Greek women who live and work in abroad, they choose to build their personal and family life there. There are many weddings of Greek women that take place abroad and then have to be registered in the Greek special registry office and in the Greek census which each one belongs to.
It is during this registration that most problems arise, which are not dealt with immediately but later and cause obstacles and confusion.
But let's start things from the beginning. If a Greek woman decides to marry a foreigner and the wedding takes place abroad, then she can state in the marriage certificate there that she wishes to receive her husband's surname, which is common abroad. In other words, what used to be true in Greece is still true in almost all European countries and so after marriage the whole family, i.e. spouses and children, have the same surname. And if the Greek woman acquires a second citizenship after marriage, she practically acquires a new passport with her husband's surname. If subsequently, the Greek woman has children, who will be born abroad, then in the registry deeds of the children the last name of the Greek mother will be the last name of her husband.
At some point, however, the time comes when the Greek wife decides to register the marriage and the births of her children in Greece. There are cases where registrations are made at the same time and others where the registration of the marriage in the Special Registry Office and in the civil registry is preceded by the attempt to register the births of the children in the Special Registry Office and in the Civil Registry.
Then it will be established that there is a problem with the last name of the Greek wife. Because regardless of whether the marriage took place abroad and the legislation of the country of the husband's nationality and the couple's common residence applied, in Greece the registration of the marriage follows Greek legislation, which stipulates that the Greek woman, after the marriage, either keeps her surname or after her declaration ADDS her husband's surname to her own surname. Changing the surname and taking only the marital surname has been abolished since the early 80s.
Therefore, in the Greek registry act of marriage that will be registered in the Special Registry, the Greek woman will remain with her patronymic and with her patronymic will be registered in her new family portion that will be opened in the Municipality where she is registered.
When she does not present her child's birth certificate, then the entry will not be made at the Special Registry Office because the mother's details in the child's birth certificate and the marriage certificate will not be identified. That is, the mother of the child at birth will bear a different surname from the surname of the Greek woman who married the child's father.
So what should Greek women who marry abroad have to do?
The only option they have is to keep abroad the option not to change their surname after marriage and to be everywhere with their Greek patronymic.
The second is to explicitly state in the foreign marriage certificate that they wish to add the husband's surname to their own surname after the marriage. Only be careful here because in Greek documents the husband's surname will follow the patronymic, therefore the same order must apply in the foreign marriage registry because again there will not be the identity required by the Registry to register subsequent births.
The third option for wives who really wish to take their husband's last name, is to take care on the one hand to declare their wish in the not only foreign but also Greek marriage certificate at the Greek consulate. This wish must be declared even if the surname does not change.
Consulates do not readily comply with this statement but are normally required to register this observation. So the Greek woman should persist there.
Subsequently, an application must be made in Greece to the Court to recognize the validity of the foreign law that gives the Greek woman the right to acquire her husband's surname. After the decision is issued, the Greek woman will be able to register her marriage in the Special Registry Office and get her husband's surname which will be changed on her birth certificate as well as on her family portion. This means that both her Greek identity card and her Greek passport will be in full identification with her foreign certificates.
ANASTASIA CHR. ΜΙΛΙΟΥ
LAWYER PARREEIO ICE
403 Mesogeion Ave., Agia Paraskevi
Tel. 6945-028153, 213-0338950
e-mail: natmil@otenet.gr
www.legalaction.gr, fb: Anastasia Miliou
photo https://pixabay.com/el/
