QUOTATION MARKS
The exercise of the right to vote by voters outside the Territory in parliamentary elections is determined by the provisions of the Law 4648/2019 "Facilitation of the exercise of the right to vote by voters located outside Greek territory and amendment of the electoral procedure" (A' 205), as amended by the recently passed Law 5285/2026
"Definition of the Electoral District of Greeks Abroad - Facilitation of the exercise of the right to vote by voters outside the Territory through postal voting for the parliamentary elections" (A' 33), the relevant regulations of Law No. 000 5083/2024 (A' 12), regarding the facilitation of voters through postal voting and the proportional application of the provisions of Presidential Decree 26/2012 "Codification into a single text of the provisions of the legislation on the election of members of parliament" (A' 57).
The Ministry of Interior, having the responsibility for the compilation of electoral rolls, provides the following information and clarifications with the aim of informing voters outside the territory, the services and bodies responsible for
the preparation and conduct of elections and political parties, on issues concerning the registration of voters in the special foreign electoral register and the methods of voting.
A. METHOD OF EXERCISING THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Voters outside the State may exercise their right to vote in parliamentary elections, either by only with personal presence in the polling stations abroad that will be established, either only with postal vote, or with postal vote only if a polling station is not established in the desired city for in-person voting. Particularly:
1) Voting in person
Voters who wish to vote in person may select the country and city when submitting their application for registration on the special electoral roll abroad. Joint decision No. 14478/13-3-2026 (Β΄1460) of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Interior provides a list of countries and cities where Greek diplomatic or consular authorities are located and in which polling stations may be established. If a polling station is not established in a city, then those voters who have chosen to vote exclusively in person are placed in the nearest polling station to be established. Voters who have registered on the special electoral rolls abroad and have chosen to vote in person cannot exercise their right to vote at the place of their primary registration. Violation of this provision shall entail the sanctions provided for in paragraph 2 of article 113 of Presidential Decree 26/2012.
2) Voting by postal vote
Voters who wish to vote by postal vote, when submitting their application for registration on the special electoral roll abroad, as explained below, select the address for sending the electoral material abroad, to which they wish the postal vote envelope to be sent. It is noted that these voters may, on election day, exercise their right to vote by personal presence in Greece if: a) they had registered on the special electoral roll abroad by choosing the postal vote method, but did not send a postal vote return envelope or b) their envelope was not received by the Postal Vote Collection Committee on time.
3) Voting by postal vote, only if a polling station is not established in the desired city for in-person voting
Voters who wish to vote in person at a polling station abroad but, in the event that a polling station is not established in the city of their choice, wish to vote by postal vote – instead of being placed at the nearest polling station abroad – when submitting their application for registration on the special electoral list abroad, declare both the desired country and city of voting, as well as the address to which the electoral material should be sent abroad. If a polling station is established in the city of their choice, then they will exercise their right to vote exclusively by being present in person at this polling station and will not be able, alternatively, to exercise their right to vote at the place of their basic registration within Greece. If a polling station is not established in the city of their choice, then they will receive the electoral material and exercise their right to vote by postal vote. In the event that they do not ultimately send a postal vote return envelope or it is not received by the Postal Vote Collection Committee within the deadline, they will be able to exercise their right to vote at their place of primary registration in Greece.
B. SPECIAL ELECTORAL LIST ABROAD
All Greek citizens who are permanently or temporarily outside Greece on the day of the parliamentary elections, are registered in the electoral roll of a municipality of the Hellenic Republic and have the right to vote, in accordance with the provisions of Presidential Decree 26/2012 (A`57), have the right to register on the special electoral roll abroad.
The above voters who wish to exercise their right to vote in the parliamentary elections register on their own initiative on the special foreign electoral list. Registration is done whenever upon request of the interested party in the special application of the Ministry of Interior https://apodimoi.ypes.gov.gr. In the same application, the voter may modify and/or cancel his/her registration. The application for registration, modification or cancellation of registration is made immediately final.
