By EUDO CITIZENSHIP expert Dimitris Christopoulos

The Draft Law on citizenship elaborated by the Ministry of Interior provides for the acquisition of citizenship by declaration for persons who are either minors born in Greece or have lived there as minors. It only deals with those provisions of the Greek Citizenship Code that were abolished by Decision 460/2013 of the Greek State Council and that provided for facilitated citizenship acquisition for the 2nd and 1.5 generation of immigrant origin. The draft does not deal with naturalisation or other aspects of the Greek Citizenship Code (GCC) which are referred to a committee established for the drafting of the GCC. The political will is explicit: resolving an issue of major importance for Greek society after the judgment of the Council of State struck down the relevant provisions of Law 3838/2010 that it considered to be incompatible with the Greek Constitution. It is expected that, if the new draft is adopted, 150.000 or more could be immediately entitled to Greek citizenship. No discretion by the administration is foreseen if an applicant meets the conditions of the law. The essential provisions introduced in the bill are three:

(1) Children born in Greece: For children born in Greece the main requirement is a lawful five-year period of residence of one of the parents at the moment of birth. The legality of residence is deduced from the parent’s specific residence permit, which could be a permanent or ten-year residence permit, a long-term residence permit, a residence permit for refugee status or EU citizen residence permit, a permanent residence card for family members of a Greek person or EU citizen, a special identity card for homogenis (foreigner of Greek descent) or a ‘second generation’ permit. The second requirement is enrolment in a primary school, which serves to demonstrate the will of legally residing parents that their child acquires Greek education, as the Council of State ruling 460/2013 requested. 

If the parent has not completed five years of lawful residence at the moment of the child’s birth, the right to citizenship is established after a ten-year period. For example, if the parent acquires a permit of legal residence in 2007 and the child is born in 2009, then the child acquires a right to citizenship by declaration in 2017. Therefore, the child is entitled to acquire citizenship no later than at the age of ten under the condition that the child is enrolled in and attending school. If this right is not exercised during childhood, it can be exercised when the child becomes an adult until the age of 21. 

(2) Children growing up and attending a Greek school in Greece: The regulation provides that the child, regardless of birth abroad and the status of residence of the parents, acquires Greek citizenship after having completed the nine years of compulsory schooling, or six years of secondary education. The right can be claimed until the age of 23 provided that the requirements are fulfilled and the child resides in Greece. 

(3) Graduates of a Greek technical college or university: If the adult foreign national who resides in Greece is a graduate of a Department or Faculty of a Greek university or technical college, her or his right to acquire the Greek citizenship depends on holding a diploma of a Greek school in Greece. The application by declaration can be submitted within three years from the date of graduation from the Greek university or technical college.

A transitional provision foresees that all persons who fulfil the above requirements and live in Greece are able to exercise this right within three years from the publication of the law without other restrictions. 

Finally, an option of voluntary renunciation of Greek citizenship is introduced for persons who acquired it at a minor age due to declaration by their parents, following the submission of a declaration of renunciation within one year after reaching the age of majority, on the condition that the person does not thereby become stateless. 

The government bill has come into force in July 2015. 

Read Dimitris Christopoulos‘ summary of the most important amendments here.