This work is carried out by our lawyers in Greece, before the competent authorities and courts.
The starting point is the ancestor’s entry in Greece: the municipal roll, the male register or a
registry record. Next, the events that took place abroad — the births and marriages of each
intervening generation — are entered with the Special Registry, so that the Greek books show
continuity. Finally the entry in the municipal roll of the place of origin is completed, first for your
parent and then for you.
Each link must be supported by a document, and the details must match from one generation
to the next.
For children born before 8 May 1984 to a Greek mother, and for those born before 16 July 1982
to a Greek father and a foreign mother, the Greek Citizenship Code provides for acquisition by a
declaration of will before the Regional Citizenship Directorate or the Greek consular authority
of the place of residence, on the conditions set by law and provided the Greek parent is
registered with a municipality. The children of those who acquire citizenship in this way become
Greek without further formality, if they are minors and unmarried on the date of the declaration.
Where the line cannot be fully documented, because the parent is not registered with a Greek
municipality or acquired citizenship after your birth, the route is not descent but naturalisation
for persons of Greek descent. Choosing the correct route at the outset determines the entire
procedure.
Greek citizenship is at the same time citizenship of the European Union: the right to live, work
and study in any member state, and a Greek passport. No renunciation of your existing
citizenship is required, and no knowledge of Greek, which is assessed only in naturalisation.
After your own registration, your children are registered as well.
Yes. Citizenship passes from generation to generation. Your parent is registered first, then you.
No, save for declarations that the law requires to be made in person.
The naturalisation affects the evidence and the procedure, not the existence of the right, which is assessed under the law in force at the material time.
Yes, after your own registration.
