ANNUAL POLICY REPORT 2012 between universities in terms of research and the promotion of science and research. These are governed by the rules of international bilateral agreements of academic institutions. Agreements have been signed with various Greek Universities, Universities of Egypt, Albania, Algeria, Jordan, Turkey, etc. Law 4009/11 "Structure, function, quality assurance of studies and internationalization of higher education"62 contains provisions that aim to promote and strengthen the internationalization of Greek Higher Education Institutes by launching courses in English. It also enables institutions to organize and offer courses as a result of collaboration between schools or in collaboration with other institutions domestically or abroad and in a foreign language, and special programs for lifelong learning, traditional and distance. Furthermore it provides procedures and forms of partnership linking education with the international academic community and with advanced research at European and global level. Besides the educational benefits, attracting foreign students will have economic benefits for higher education institutions, local and national economy and employment. The role of knowledge and high skills in economic and social development make attracting "brains" an important field of international competition. The Higher Education System in Greece is among the most accessible and affordable in Europe: not requiring entry exams, education is free while knowledge of the Greek language is not a prerequisite for submitting the registration form. Given the large number of universities and technical schools, students have the opportunity to choose from many specialties and disciplines. Regarding the granting of entry visa to study, basic requirement is to be admitted to one of the educational institutions in the country and be able to cover the costs of studying and living in Greece. A visa is a prerequisite for a residence permit. A third country student, who is not equipped with the special student VISA will not be granted a residence permit for studies. Third country students have the opportunity to participate in student mobility programs of the EU. To prevent abuse of the right of coming to Greece to study a strict procedure for obtaining a visa entry "for study purposes" and for issuance and renewal of residence permits is applied. The largest number of foreign students who come to Greece for studies comes from an EU Member State, Cyprus, while recent years have seen an increase of students from Balkan countries. On their side, the Greek Universities, have taken steps to internationalize studies in Greece and promote the openness of higher education. They have signed bilateral agreements with international 62 Law 4009/11 (Government Gazette Issue A 195/6-9-2011), "Structure, function, quality standards of studies and internationalization of higher education." http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/pdfimageSummaryviewer.html?args=sppFfdN7IQP5_cc-m0e1xordiczUDTDVngy56XWCK8rzSZFxgkeWy3uQ8Giw0kAYi3ORfmarHlTZ0OcIYKyWJgdNHAvT44kicnjz_3u4G8qOBlZzQoc 77k1-A9Eyz7vqZ2xJ5_DYL6K_WF-VA8FU2f-XRK0kYX7bYQ9ETElXeRXcRp-Lh2A. 29