All requests for temporary AMKA have been cleared for Covid-19 vaccination, Panagiotis Arkoumaneas, President of the National Public Health Organizationtold state broadcaster ERT TV on Thursday morning.
The government had opened the online platform to provide with “temporary AMKA (social security number)” for the sole purpose of Covid-vaccination foreigners living in Greece some two months ago.
However, thousands of permanent residents, pensioners of foreign nationality and expat Greeks who had returned to the country, remained “invisible” for the online system where people can book an appointment for vaccination.
Their request for the temporary AMKA remained unanswered.
KTG had received a lot of complaints by foreign nationals mostly living on the islands who expressed their fear – in some cases also ‘panic’ -that they cannot get inoculated, especially when the country opens for tourists.
Some applied for a second and even third time as the feedback they received in their first application was ‘zero’ and waited in vain for several weeks.
Sloppy work on the criteria send the desperate people forth and back from AMKA to tax registration number (AFM) from online platform to Citizens’ Service offices (KEP) and into an endless spiral of Kafkasian bureaucracy with no way out.
According to daily efsyn report (a week ago), the majority of these foreign nationals or former expat Greeks are over 60 years old and remained without vaccination still five months after the rollout.
Given the age group of holders of temporary AMKA, now the next step the Greek government should take is to give vaccination priority to these people.
Of course, there are also foreign nationals younger than 60 who work in Greece.
With a joint ministerial decision published on the Official Gazette on Thursday, temporary AMKA can be obtained also by asylum seekers including unaccompanied minors.
Greece currently makes vaccination to people over 30 and to those living on the islands from the age of 18.
You can obtain temporary AMKA (application in Greek) at emvolio.gov.gr
Alternatively you can seek a KEP office for the application and the local pharmacy to book a vaccination appointment.
We want your opinion:
If you applied for temporary AMKA, please, take the poll below:
Loading ...Thank you!
Thankyou so much for finally listening to us after first applying for a on 11th February via the Emvolio site for the vaccination and then being told the system had changed and that we had to re-apply for temporary AMKA numbers on 6.4.2021, we finally received our temporary numbers along with many others after the system appeared to have been switched on 13.5.21. We literally tried everything going round and round in circles and feeling very frustrated. Being in the vulnerable age group over 60 myself and my husband have been on lockdown since March last year and will be to a certain extent until our first vaccination due on 22nd June. Have felt very let down by the Greek Goverment who we have been paying into for the last 15 years. I really hope the Goverment increase the rate of vaccinations quickly to enable tourists to be able to travel to Greece and hopefully save the country from all the financial problems which are sure to follow if they do not get moving.
thanks for the feedback.
My wife had her Temp Amka on the 13th May also, together with all our friends. I haven’t received mine yet despite apply the same time as my wife and another 3 times since. What an absolute shambles of a system, why isn’t our AFM or Resident number enough to get vaccinated. Why all this made up beaurocracy . We have a vaccine drop in centre on our island, which isn’t for you if you haven’t Amka. What is happening to all the missed appointments and unused vaccine, as many of my Greek friends simply do not want the vaccine.
Well that did,nt take long did it? I,ll wait and see how many say it,s still not working.
That’s the spirit, be optimistic…..
I,ve lived in Greece long enough to know how things don,t work.
Yep we still wait our temporary Amca since February absolutely disgrace U.K. couple over 60 lived in our own propert for 6 years in Corfu!! Anyone can help please??
We applied on April 7th and have not received a temporary AMKA, the KEP was extremely unhelpful and the municipality put all responcibility to the government… we are on an island that advertises itself being covid free for the tourists…
We’ve applied multiple times and been ignored. Then suddenly at the beginning of the month my fresh applications resulted in two PAMKAS. We thought one of them was for me and the other for my wife, but NO. They’re BOTH for ME. We’ve repeatedly tried to get one for my wife (who needs it more than me so she can travel), but they continually ignore her requests. What really bugs me is that you cannot find ANYONE who actually takes responsibility for this cock-up and there are only nameless individuals in their offices. So, you cannot report anyone for incorrect management of their position or office. Typical Civil Service bureaucrcy.
