Greek citizenship by descent: who qualifies, the law, and what it takes

Q: Can you claim Greek citizenship through a parent?

Likely. Greek citizenship passes down without a generational limit, and taking another citizenship did not by itself stop citizenship passing down. The work is registering each generation in a Greek municipality, starting from your ancestor’s own record.

Q: Can you claim Greek citizenship through a grandparent?

Likely. Greek citizenship passes down without a generational limit, and taking another citizenship did not by itself stop citizenship passing down. The work is registering each generation in a Greek municipality, starting from your ancestor’s own record.

Q: Can you claim Greek citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Likely. Greek citizenship passes down without a generational limit, and taking another citizenship did not by itself stop citizenship passing down. The work is registering each generation in a Greek municipality, starting from your ancestor’s own record.

Through a parentLIKELYCitizen by descent Through a grandparentLIKELYCitizen by descent Through a great-grandparentLIKELYCitizen by descent

Ways to apply: Citizen by descent, registered generation by generation
Dual citizenship: Kept, however you apply
Comes with: EU citizenship: the right to live and work in 27 countries

Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.

On this page

01Who qualifies
02Dates that matter
03Through your mother
04Keeping your citizenship
05Ways to apply
06The documents
07What it takes
08Where the records live
09Places that changed countries
10Law changes
11Other options
12Sources

Who qualifies, generation by generation

LIKELY

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a parent?

Citizen by descent

Greek citizenship passes down without a generational limit, and taking another citizenship did not by itself stop citizenship passing down. The work is registering each generation in a Greek municipality, starting from your ancestor’s own record.

What would settle itWhether your ancestor is recorded in a Greek municipality’s rolls. If not, the case begins with finding and registering that record.

A child of a Greek citizen acquires Greek citizenship at birth. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 1
The consulate registers each generation in the municipal rolls on proof of the previous generation’s registration; the ancestor’s entry in a Greek municipality or male register is the anchor. Registration in the municipal rolls (Dimotologio) as proof of citizenship, through the consulate
One exception: under Article 19 of the 1955 Code (repealed 1998), some non-ethnic-Greek emigrants were stripped of citizenship; those families need a check of the ancestor’s record. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent)

What changes the answer

LIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1984
Children born in wedlock to a Greek mother before 1984 acquire citizenship by a declaration of will under Article 14(1) of the Code. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 14(1)

LIKELY

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a grandparent?

Citizen by descent

What would settle itWhether your ancestor is recorded in a Greek municipality’s rolls. If not, the case begins with finding and registering that record.

A child of a Greek citizen acquires Greek citizenship at birth. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 1
The consulate registers each generation in the municipal rolls on proof of the previous generation’s registration; the ancestor’s entry in a Greek municipality or male register is the anchor. Registration in the municipal rolls (Dimotologio) as proof of citizenship, through the consulate
One exception: under Article 19 of the 1955 Code (repealed 1998), some non-ethnic-Greek emigrants were stripped of citizenship; those families need a check of the ancestor’s record. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent)

LIKELY

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Citizen by descent

What would settle itWhether your ancestor is recorded in a Greek municipality’s rolls. If not, the case begins with finding and registering that record.

A child of a Greek citizen acquires Greek citizenship at birth. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 1
The consulate registers each generation in the municipal rolls on proof of the previous generation’s registration; the ancestor’s entry in a Greek municipality or male register is the anchor. Registration in the municipal rolls (Dimotologio) as proof of citizenship, through the consulate
One exception: under Article 19 of the 1955 Code (repealed 1998), some non-ethnic-Greek emigrants were stripped of citizenship; those families need a check of the ancestor’s record. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent)

The dates that matter

1984
Children born in wedlock to a Greek mother before 1984 acquire citizenship by a declaration of will under Article 14(1) of the Code. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 14(1)

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

In Greece’s rule, the answer changes when the ancestor you descend through is a woman:

LIKELY
If the parent is your mother and you were born before 1984
Children born in wedlock to a Greek mother before 1984 acquire citizenship by a declaration of will under Article 14(1) of the Code. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 14(1)

In the law’s words

Children born in wedlock to a Greek mother before 1984 acquire citizenship by a declaration of will under Article 14(1) of the Code. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 14(1)

Dual citizenship with your home country

You keep your citizenship.

On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.