It is clarified that prior registration on the special overseas electoral rolls for the parliamentary elections ceases to be valid, as voters are now asked to choose whether to vote in person or by postal vote. Therefore, voters who had registered in the past, either to vote in polling stations abroad in the parliamentary elections (based on Law 4648/2019), or to exercise their right to vote
through postal voting in the European elections from abroad (based on Law 5083/2024), are required to submit a new registration application on the special foreign electoral list, in order to exercise their right to vote in the parliamentary elections as voters outside the Territory. The above voters will receive a personal notification via e-mail or text message to their mobile phones, which will include the need to submit a new application.
It is noted that according to the express provision of article 5, paragraph 4 of law 4648/2019, as also in force to ensure the right to participate in the upcoming elections, the submission of an application for registration or modification of data or cancellation of registration must be completed by no later than one (1) day after the announcement of the elections, as any registration, modification or cancellation carried out from the second (2) day after the announcement of the elections and thereafter, will be registered in the special foreign electoral register after the elections and will be valid for the next election.
C. REGISTRATION PROCEDURE
The voter may submit an application for registration in the special foreign electoral register. with his own concern via:
a) the special electronic application of the Ministry of Interior, in accordance with the joint decision of the Ministers of Interior and Digital Governance No. 350/15-4-2026 (Β΄ 2195) ή
b) through the relevant Greek diplomatic or consular authority in his country of residence, in accordance with joint decision no. 14479/13-3-2026 (Β΄1461) of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Interior.
C.1 VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH THE SPECIAL APPLICATION
Identification in the special application
The voter who wishes to register on the special electoral roll abroad enters the special application of the Ministry of Interior by selecting the link https://apodimoi.ypes.gov.grThe special application is alternatively accessible through the Single Digital Portal of Public Administration (gov.gr).
The voter who enters the special application must identify himself as a user. Entering the application and submitting an application is done exclusively by the voter. Unauthorized access to the application is punished in accordance with the provisions of article 4, paragraph 8, Law 4648/2019, as in force.
Voter identification is done:
- through personal credentials of the General Secretariat for Digital Government Information Systems (G.G.P.S.P.D.) of the Ministry of Digital Government (taxisnet) or
- through the use of a combination of the following elements (alternative identification option for voters who do not have personal taxisnet codes):
a) number and date of issue of the Greek passport, b) date of birth, as indicated on the police identity card of Greek citizens and c) active mobile phone number. To confirm this, a one-time code (One Time Password – OTP) is sent by message, which the voter fills in the special text box.
The application then proceeds to cross-check this information through the Interoperability Center of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the voter is informed about the process of recording and taking snapshots of his face and the page of his passport and is redirected to the remote identification service.
After processing, the citizen is informed by a message on his mobile phone about the outcome of the procedure. If the identification is successful, instructions are provided for entering the application and the final submission of the registration application. In case of unsuccessful identification, the possibility of repeating the procedure is provided.
Registration request
After identification, the voter submits a registration application.
The application searches for the voter in the basic electoral roll and automatically fills in their basic details in the application. The application retrieves the following data from the National Contact Register (NCR) of the General Secretariat for the Public Administration of the Hellenic Republic:
a) mobile phone number,
b) email address and
c) residential address.
If it is not possible to obtain the above information from the National Electoral Commission, the voter shall complete active mobile phone number and active personal email address mail. To identify the two (2) above details, the application sends a One Time Password (OTP) to the mobile phone number and email address, which the voter fills in the special text box. The voter then enters his/her residential address.
Please note that the same mobile phone number and the same address cannot be used. email address for more than one (1) voter.
In the event that the voter has been certified using passport details and the remote identification service, the telephone number that was declared and confirmed during his certification must be used as the contact telephone number.
