Greece in the UK
Services for Citizens Greek Citizenship Citizenship through Naturalisation for Aliens of Greek ethnic origin
Citizenship through Naturalisation for Aliens of Greek ethnic origin
Applicable in cases where: a) the applicant’s parent is not registered with a Greek Municipality, hence is not a registered Greek citizen and the relevant certificate cannot be obtained. Greek citizenship is claimed through a grandparent,
Or b) The applicant's parent acquired Greek citizenship AFTER the applicant's birth, either through naturalisation or through the procedure outlined in Article 14 of the Greek Citizenship Code".
The required documents are:
• Application form (must be filled in in Greek).
• Valid passport and one ID-type photograph.
• Applicant’s birth certificate duly legalised and translated in Greek. Please note that for UK birth certificates it must be the full / long form legalised with the apostille endorsement.
• Birth and Marriage Certificates of parents and Greek ancestors (duly legalised and officially translated) to prove descent from a Greek citizen.
• Baptism certificates (if it exists) (with official translation in Greek if needed)
• Registration of Greek ancestors with a Greek Municipality or the military records (for male ancestors).
• Recent Criminal Record Certificate (by ACRO Criminal Records Office) of the applicant (with Apostille and official translation into Greek).
• Any further documents supporting the application and demonstrating the applicant’s Greek ethnic origin and sense of national identity (e.g. old Greek passports, attendance in Greek schools or Greek language courses, church certificates, participation in Greek communities overseas, registration with consular records etc.).
• This process also includes an interview with the applicant at the Consular Office.
| Consular Fees: | The equivalent of 140 EUROS in GBP. For documents that authentication of the original signature is required, it is priced at 10 Euros for Greek/EU citizens and 30 Euros for third country nationals equivalent in Sterling. |
| Appointment: | Pre-booked appointment through the online system for "Greek Citizenship" |
| Application Forms: | Application Form |
PLEASE NOTE / GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
• All non-Greek certificates to be submitted must be originals / certified copies of the original produced by the issuing authority (not a lawyer or notary public).
• LEGALISATION: Documents issued by foreign authorities must be duly legalised and officially translated into Greek. Legalisation is done by APOSTILLE if the documents originates in a country that has signed the Apostille Convention https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41 (for UK documents, see https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised). If the issuing country is not a contracting party in the Apostille Convention, the documents must be legalised by the designated public authority of the issuing country and subsequently by the Greek Consular Authorities in the issuing country. The Apostille must be done first – before the translation.
• TRANSLATIONS: For the purposes of nationality applications, translations are accepted only by translators included in the Register of Certified Translators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs https://metafraseis.services.gov.gr/ , or qualified lawyers in Greece or graduates from Ionian University/Translation & Interpreting Department. Translations are accepted in original form signed with wet ink or digital signature.
• The translation must include the APOSTILLE. Names of persons and places must be translated/converted to Greek in a consistent way and in lowercase accented characters.
• NAME DETAILS: All names and other particulars of the applicant and ancestors should appear in a consistent way in all documents and translations.
• At the event the name/surname given at birth has changed (e.g. the passport has a different name), then the deed poll or other official document regarding the change must be provided, duly legalised and translated. Similarly, married women who changed their surname to that of their spouse, must provide their original marriage certificate, duly legalised and translated.
• If the applicant was born out of wedlock and derives Greek citizenship through the paternal line, an additional Certificate of No Marriage (at the time of the child's birth and 300 days prior) must be submitted for the foreign mother, issued by her country of nationality and/or country of residence (UK), duly certified and officially translated. – For the UK, a 'No Trace of Marriage Certificate' from the General Register Office or an equivalent authority is required.
• If, at the time of the oath-taking, there are minor children, they automatically acquire Greek citizenship — without any further procedure or additional cost. The applicant is required to declare their family status and additionally submit their marriage certificate and the birth certificates of their children (duly certified and translated), as well as their passports.
• The original documents, including UK certificates, are kept by the examining authority and NOT returned to the applicant upon completion of the process (unless application is unsuccessful). For this reason we strongly suggest that applicants purchase more than one originals/certified copies from the General Register Office, so they do not submit the one they keep in their records.
• Our Office as well as the competent Citizenship Office in Greece have the right to request additional documents or information at any stage of the process if necessary.
