GREEK CITIZENSHIP

GREEK CITIZENSHIP

All matters concerning Greek Citizenship, including the right to Greek Citizenship, the exercise of this right and its mandatory prerequisites, are governed by the Greek Nationality Law, along with the related legislation (mainly Law No. 3284/2004).


The main elements of the afore-mentioned legislation are the following:

1.  A person acquires the Greek citizenship at the time of birth, if said person is born to a parent of Greek Nationality – that is, the offspring of a Greek Citizen, even if the parent has not exercised his/her Right to Citizenship.

2. A Greek Citizen is a person who is duly registered in the Records of a Municipality of the Hellenic Republic.

3. Registration in the Municipal Records of the Hellenic Republic is the legal premise for Greek Citizenship.  As such, the Certificate of Registration constitutes legal proof of Greek Citizenship. In order to obtain the Certificate of Registration, Greek citizens permanently residing abroad apply through the local Greek Consular Authorities, which in turn transmit the application to the competent (Municipal) Greek Authorities, who issue the Certificate of Registration. Both the registrations of the parents’ marriage, as well as, the registration of the applicant’s birth, are prerequisites for the issuance of the Certificate of Registration.

4. Otherwise, Greek expatriates residing abroad have the right to apply for Greek citizenship, in accordance with Article 10 of the aforementioned law.

In all instances, it is not the Consulates that ascertain citizenship, as this falls within the jurisdiction of the General Districts and the Greek Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation. Naturalisation of Greeks abroad.