Just out of interest seangler - are you Greek? Married to a Greek and have children of Greek and British nationality? If you read my post again you will also see that yes my child does have an English passport but IS registered IN Greece!
National service for the country you have been raised and educated in is a totally different thing to going to a foreign country to do it and thats whats we are talking about in this discussion not who did what for their country 30 years ago - so thats what I am on about!
Message posted by CorfuLiz on 08 June 2011 at 11:52am - IP Logged
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Thank you all so very much for all the replies and information. It never ceases to amaze me how wonderful this forum can be. Jan M you are fantastic your reply with real experience is invaluable. We certainly won't ignore the papers Spiros filled them in with one of the officers while he was here and has consulted our lawyer. What has made us smile is that because of the baptism he became registered here but when he never attended any school, no one came to ask why we were not having him educated which is also against the law!! Please keep this nice it is important and it will be sad if the thread is taken off by the moderators.
Message posted by CorfuLiz on 08 June 2011 at 12:47pm - IP Logged
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Shilpa we are making a lot enquiries, this is a subject which must touch a lot of peoples lives both here and in the UK. Always feel free to pm me and I will post if anything else comes up.
Message posted by shilpa on 08 June 2011 at 1:48pm - IP Logged
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I think one thing in my post was misleading- and if I am correct I apologise.
If you are eligible for deferment but are working abroad and do not want to come back you can register and become an 'allowed deserter(!)' and can come into Greece for one month a year on a return ticket only, up to the age of 35 when (I think) you can buy out any service for which you were liable.
If however you fall in to the category of being exempt from military service altogether, although of Greek nationality,- because you have lived abroad since before the age of 9 you can then get a special kind of Greek passport which describes you as being a Greek living abroad. With this passport you can live in Greece for up to 6 months a year but cannot work there. If you do work you then become liable for military service.
My advice is each time your son changes schools get a letter from the school stating the dates that he is there, and put it in file together with proof of his parents' residence abroad (a council tax bill is popular for this, or bank statements as these show exactly what years you are living in UK. Keep it in case it is needed in the future.
However, my advice may be outdated as things change fast, so the Greek Embassy is the best bet- when I went there regarding my younger son's deferment the lady there volunteered the information herself that unlike his older brother he had been in UK from an earlier age which meant that he could avoid it completely. He however does not want to limit the possibilities of his working life in Greece, so plans to do it when called up.
Seaangler- two friends of my son's have just finished military service (which incidentally is only in the army now, the other services are professional). One said his advice was to keep away as it was boring and useless, a total waste of time, nothing learnt, hours of sitting around smoking. The other said virtually the same, but added that it was worth doing as once it was done you did not have it hanging over you!
It also costs the parents as nowadays there is no free transport home when they are on leave- they are just told to get out of camp for 4 days or so, so parents have to pay out for fares or a room- plus regular supplements to the pittance of an allowance that the army gives. The only conscripts who do get a small salary are those who have volunteered to serve in Cyprus.
I am very glad that my son is coming back to do his, and I hope it will instill discipline etc.- we shall see!
Incidentally in one of your posts you state that if he has a British passport he doesn't have to do Greek service (which incidentally is 9 months currently). No, of course he doesn't, IF his sole nationality is British, however dual nationals are an entirely different subject. And as I said it is virtually impossible to renounce Greek citizenship.
Message posted by seaangler (Chat Room Administrator) on 08 June 2011 at 6:59pm - IP Logged
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seaangler
Jan...
I am going back some twenty five years or more..it might be like than now...but not back then...I can assure you.
Quote..
I am very glad that my son is coming back to do his, and I hope it will instill discipline etc.- we shall see!
It never hurt any one...
Message posted by janmanessi on 08 June 2011 at 8:19pm - IP Logged
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Your posts are always very interesting Jan. I wish Mark had learnt to speak Greek I would be less concerned. I certainly agree with you on the discipline point! He may even learn the language which will be another good point. I think it was how it all took us by surprise when the three police arrived down with no warning just the paper work I had no idea this was a possibility after all the time etc spent in England. His father will go to the Embassy in London but certainly on your advice we won't ignore any correspondence from the army. Thank you once again for taking the time to respond. Regards.
Message posted by Dave and Kerry on 08 June 2011 at 10:34pm - IP Logged
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How would this work if a person born in Greece of dual parentage but lived all their life in the UK with a UK passport then joined the armed forces in the UK? How could they be expected to carry out military service in Greece?
The thread it is quite an interesting subject.
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