Strong reactions have surfaced from the Greek Australian community due to the increase of prices of services provided by the Greek consulate.
Neos Kosmos has recently received numerous phone calls from community members who have said that despite all the efforts of the Consulate staff, the service is time consuming and most often it is impossible to talk to a person in charge over the phone.
Adding to these problems is the increase in consular fees, which caused the indignation of some Greek Australians.
It should be noted that neither the officials of Greece diplomatic missions in Australia nor their superiors are responsible for the increased costs.
Rather, they are victims of cuts. Especially this applies to the Consulate General of Greece in Melbourne, that despite its substantial income doesn’t have enough staff.
The new cost of consular services is contained in a Presidential Decree signed by the President of Greece Mr Karolos Papoulias, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Evangelos Venizelos and Deputy Finance Minister Christos Staikouras.
According to Neos Kosmos official information, this is the ‘indexed price increase of consular fees’, since the previous one was in 2001. In some cases, however, the fee increase reaches up to 500 per cent.
For example, the Permanent Resident Abroad Certificate has increased from 10 euros to 50 euros, or around AU$76.
The cost of some other consular services most commonly performed in diaspora is as follows:
– The validation of the signature for Greek citizens remains at 10 euros. For Australian citizens, it has increased from 20 to 30 euros
– The certification of a copy of a document has increased from 5 to 10 euros
– A birth certificate has increased from one to 10 euros
– A power of attorney certificate has increased from 55 to 60 euros, with the cost increasing if more pages are included
For costs of other consular services, contact the Consulate General or the Embassy of Greece in your State.