Received my temporary AMKA via SMS two months after applying – and two weeks after I returned to Germany 😉
Fortunately I eventually will get my first jab in a few days here and so will be fully vaccinated when I return to Greece end of July.
I am not sure I want to know how long I would have had to wait for an appointment in Greece, though.
For people who actually get their temporary AMKA there is no real delay if they are in the correct age group. It can take a few days for a temporary AMKA issued by KEP to be recognised on the system but, once it is, appointments can be almost immediate.
As far as I can tell, while KEP could submit the application for anyone, they can only issue the temporary AMKA to people without an AFM, i.e,. tax number. For people who have a tax number KEP simply tells them to wait for the system to respond to the application and I know people in that category who are still waiting.
It’s interesting that a government spokesperson claimed, a few days ago, that the delay was because they didn’t have sufficient information on the people. In reality people without any documentation are getting them and the ones with property and a tax number, which means the government has full information, are the ones still waiting.
in reality they have no idea and are not able to get 1+1 together
I agree with all that’s been said, I and my three relatives, all of whom have had houses in Greece for years applied in February, waited only to be told we couldn’t be vaccinated because we hadn’t AMKA, go to KEP, they knew nothing to help us. that’s was 6th April. Luckily a local Chemist told me to apply on embolio website, I looked and found new page, we all reapplied, finally 10 days ago, I received a temporary number and had my first jab this morning for which I am truly grateful of course. HOWEVER, my 3 relatives, all pensioners haven’t heard anything yet. Talk about a Lottery is an understatement!
maybe they should/could apply again. just a thought.
Thank you for the suggestion, they had already done this, it doesn’t seem to speed things up.
Anne, how was te procedure after you received your temporary number ?
Very Greek! The actual vaccination was fine though. Living with the continual fear of contracting this awful disease rules one’s life, so finally having the first jab was emotional but uplifting at the same time.
3 applications so far, one of which was completed for me by the KEP office. have heard nothing so far. It may have been better if they had just let us PAY for the jab, everyone I know would have been happy to do so, instead of all the paperwork required to get the temporary amka, causing all of us endless worry about our safety, and many of us are STILL WAITING!!!
Just completed my 9th application over 7 weeks! Absolutely ZERO response. No temporary AMKA number SMS, no feedback, no email, no phone contact. No way to query lack of response. Just a big black hole of silence.
If its any consolation you are NOT alone!! We just have to hang in there and hope!!!
Isn’t paperwork in greece not always terrible?
This is not surprising at all.
I just don’t care anymore, its a way of life.
Not interested in the jabs, so many panic while the chance is extreme small that you would notice covid.
Tell that to the130000 that have died in the UK alone
Well we keep trying…. Hopefully this Government will just open up ALL vaccinations for EVERYONE here in Greece…with NO red tape. We have applied four times and nothing…. Would someone who knows someone please let the Government know this system is not working.
I was born in Greece, spent most of my adult life in US and obtained US citizenship, and have returned to Greece for retirement with my US. I have a permanent Greek police ID. My wife has a 5 year Greek residence permit. We do not have regular AMKA numbers. We applied on February 19. And re-applied at the end of April and mid-May on envolio.gr. Finally, on May 20, my wife received her temporary AMKA. But despite the announcements that all requests for temporary AMKAs have been “cleared” according to National Public Health System, that is not true. I have not received mine, nor have numerous friends in m position. I am 82 years old. My wife is 78. Don’t we deserve the vaccine?
I had same problems but now had 2 jabs. Guess what….. on applying for the vaccination certificate it comes up as AMKA Invalid.
I suggest everybody hounds the Embassy and their local Consular Official. It is their job to ensure our rights and speak to the Greek Govt.
Hi there Martin Stringer,
Got my Temporary AMKA but when trying to make appointment , got also the invalid notification.
Wonder how you finally managed to get your vaccinations done ..
I am a Pensioner of 70 years old, a writing traveller with the Dutch nationality..
