Legal matters before the authorities of Greece and Cyprus

DOCUMENTS

Obtaining certificates and the apostille

A foreign public document is accepted by a Greek authority only if it has first been legalised in the manner the law requires.

WHO HANDLES THIS

Research, tracing and preparation of documents are handled by our research and administrative services team. Every step before a Greek authority or court is handled by our office in Athens, and for Cypriot matters by our office in Nicosia.

The legal framework

Where a document is issued by a State party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, ratified by Greece by Law 1497/1984, legalisation takes the form of an apostille. Where the issuing State is not a party, the document is legalised by the competent authority of that State and subsequently by the Greek consular authority.
Two rules matter in practice and are frequently broken. The apostille is placed on the original foreign-language document and not on its translation. And legalisation precedes the official translation: a translation prepared beforehand, or one that does not include the apostille, is normally rejected.
For public documents issued by authorities of EU member states on or after 16 February 2019, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removes the apostille requirement for certain categories, including certificates of birth, marriage and death.

Where documents are issued and legalised

Civil status certificates are issued by the authority of the place where the event occurred, and the apostille is granted by the authority designated by the issuing State. In federal states, such as the United States, Canada and Australia, that is normally the authority of the issuing state or province, regardless of where you live.
For Greek public documents, the authorities competent to issue the apostille are those designated for that purpose within Greece, and not the consular authorities abroad.
For public documents issued by authorities of EU member states on or after 16 February 2019, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removes the apostille requirement for certain categories, including certificates of birth, marriage and death.

What to watch for

The certificate should be in long form, so that it includes the details of the parents. It must be an original or an official copy issued by the issuing authority, not a copy certified by a lawyer or notary. And names must appear consistently across every document and translation, since a single divergence is enough for the authority to treat the person as someone else.

QUESTIONS

Frequently asked

Is an apostille required on every document?

No. It depends on the issuing State and the type of document.

I already have a translation without an apostille.

As a rule a fresh translation is required, once the document has been legalised.

Can the apostille be placed on the translation?

No. It is placed on the original and translated together with it.

Who files the completed file?

Our office in Athens for Greek matters and our office in Nicosia for Cypriot matters.

Sources

RELATED

Related services

Certified Translations & Certifications

The step that follows legalisation.

Genealogical &Archival Research

Locating the documents in the first place.

Greek Citizenship by Descent

Where the documents are used.