Greece permits dual citizenship. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent)

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

Citizen by descent

Open to you through a parent, a grandparent or a great-grandparent

LIKELY
Through a parent

The law

A child of a Greek citizen acquires Greek citizenship at birth. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 1
The consulate registers each generation in the municipal rolls on proof of the previous generation’s registration; the ancestor’s entry in a Greek municipality or male register is the anchor. Registration in the municipal rolls (Dimotologio) as proof of citizenship, through the consulate
One exception: under Article 19 of the 1955 Code (repealed 1998), some non-ethnic-Greek emigrants were stripped of citizenship; those families need a check of the ancestor’s record. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent)
Children born in wedlock to a Greek mother before 1984 acquire citizenship by a declaration of will under Article 14(1) of the Code. Code of Greek Citizenship (Law 3284/2004), Art. 1 (acquisition by birth to a Greek parent), Art. 14(1)

What would settle an unsure case

Whether your ancestor is recorded in a Greek municipality’s rolls. If not, the case begins with finding and registering that record.

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

Through a parent or grandparent or great-grandparent

Your ancestor’s Greek birth or baptismal record and their municipal registration
Marriage records for each generation, registered in Greece if abroad
Birth records for each generation to you, with certified translations

Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

Time: 18–36 months. Greek consulates are slow and each generation must be entered in a municipal register first.
Cost: About $800–2,000: fees per registration, certified translations of every record, and usually a Greek lawyer.
The hard part: Finding your ancestor in a Greek municipal register (dimotologio) or male register (mitroon arrenon). Without that entry, nothing else moves.
Who decides: The Greek consulate for your address, then the municipality and the Ministry of Interior.
The first record: Your ancestor’s Greek municipal or male register entry, from The municipality (dimos) where the family was registered. Write to the municipality with the name, father’s name and approximate birth year; village records were often kept by the father’s name. The National Registry of Administrative Procedures (MITOS) page above describes the registration step itself: it is free and takes about 50 days once citizenship is recognised. A Greek lawyer speeds the overall process up considerably. mitos.gov.gr

How it’s filed

Where: The Greek consulate general or consulate whose jurisdiction covers the member’s U.S. state: Embassy consular office (DE, DC, MD, NC, VA, WV), 2217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; New York (CT, NJ, NY, PA), 69 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075; Boston (ME, MA, NH, RI, VT), 86 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108; Chicago (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI), 650 North St. Clair Street, Chicago, IL 60611; Los Angeles (AZ, CO, HI, NM, southern NV, CA ZIPs 90001–92999), 12424 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1170, Los Angeles, CA 90025; San Francisco (AK, ID, MT, northern NV, OR, UT, WA, WY, CA ZIPs 93000 and up), 2441 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94123 (cash only, in USD); Tampa (AL, FL, MS), 400 North Tampa Street, Suite 1160, Tampa, FL 33602; Atlanta (GA, KY, SC, TN), Tower Place 100, 3340 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1670, Atlanta, GA 30326; Houston (AR, LA, OK, TX, PR, USVI), 2401 Fountain View Drive, Suite 850, Houston, TX 77057. It verifies and forwards to the Ministry of Interior’s Regional Directorate of Citizenship and the municipality. office list
How: In person; you appear in person
Form: Αίτηση-δήλωση για διαπίστωση ελληνικής ιθαγένειας (determination of Greek citizenship from birth), filed with the consulate; plus the consulate’s own birth- and marriage-registration declarations
Appointments: Per consulate: MFA e-appointment (appointment.mfa.gr) for San Francisco; Acuity Scheduling for Chicago’s Citizenship & Vital Records Department; New York’s own online account system; Los Angeles by email only (grgencon.la@mfa.gr) for citizenship and registrations. Account creation plus per-consulate calendars; Los Angeles and New York registry desks route citizenship cases through email questionnaires first (registry.nyc@mfa.gr, registry.chc@mfa.gr). San Francisco takes payment only in cash, in U.S. dollars. Treat as a human-in-the-loop booking.
Fee: About $273
Decision: 2–36 months

Your consulate

Every office in the United States (9)

Consulate General of Greece in Boston

Serves Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

How: In person; you appear in person
Address: 86 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108

Email grgencon.bos@mfa.gr.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a grandparent?

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a great-grandparent?

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

In the law’s words

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Places on old papers that lead to Greece

Recent and pending changes

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Greece.

Who qualifies, generation by generation

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a parent?

What changes the answer

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a grandparent?

Can you claim Greek citizenship through a great-grandparent?

The dates that matter

Claiming through your mother or grandmother

In the law’s words

Dual citizenship with your home country

Every way to apply, and the law behind it

The law

What would settle an unsure case

The documents, as the rule lists them

Citizen by descent

What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides

Citizen by descent

How it’s filed

Where each record lives, and how to ask for it

Translations

The passport

Places on old papers that lead to Greece

Recent and pending changes

If descent doesn’t reach you

Every source on this page

Check your family for Greece.