Greek Citizenship by Descent Immigration law office

If you are the child, or the grandchild, of a Greek citizen, you are eligible to request Greek Citizenship by Descent.

If your family were Sephardic Jews from Thessaloniki (Salonika), Rhodes, or any other Greek Jewish community, you are very possibly eligible for both Portuguese and Greek citizenship. As long as there is proof that your ancestor was Greek, you are eligible to a receive a Greek passport and an EU nationality.

Our law office specializes in emigration and acquiring citizenship in the European Union and around the world. We can help you prove your eligibility to a Greek passport by descent.

What’s the Application Process?

To apply, we first check that your ancestor is registered as a citizen in the Greek records. The records are quite good, so the chances are if your parent or grandparent was Greek, confirming documents will be available.

Once we have confirmation, we need to provide documents registering the births and marriages of each generation in between. In the case of a grandparent being Greek, the birth, marriages and divorces of the parent with Greek heritage will need to registered in Greece. Once that happens, we can register your birth, and then you are a considered a citizen of Greece.

Timeline for Obtaining a Passport

Typically, from the start of the application to receipt of citizenship is around 6 months, sometimes even less. At the end of the process you will get a registration document, proving that you are now Greek. With this document, you will need to take a trip to the beautiful Greek Isles in order to get your passport.

The passport and Greek national ID take approximately 3-4 business days to obtain, and then you are fully able to travel around Europe and North America as a European citizen. You are also able to study in any country within the EU for majorly subsidized costs.

While it is always advisable to learn the language of your new country, there is no requirement to speak Greek.

Acquiring Greek Citizenship when not descended from a Greek Citizen

A Greek passport can be obtained by investment in the Greek Economy – a so-called “Golden Visa”. The minimal investment is 250,000 Euro, or more depending on the area you want to invest in (real estate, bonds, a new or currently established company). We will be happy to assist you in the process of obtaining Greek Citizenship by investment.