The voter then chooses how to exercise their voting rights. exclusively one (1) only from the following options, according to par. 3A of article 2 of law 4648/2019, as added by article 16 par. 2 of law 5285/2026:
a) voting in person, b) voting by postal vote,
c) voting by postal vote, only if a polling station is not established in the desired city for in-person voting.
- In case the voter chooses as a way to exercise his/her voting right the following options: a) or c), then selects the desired country and voting city from the list of cities and countries of the joint decision of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Interior No. 14478/13-3-2026 (Β΄1460).
- In the event that a voter chooses to exercise his/her voting rights under items b) or c), chooses his/her residence address as the mailing address for the electoral materials, or registers another full address, to which he wishes the postal vote envelope to be sent. If he wishes to expressly authorize another person to receive the special electoral envelope instead, or to send the postal vote return envelope instead and is unable to draw up the authorization
through the electronic portal (gov.gr), signs this authorization before the diplomatic or consular officer, who considers his signature to be genuine.
It is noted that the addresses for sending electoral materials within Greece are not acceptable.
Before the final submission of the application, the voter confirms that all the information provided in the application is true, acknowledges that his application constitutes a solemn declaration pursuant to article 8 of Law 1599/1986 (Government Gazette A' 75) and that any declaration of false information entails the penalties provided for in paragraph 6 of article 22 of the same law, on criminal provisions, and consents to the processing of his personal data.
Upon submission of the application, a protocol number is automatically assigned by the application, which is sent to the voter's email and to the declared mobile phone number, as information and proof of successful submission.
C.2 VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH A GREEK DIPLOMATIC AUTHORITY
Voters may alternatively submit an application for registration on the special electoral roll abroad through the competent Greek diplomatic or consular authorities, by coming to them in person or through the "MyconsulLive" service with a video call, according to decision no. 35467/2020 of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and State "Provision of administrative information and assistance to Greek citizens, permanent residents abroad, by consular authorities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via videoconference" (B' 5600).
This consular assistance to voters in submitting their application takes place incomplete.
The employee of the competent Greek diplomatic or consular authority, to whom the administrator of the Authority's Digital Box has granted access to the National Citizens' Communication Registry (NCCR), or otherwise a permanent employee of the diplomatic or consular authority, connects to the special application by selecting the link https://apodimoiorg.ypes.gov.gr using the Public Administration codes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the Ministry of Digital Governance, in accordance with the decision of the Minister of State under reference 29810 EX 2020/23.10.2020
"Authentication procedure for public sector employees in digital public services" (B' 4798).
The diplomatic employee, using the Tax Registration Number (A.F.M.) known to him by the voter, obtains the following information from the Tax Register of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance managed by the Independent Public Revenue Authority (A.A.D.E.):
a) name,
b) surname, c) patronymic,
d) maiden name and
e) date of birth.
Based on the above information, the application automatically searches for the voter's registration in the basic electoral register and, once their registration is verified, the application automatically fills in their basic information in the application.
It is noted that the search for the voter in the basic electoral roll is carried out even in the case where he does not have a VAT number and in particular by extracting the data in paragraphs a) to e) from a legal identification document, namely a police identity card or passport or driving license, which the voter shows to the employee.
The applicant voter must have an active mobile phone number from a Greek or foreign mobile phone company and an active personal email address, which the consular officer fills in the corresponding special text boxes. In order to identify these two (2) pieces of information, the application sends a message to the mobile phone and an email to the email address with a one-time password (One Time Password – OTP).
Please note that the same mobile phone number and the same address cannot be used. email address for more than one (1) voter.
Subsequently, the employee registers the voter's residential address according to his/her declaration, if this cannot be obtained from the E.M.Ep.
The voter then chooses how to exercise their voting rights. exclusively one (1) only from the following options:
a) voting in person
b) voting by postal vote
c) voting by postal vote, only if a polling station is not established in the desired city for in-person voting.
