School options for kids 15 to 18 in Greece are either lyceums (the Greek term for high schools) or “EPAL” (the Greek name for vocational high schools).
Greek high schools host special reception classes for refugees ages 15 to 18.
Reception classes are core-curriculum classes designed for children who are learning Greek as a foreign language. Students focus on the Greek language.
Quick facts about school enrollment
- Refugee students can enrol anytime throughout the school year for the gymnasium and lyceum's first level (class). However, after the first semester ends in December, the Greek Ministry of Education says it will be more difficult for students to catch up with special classes and vocational training courses.
- Children who already attend junior high school (called “gymnasium” in Greece) will be automatically registered in lyceums or EPALs.
- Children should be under 18 at the time of enrollment.
What if I miss the deadline?
The registration period starts in mid-May and is open until the end of June every year. The enrollment process and registration can happen through an electronic platform. The registrations open again at the beginning of September for those who lost the summer deadlines. You can find the platform here.
Refugee students can enrol anytime throughout the school year. However, it’s better to do it during the registration periods in order to start your school semester from the beginning and avoid missing important courses. It will be more difficult to catch up.
How to enrol
The parents are responsible to enrol their children. For that, they must have a Greek tax number (AFM) and codes for accessing the TAXISnet platform can register their kids online.
I don’t have an AFM yet! Can I enrol?
Don’t worry. The Ministry of Education has asked school principals to accept registrations from all pre-registered or fully registered asylum seekers and recognized refugees, even if they don’t have an AFM number.
To make this possible, the Ministry of Education asks for all enrollment applications to go either through the Refugee Education Coordinators who work inside the camps and in urban areas of Greece or through NGOs that work in education.
Where can I ask for help?
Even if you have an AFM number and codes to access the online TAXISnet platform, the Ministry of Education advises that you ask for help from an education NGO, as the process is new and quite complex.
If you live in an urban accommodation hosted by an NGO, ask a social worker or another NGO worker for help. They will contact a specialized education NGO, or a Refugee Education Coordinator, who will help you enrol.
If you live in a camp, contact the Ministry of Education's Refugee Education Coordinator in the camp for help.
If you live in private accommodation, you can find an education NGO on our Service Map.
Services
Visit our Service map, to look for services provided to asylum seekers and refugees, such as health services, information and support services, legal services, educational services, women, girls and children’s services etc. For your search, you need to follow the below steps:
- In the "Region" tab, you can choose your location area in Greece, such as Attica, Western Macedonia, Crete etc.
- In the "City" tab, you can choose your city in the region, such as Athens, Thessaloniki etc.
- In the "All Services" tab, you can choose among services such as community centres that provide activities free of charge, legal actors, languages classes for free, public hospitals and social and health services provided by NGOs.
You can also navigate on the map or choose the list view:
Please note that the Service Map provides information in English, but you can send us a message on Facebook to direct you to NGOs, service providers and public services according to your needs.
What documents do I need?
To enrol, you’ll need:
- Your Registration card or a Residence Permit.
- A health booklet or a vaccinations booklet
- Proof of residence. (If you live in a private apartment, you can take an electricity bill as proof of address. If you live in a camp or urban accommodation provided by an NGO, your camp or apartment managers should provide proof of address for you.
- Your tax number (AFM), if you have one, and access codes for the online TAXISnet platform.
- For Ukrainian nationals, you need to bring the Temporary Protection card.
If you don’t have all these documents right now, or if you don’t have an AFM number, don’t worry — the Ministry of Education has instructed principals to accept your enrollment anyway. You can bring the missing documents in later.
If you are under 18 and in Greece without your family
If you are in Greece without your family, you can enrol, too. Your guardian should contact a Refugee Education Coordinator or an education NGO and help you follow the enrollment process.
If you don’t yet have a guardian, go to the nearest school and tell the principal you want to enrol. He or she will write to the public prosecutor to get a guardian assigned to you.
You can start school while you wait for a guardian to be assigned.
It is best to go to the school with someone from an NGO that supports people under 18 who are alone in Greece. Send us a Facebook message and we will try to help you find one.