Approved, but never arrived: where metaklisi hires stall after the approval

The approval feels like the finish line. It isn't: the consulate, the country of origin, the flight and the first week in Greece all sit between it and a worker on your site.

When a metaklisi approval comes through, most HR teams mark the case done. From the law's point of view it is barely half-way. Everything that happens next takes place in another country, on another institution's calendar, and the employer is often the last to hear about it.

What happens after the approval

1. The approval goes to the consulate. The authority sends the approval, together with the employment contract you signed, to the Greek consulate in the worker's country.
2. The worker is called in person. The consulate invites the candidate to appear, sign the contract and receive a national entry visa.
3. The news travels back slowly. The consulate has up to 30 calendar days after granting or refusing the visa to inform the one-stop service, which then has 15 calendar days to inform you. In the worst case you learn of a refusal six weeks after it happened.
4. Entry and the E.4 application. Once in Greece, the worker applies online for the E.4 residence permit immediately after entry — at the one-stop service covering the place of work, if that differs from the one that approved the case.

Circular 51210/2026 recommends that the employment contract starts 60 to 90 days after the approval application, to leave time for the visa. In practice, one recruiter writing in August 2026 put the span from application to arrival at four to seven months, varying by region.

Where it stalls

• The candidate goes quiet. Months pass between the job offer and the consular appointment. Another offer, a family decision, or simply no news can end a case that is formally approved.
• Consular appointments. Demand at some consulates is high, and the candidate — not you — has to secure and attend the appointment.
• Paperwork at the counter. A passport close to expiry, a missing document or a contract detail that doesn't match can send the candidate away.
• The country of origin has its own rules. Some countries run a parallel exit process. For workers from the Philippines, for example, it can include contract verification, medical checks, a pre-departure seminar and exit clearance; without them a worker cannot board, whatever the Greek visa says.
• Arrival itself. Flights, a bed for the first night, and someone who knows the worker must file for the E.4 straight away.

What an employer can control

• Keep one tracker per candidate with the dates that matter: approval, consular appointment, visa issued, flight, arrival, E.4 application. If a date is missing, someone should be chasing it.
• Stay in contact with each candidate from approval to arrival, in a language they read, with a named person on your side.
• Brief candidates before the consulate on exactly what to bring, and check passport validity early.
• Check country-of-origin exit rules at the start, not after the visa is issued.
• Set a realistic contract start date using the circular's 60–90 day guidance, not the date you would like.
• Plan the first week: pickup, housing, and the E.4 application on arrival.

Where Mazi fits

This is the part of the process our case timeline is built for: every candidate's stage, dates and missing documents in one place, visible to HR, with deadlines flagged before they are missed. We prepare the files and coordinate the steps; licensed counsel handles legal work and filing where required. See how metaklisi works with Mazi.