From 7 July to 30 September 2012, all tourists vacationing on the West coast of Turkey, have a unique opportunity to visit five Greek Islands (KOs, Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos and Chios) without a Schengen visa.
The European Union has agreed to this experiment because of the claim that long procedure of Schengen visa is an obstacle for the tourist flow to Greece. It was therefore decided to simplify the entry into the country.
Now vacationers legally in Turkey can buy a ticket for the ferry and within two weeks enjoy the unique nature of Greece and admire the ancient monuments of Greece.
At the Consulate of Greece explained that the visa-free entry principle is simple. It is necessary in Turkey to contact one of the tour companies that are officially engaged in paperwork to visit Greece. Buy in the office of the ferry ticket and/or book a hotel on one of the five Islands. Travel companies should provide the copy of the passport, one photograph, taken by the Schengen visa sample and filled out a statement. All documents will be scanned and sent electronically to the Greek immigration service. Athenauem to the Islands it will be necessary only to show their documents and the original visa application during passport control in Greece, as well as to pay 35 Euro visa fee).
The entry permit can be obtained directly upon arrival to the island. It's enough to pay the application fee and fill out a visa application at the border and provide the original passport and photo.
After this simple procedure, the campers are allowed to stay on the Islands up to 15 days. In addition, Russian tourists have a unique opportunity to carry out in Greece the day free visa.
According to the statement the Greek national tourism organization, if the experiment is successful, the visa-free travel to the Greek Islands will endure.