Easing your path to Greek citizenship

People from all over the world who were not born in Greece but are of Greek origin are interested in learning what is required to apply for and obtain Greek citizenship. They were born outside Greece to parents, grandparents or sometimes even great-grandparents who were born in Greece. Or simply to ancestors who were never born in Greece but were undoubtedly Greek, like the Greeks of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), of the Middle East (Egypt, Lebanon, Syria etc.), of Russia and of the other former Soviet republics.

Those who can prove that they have ancestors born in Greece can apply for certification of their Greek citizenship, while those whose ancestors, although undoubtedly Greek, were never born in Greece are entitled to apply for naturalization. Both types of application lead to the same goal: full Greek, and also European, citizenship.

Anyone who wishes to learn whether he or she is eligible for Greek citizenship and, if so, how to apply for it, must have part or all of the following information.

The starting point is the full name and details of the applicant's ancestor(s) who were born in Greece. This includes the ancestor's first name, last name (surname), his or her father's first name, the place of birth in Greece, as precisely as possible, and the year of birth, as accurately as possible.

Once this information is available, a search can be undertaken to determine whether any birth or other record of the Greek-born ancestor can be located in the official archives or municipal records of any Greek town or village. If the result is positive, the chances of the applicant obtaining citizenship increase dramatically.

Next, we need the marriage certificate of the ancestor. It does not matter whether the marriage took place in Greece, which is preferable, or outside Greece. If both ancestors (parents or grandparents) were born in Greece, things are easier.

Where only one of the grandparents was born in Greece, gender matters. If the Greek-born ancestor is or was a grandfather, his marriage to a non-Greek grandmother must be proven to be religious: Greek Orthodox if he was Greek Orthodox, Jewish if he was Jewish, and so on.

If, on the other hand, the Greek-born ancestor is or was a grandmother married to a non-Greek grandfather, her marriage need only be proven civil, not religious.

The type of marriage (civil, or religious of any faith) of the applicant's parents is not relevant and cannot be an obstacle to the citizenship application, as long as we have a certified copy of it (with an Apostille from certain countries such as the USA, Australia and South Africa, but not from Canada).

The birth certificate of the applicant's Greek parent is also required, as well as the applicant's own birth certificate, also with an Apostille where it comes from certain countries. If the applicant's grandparent or parent was divorced before the marriage from which the applicant was born, we may also need the divorce decision and the previous marriage certificate. A divorce after the applicant's birth is not important and is usually not even registered in Greece.

If the applicant's Greek ancestor was not born in Greece, the applicant must know where he or she was born. In that case the application is filed for naturalization, and the process does not necessarily require a strict chain of birth and marriage certificates from the Greek ancestor to the applicant. However, an interview with the Consul of Greece is the basic requirement, so that the Greek administration can determine how Greek the applicant feels: whether he or she speaks the language, has ties with Greece such as relatives, friends, visits, or professional or other plans related to Greece, and has a general knowledge of the country's culture and history.