Neos Kosmos in partnership with Greece’s General Secretariat for Citizenship, continues its campaign aimed at providing accurate information to the Diaspora on issues relating to acquiring Greek citizenship.

This series only deals with citizenship issues, and is purely informational, not advisory. Only the consular authorities can assist with individual cases.

Neos Kosmos does not grant citizenship nor issue passports. We publish the answers provided by the General Secretariat for Citizenship which relate to those questions you send us on citizenship. Personal data, names are not published.

This second intsalment of our fortnightly series looks at third generation Greeks, does a parent need to be a Greek citizen and what to do if no birth record of a grandparent can be located. (Read the first here).

Staff from the General Secretariat for Citizenship provide answers to these reader questions.

SEND US YOUR QUESTION

Readers wishing to submit a question regarding Greek citizenship may send it to the newspaper’s email: editor@neoskosmos.com.au

Questions will be forwarded to the General Secretariat for Citizenship to be answered by the appropriate officials.

Readers’ questions

Question 4: Third-generation Greek American asks questions on eligibility and process for Greek citizenship.

My great-grandparents were from Vresthena, Laconia. As a third-generation American, am I entitled to apply for Greek citizenship, or is the relevant right limited to my mother’s generation? If I am eligible, can I obtain Greek citizenship while retaining my American citizenship? What documents are required to start the process? Given that I intend to visit the Greek Consulate in Chicago, where should I start?

General Secretariat for Citizenship response:

Provided you descend from a Greek ancestor, you can acquire Greek citizenship by naturalisation as a Greek residing abroad, under the provisions of Article 10 of the Greek Citizenship Code – without it being a prerequisite for your parent to have Greek citizenship. Your application, along with all the required documents, should be submitted to the Consular Authority in your place of residence.

To document your national origin, the consular authority will assess elements such as: records of ancestors (even in older or obsolete municipal registries), the historical trajectory of your family, consular registry entries, acquisition of Greek citizenship by blood relatives, consular passports or equivalent municipal records, and any other relevant documents at your disposal.

As far as of your American citizenship, obtaining Greek citizenship as a Unites States citizen of Greek descent is possible. Bothe Greece and the United States recognise dual nationality. Importantly, you are not required to renounce your American citizenship to become a Greek citizen.

More information on the requirements, documentation, and procedure for acquiring Greek citizenship through naturalisation as a Greek residing abroad can be found here: www.ypes.gr/g-g-ithageneias/diadikasies-ktisis-e-i/politografisi-omogenon/omogeneis-monimoi-katoikoi-exoterikou

Question 5: Reader of Greek heritage, has many questions based on the fact that his father, who is not a Greek citizen, needs to be a Greek citizen before they can also go for citizenship?

• Should my father apply for Greek citizenship first, before I submit my own application?
• My grandmother was born in Agrinio and my grandfather in Magouliana. They married in Sydney in 1961, and my father was born in Sydney, but he has not yet been registered in the Greek municipal records. What process is required for his registration and what are the necessary steps and documentation to complete the process?
• Does handling the case directly in Greece via a lawyer significantly reduce processing time compared to submitting through the Greek Consulate in Sydney?
• What is the realistic timeline for my father’s registration before I submit my own application?
• If certain vital records in Greece are incomplete or missing, is assistance available to locate them?
• Which required documents need an Apostille and official translation into Greek?
• Are my parents’ marriage and/or divorce certificates required?

General Secretariat for Citizenship response:

Your registration in the municipal records can be carried out through the Citizens’ Registry at the Greek Consulate in Sydney but only after your father’s registration, provided that both your paternal grandparents are registered in the municipal records of their birthplace municipalities. That will demonstrate that they held Greek citizenship when your father was born.

Once their marriage certificate is submitted to the Consulate and your father’s birth is declared, his direct registration with the relevant municipality will follow. After this, the Consulate will record your father’s marriage and your birth, enabling your direct registration through the Citizens’ Registry.

These steps apply provided that: (a) both of your father’s parents are registered in a Greek municipality, and (b) if you were born before 18/07/1982 within your father’s marriage to a foreign mother, the marriage must have been an Orthodox Christian ceremony. For births after that date, the civil marriage of your Greek father does not affect the procedure, which will be conducted via the Consulate.

Engaging a lawyer can assist in researching proof of your ancestors’ registration in Greek municipal or civil registries if the Consulate cannot locate the records directly.

All documents required for a lawful and officially translated adult registration in the municipal records are listed in Chapter A, Section 1 of Ministerial Decision 90294/27.12.2022 (Government Gazette B, 6870).

Question 6: This reader wants to prove their grandfather’s Greek origin — and therefore eligibility for Greek citizenship — when no Greek birth record can be located?

• My grandfather was born in Volatouna, near Patras, in the late 19th century, emigrated to the United States at age 17, and served in the US Army during World War I.
• I do not have a copy of his birth certificate, and I have been informed it cannot be located in Patras. His village church was destroyed during the war. How can his Greek origin be proven under these circumstances?
• I possess his US death certificate, which lists his parents’ names and his place of birth, and a copy of the ship manifest showing his emigration from Patras to the United States. Can these documents be used as evidence?
• Can relatives living in Patras assist with sworn statements, and do these hold evidential value in the citizenship recognition process? What are the appropriate steps to claim Greek citizenship or obtain a Greek passport, particularly considering my intention to acquire property in Greece?

General Secretariat for Citizenship response:

In order to document your national origin needed for a naturalisation application as a Greek residing abroad, under Article 10 of the Greek Citizenship Code, the consular authority assesses records such as ancestor registrations (even in old or obsolete registries), family history, consular registry entries, acquisition of Greek citizenship by blood relatives, consular passports or equivalent municipal documents.

Your grandfather’s US death certificate and the ship manifest showing his emigration from Patras is important, including any additional information listed besides his name and birthplace. All required documentation, along with your naturalisation application, must be submitted to the Consular Authority in your place of residence.

Further information on the requirements, documents, and procedure for acquiring Greek citizenship by naturalisation as a Greek residing abroad is available here: www.ypes.gr/g-g-ithageneias/diadikasies-ktisis-e-i/politografisi-omogenon/omogeneis-monimoi-katoikoi-exoterikou