In the event that the voter declares as the method of exercising his/her right to vote in paragraphs a) or c), then he/she selects the desired country and city of voting from the list of cities and countries no. 14478/13-3-2026 (Β΄1460).
In the event that the voter declares the method of exercising the right to vote as per items b) or c), he/she selects his/her residence address as the address to which the electoral material will be sent, or declares another, full address to which he/she wishes the postal vote envelope to be sent.
Before the final submission of the application, the employee prints an application - solemn declaration with the declared information, which he delivers to the requesting voter for confirmation under the responsibility of the declarant.
The voter applicant confirms that all the information provided in the application is true, acknowledges that his application constitutes a solemn declaration pursuant to article 8 of law 1599/1986 (A' 75) and that any declaration of false information entails the penalties provided for in paragraph 6 of article 22 of the same law, on criminal provisions, consents to the processing of his personal data, based on a text that is explicitly stated in the application, and signs the solemn declaration application.
An electronic copy of the above signed application is attached by the consular officer as a portable document format (pdf file) to the application, while the original remains in the archives of the diplomatic or consular authority for five (5) years and a paper copy is delivered to the voter.
The employee confirms, in a special option available on the application page, that he identified the voter with the documents he provided and that he attached a copy of the application signed by the voter to the application.
Upon submission of the application, the application automatically assigns a protocol number, which is sent to the voter's declared mobile phone number and email address, as information and proof of successful submission. The application is immediately and automatically accepted and final.
In the event that a voter chooses the method of exercising his/her voting right under paragraphs b) or c) and wishes to explicitly authorize another person to receive instead the special electoral envelope that the Ministry of the Interior will send him/her, as provided for in paragraph 2 of article 11 of law 5083/2024 (A' 12), on the sending of special voting envelopes, or to send instead the postal vote return envelope, as provided for in paragraph 5 of article 13 of law 5083/2024, and is unable to draw up the authorization through the electronic portal (gov.gr), he/she signs this authorization before the diplomatic or consular officer, who considers his/her signature to be genuine.
C.3 MODIFICATION OF DATA – CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION
Voters can at any time modify:
- their residential or contact address details, as well as the address to which they wish to have the postal voting materials sent to them, and
- the manner and place of voting.
Specifically for changing the mobile phone number or email address, the number or email address is reconfirmed with a one-time code.
It is noted that voters who have chosen as a way to exercise their voting rights the cases b) voting by postal vote or c) voting by postal vote, only if in desired city for in-person voting, no polling station established they have to to update their residential address or contact details, as well as the address to which they wish to have their election materials sent.
Voters may at any time cancel their registration on the special foreign electoral rolls by submitting a cancellation request.
Requests to modify information and cancel registration in the special foreign electoral rolls are accepted and finalized immediately.
It is clarified that requests for modification of data and cancellation of registration that are submitted and finalized two (2) days After the announcement of the elections, they are registered in the special foreign electoral lists after the elections for the next election.
Finally, the registration and processing of voters' personal data are carried out in accordance with Law 4624/2019 (Government Gazette Α' 137) and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (L 119).
The Ministries are requested to communicate this circular to their supervised entities outside the Greek Territory.
You can find the circular on the website of the Ministry of Interior and at the address https://www.ypes.gr/ekloges/ethnikes-ekloges/cat-eguklioi–ethnikes-ekloges
THE MINISTER OF INTERIOR
Photo by Fandecaisses – from File:50 largest Greek diaspora.png, File:BlankMap-World- Microstates.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34711114- https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Konstantinos Danassis
Consul General of Greece
Tampa, Florida
Consulate General of Greece/Consulate General of Greece
400 North Tampa Street Suite 1160
TampaFL 33602
Phone: + 1 (813) 865 0200
Fax: + 1 (813) 865-0206
https://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/consulate-general-in-tampa/
Consulate General of Greece Tampa | Facebook
E-MAIL: grgencon.tam@mfa.gr
