Citizenship by Naturalisation

Applicable in cases where the 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.

The required documents are:

• Application form for naturalization of an alien of Greek ethnic origin (must be filled in in Greek.
• Valid passport and one i.d.-type photo.
• Applicant’s birth certificate duly legalised (with APOSTILLE for UK certificates -please note it must be the Full/Long birth certificate) and officially translated into Greek (please note that for this purpose translations are accepted only by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Translation Services or a Greek lawyer in Greece).
• Birth and Marriage Certificates of parents and Greek ancestors (duly legalised and officially translated).
• 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 other document that can support the application and evidence the applicant’s Greek ethnic origin (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.

Please  note:

• All certificates submitted must be originals or certified copies from the original.
• Documents issued by foreign Authorities must be duly legalised and officially translated into Greek. Legalisation is done by APOSTILLE if the documents originated in a country that has signed the Apostille Convention (for UK documents, see https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised). If the issuing country is not a contracting party of the Apostille Convention, they must be legalised by the competent official Authority of the issuing country and then by the Greek Consular Authorities in the issuing country.
• For the purposes of nationality applications, translations are accepted only by a translator included in the Register of Certified Translators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or a qualified lawyer in Greece or an Ionian University graduate.
• All names and other particulars of the applicant and ancestors should appear in a consistent way in all relevant documents and translations.
• If the applicant wishes to register their marriage and unmarried children under the age of 18 (who become Greek nationals without further formalities), they must also provide the respective marriage and birth certificates (duly legalised and translated).

•  The original documents, including the UK certificates, that will be submitted are kept by the examining authority and are not returned back to the applicant after completion of the process (unless the outcome is not positive).