When a foreign resident, who was not born in Greece, wishes to acquire Greek citizenship, he can investigate what options Greek legislation provides him, depending on the facts of his case. The person interested in the Greek passport may have one parent who was born in Greece and is a Greek citizen, or both parents are Greek citizens.
He or she may have a grandfather or grandmother who were born in Greece and today we can find them registered in the Civil Registry as Greek citizens.
His father or grandfather may not be registered in the Civil Registry, but he may be registered in the Male Registry.
It is possible that none of his ancestors were born in Greece and thus were never Greek citizens, but belonged to the Greek minority or ethnicity that lived in another country, such as Turkey, Egypt or elsewhere in the Middle East and immigrated directly from that country to the USA, Canada or Australia and elsewhere. In these countries, the ancestor, who was and felt Greek, was integrated into the Greek community and not into the Turkish or Egyptian one.
Each case has its own characteristics, which must be studied in order to select the appropriate procedural route in order to submit an application to the Greek administration with the aim of acquiring or establishing Greek citizenship and obtaining a Greek, and therefore a European, passport.
One of the options for acquiring Greek citizenship is the naturalization of an expatriate under article 10 of the Greek Citizenship Code (K.E.I.). This application is selected when the person interested in citizenship does not have an ancestor born in Greece, or has an ancestor who was born in Greece, but for some reason the application for determination cannot proceed, such as when it is not possible to find the necessary entries in the Civil Registry, Male Registry or Registry Office, or when the original Greek name has been so altered abroad that the required identity does not arise.
In order for the naturalization application of an expatriate under article 10 to be accepted, it must be proven that the applicant has a Greek conscience, which is combined with whether and to what extent he knows the Greek language, whether he knows elements of Greek history, geography and Greek culture. The applicant must also be able to prove that he feels Greek and that he has had or has participated in Greek associations in the country where he resides (always outside of Greece) and in activities of the expatriate community. Proof of these elements is provided both by documents and by the interview with the Greek Consul, which will take place if the file that the applicant will present to the Consulate is deemed sufficient. Even if the applicant is of Greek origin, the naturalization application will be rejected if he fails to prove that apart from the past, that is, the family relationship he has with his Greek ancestor, in the present, that is, today and in the recent past, it does not appear that he has a Greek conscience, does not know the Greek language sufficiently, does not know elements of Greek history, the geography of Greece and Greek culture, cannot prove his participation in community events, in clubs or in the Greek church, but also is not familiar with the institutions of the Hellenic Republic and in general with the modern Greek reality.
The absence of these conditions, which are sine qua non, i.e. necessary for the acceptance of an expatriate's naturalization application, usually arises from the file with the documents submitted by the applicant, but also from the interview with the Consul of Greece and the report that the Consul draws up after the interview.
When the naturalization application of an expatriate has been rejected, the interested party may resubmit the application using the same procedure, but after at least one year has passed since the rejection of the previous application and provided that in the new file he will be able to provide documents that strengthen the proof of his Greek conscience, but also provided that he will have strengthened the evidence that connects him to Greece.
This means that a new naturalization application will have a chance of being accepted (while the previous one has been rejected) if the applicant has learned Greek better, if he has started participating in Greek clubs and expatriate events, if he has strengthened his ties with Greek society, such as if he has acquired property in Greece and if he has improved his knowledge of Greek history, geography and culture. All of this should be ascertained by the Consul in the new interview that will take place, so that there is hope that the expatriate's naturalization application can be accepted this time.
photo Greek Radio FL
