Greece, the country of Homer and Hesiod, of ancient warriors can become your country as well. As a member of the EU, Greece gives its citizens the right of unimpeded entry to the countries of the Schengen area, and not only as a tourist. Any citizen of Greece can get an education or work in these countries. Mediterranean climate is considered one of the healthiest for humans, which is an additional argument in favor of Greek citizenship obtaining. Furthermore, Greek law allows dual citizenship, so after becoming a citizen of Greece, you can keep the citizenship of the country in which you were born as well.
The children of Greek citizens (this also applies to adopted children) can obtain Greek citizenship by birth right. The illegitimate child immediately obtains the citizenship as well, provided that his mother is a citizen of Greece. If the child’s father has the Greek citizenship, you can get a passport only when filing an application for citizenship, while paternity must be proved, and the application is filed before the child turns 18 years old.
Ethnic Greeks serving in the Armed Forces of the country or who entered the military academy obtain the citizenship automatically.
The citizens of other countries who have a residence permit for 10 years can obtain a Greek passport through naturalization. Ethnic Greeks able to confirm their origin, victims of reprisals from other countries who were granted refugee status, outstanding scientists and artists of world renown belong to this category of persons.
3 years of marriage and the birth of a common child are needed to obtain a citizenship of Greece for persons who are married to a citizen of the country. Olympic athletes competing for Greece receive citizenship after five years.
The application for citizenship granting is considered if:
- The applicant has come of age (18 years);
- He did not have a criminal record with the term of imprisonment of 1 year and more over a period of ten years prior to filing of the application;
- Was not previously subjected to deportation from the country.
Application and all appropriate documents are submitted to the local town hall. In the case of documents correctness they are sent to the designated county agency from where they are delivered to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Greece. All applicants are invited for an interview at the Commission on Naturalization, where they confirm their knowledge of the laws, culture and language of the country. The final verdict on granting a citizenship to the applicant is delivered by the Minister of Internal Affairs. If the Minister’s decision is positive, the fact that a foreigner obtains Greek citizenship will be promulgated in the State Gazette. An oath of allegiance to the state within one year after publication is the last step on the way to obtain the desired status.
Of course, the procedure for citizenship obtaining has its pitfalls. Improperly drawn-up documents, bureaucrats nitpicking and paper red tape can cause you a lot of trouble. But you should never lose heart. Our company employees will help you to understand the intricacies of Greek law, collect all the necessary documents and draw-up an application. Individual approach and optimum results are guaranteed!
