What happens if you use the Metro in Athens without a ticket?
If you get fined for using public transportation without a ticket, you will have to pay 60 times the ticket price.
Can I pay less?
You can get a 50% discount on your fine if you pay it within 10 days.
How do I pay my fine?
The easiest way is to go to a post office and pay by check.
Post employees should be able to help you to fill out the check. You must write on the check:
- The fine number
- Your name
- The name of the transportation company that issued the fine
There is a €4 charge for the check.
Find a post office near where you live here.
You can visit a Public Transportation Fine Payment Office if you don’t want to pay the extra €4 for a check.
Where can I find a Public Transportation Fine Payment Office?
If you got fined on a bus (or trolleybus) in Athens visit: Admitou 17 or Parnassou 6.
If you got fined on metro or tram in Athens visit: Metsovou 15.
If you are outside Athens, ask someone who speaks Greek to help you find a Public Transportation Fine Payment Office.
What if I don’t pay the fine?
After 2 months (60 days) from the time you get fined, the amount gets multiplied by 5.
Then the transportation company will send this unpaid fine to Greek tax authorities, who will register it as a debt under your name.
This means that if you have a Greek tax number (AFM) (or if you get an AFM soon), the tax authorities will keep asking you for the payment.
As your AFM number is linked with your Pre-Registration or Full Registration or Residence Permit number, there is no way to avoid getting charged for this large amount of money.
If you get an AFM at any time after you are fined, any existing fines will be linked to your new number, and the tax authorities will start asking you for the payment.
Can’t I just ignore my fines?
Not if you have an AFM — and if you want to work in Greece, you must get an AFM.
Once you have an AFM, the tax authorities will start asking you to pay your fine — with added interest — starting two months after you get the fine.
If you have a bank account under your name or get one in the future, things can get even worse once you owe more than €500.
Current Greek law allows tax authorities to confiscate funds from your bank account when your debt is more than €500.
How can I protect my bank account?
Go to your bank and ask to declare your account “non-confiscated.”
Declaring your account “non-confiscated” ensures that tax authorities can’t confiscate any of your money if doing so would leave you with less than €1,200 in your account.
For example: If you have €1,562 in your non-confiscated account, authorities can only take €362. If you have €943 in your account, authorities cannot take any of your money.
Can they confiscate fines from my cash assistance?
No. Refugee.Info has confirmed that tax authorities cannot confiscate debt payments from your cash assistance.