I arrived on the Island of Ikaria a 60 days ago.
At the time of my arrival Covid here was hardly a problem.
There were maybe only a handful of Covid cases, and as far as I know not a single hospitalisation here.
Things changed however here as soon Greece lifted the also national travel restrictions..
As soon the first (mostly Greek) peoples arrived from the main land of Greece , in a week time thirty to forty new Covid cases were registrated here in the little Port of Agios Kirykos ( on a 15 minutes walk from Therma where I stay ), here on the North Aegean.
Anyway ..as the situation slowly grew to more cases I decided on the 5th of July 2021 to use the opportunity given by the Greek Ministery of Health to foreign travellers, for those who did not have a Greek tax number (AMKA number), to apply for a temporary tax number, abeling traveling people like me to make an appointment for a Covid vaccination at the local Information Center (KEP)also here in Agios Kirymos.
So on the 7th of July I received full of joy from the KEP my temporary AMKA number.
From there with my temporary AMKA number I was send to the Hospital in Agios K. to receive my first Pfeizer shot ( as the KEP lady told me . )..
There at the Hospital however they told me I only could make an appointment for vaccination with a
real ‘ Greek tax number and been send back again to the KEP.
The same lady at the KEP, who by computer had arranged me the temp. AMKA tax number seemed surprised when she saw me again and then very helpfully tried to find out for me what to do next… “Maybe you should wait a little more .. The System possibly.. “
I told her that on the Government Website of Greek Min. of Health, I had read somewhere .. that if in one way of the other the KEP did not succeeded in making the appointment -or through the same website of the Min. of Health, the other possibility online with the given temp. AMKA was not successful , the local Pharmacies in Greece with that temp. AMKA number, could make the appointment for getting a Covid vaccine as well.
Anyway ..the absolutely friendly KEP lady however told me it was MAYBE better to try first the Govern. Online website and if that did not work then to come back to her. in stead of going straight to a Pharmacist….. other wise things MAYBE could get mixed-up ..“, she told me .
At home I soon found out that Online the given temp. AMKA number was not recognized by the system ..
The next day before passing again at the KEP office, I decided to check out however what would happen at the Pharmacy ..
The particular Pharmacy I chose was first not very helpful and an employer told me simple that me as a foreigner .. without a Tax number .. could not get a Covid vaccine ..
I asked for the real’ Pharmacist, who luckily knew about the temp. AMKA for foreigners, however told me that only the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was MAYBE available in Eftilos .. an other harbour on Ikaria on 40 km away from Agios Kirykos.
As I preferred Pfeizer, I told her I would think about it and went on my way back to the lady of the KEP.
Well ..the KEP lady patiently again went through her system and only could tell me the same as the day before .. ‘ ..better to wait a couple of days to return here and MAYBE then the AMKA number would show-up in the system…and again told me better not go to a Pharmacy ..not to mix -up the system.
Couple of days later again I went back to the KEP and again nothing in the Greek system..
She suggested: “ I could better wait to come and see her again in 20 days ( ???) as I received my Temp. AMKA tax number on the 7th of July .. ‘ .. or MAYBE after all go to a Pharmacist ‘, she had added .
As in the meantime more and more Delta was -and is spreading all over Europe , and me traveling p.e .. back to Holland .. to get my vaccine there, wasn’t and isn’t a very wise thing to do … and waiting another almost three weeks to get my first vaccine also seems to be a bad option.. I decided to go after all for J&J ..and a Pharmacist
Well so I did and do so .. trying to get my vaccine every day by phoning the truly nice Pharmacist I found.
Today the 19th of July 2021 my Pharmacist again had to disappoint me ..
“ Sorry ..I looked.. and still you are not in the system with your AMKA number ..Seems you are trapped in the system “, he had added after again he had checked the score on his computer ..’ I would like to be more helpful but I truly do not know how.. So sorry “.
Hope you understand my situation and those of so many other travellers here in Greece .
Something has to happen soon
With Kind regards,
Leonard
not sure travelers can get a vaccine here. Certainly though foreign residents here with no AMKA who get a temporary one.