation certificate from ……………………………………………………… (school) that ………................................................................................. (candidate’s full name) has obtained, entitles him / her to be admitted to University Faculties of the following disciplines:
. .......................... 201... (date)
The Competent Official
(signature - stamp – First Name & Surname)
FORM IV: Document certifying the curriculum of the candidate’s graduation school
.........................................................................................
(issued by the competent educational or diplomatic authority)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
It is certified that the........................................................ (name of the school) where ................................................................... (candidate’s full name) has graduated from, follows the curriculum of ....................................... (name of the country).
................................................. 201... (date)
The Competent Official
(signature - stamp – First Name & Surname
FORM V: Document certifying the full attendance of the last year of a Lyceum or an equivalent school
.........................................................................................
(issued by the competent educational or diplomatic authority)
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
It is certified that....................................................... (candidate’s full name) has fully attended the last year of Lyceum in............. (school year).
.................................................. 201... (date)
The Competent Official
(signature - stamp - First Name & Surname)
