VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREECE

UNCLAS ATHENS 001639 SIPDIS DEPT FOR A/LM/OPS/TTM/TM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ATRN AMGT APER KSEP SUBJECT: VISA REQUIREMENT FOR GREECE ¶1. (U) This is an action request, see para 4. ¶2. (U) Several USG personnel have recently been detained in Athens for arriving on a diplomatic or official passport without a Schengen visa, including an Ambassador, a Congressman, and a team of FBI agents whose travel was arranged by Carlson Wagonlit. Detention can last from several hours to overnight at the airport police station, and travelers can be refused entry and sent back to their point of origin. ¶3. (U) Greece very strictly enforces the requirement for diplomatic or official travelers to have obtained a Schengen visa in their passport before arriving in Greece, either as a final destination or a transit point to another Schengen country. US citizen travelers using US tourist passports do not need visas for stays up to 90 days. ¶4. (U) Action request. Post asks TTM/TM to instruct Carlson Wagonlit (CW) to distribute this information through their internal system to all CW USG travel representatives worldwide, so that when travel to or through Greece is arranged, travelers are instructed either to use tourist passports or to get a Schengen visa in their diplomatic or official passports prior to departure. End Action Request. SPECKHARD