Acquisition of Greek citizenship by holders of “Golden Visa”
Ministerial Decision no 130181/6353/07.03.2018 added Golden Visas to the list of accepted residence permits, which can lead to Greek citizenship through naturalization.
The Golden Visa cannot in itself lead to the acquisition of Greek citizenship but the following requirements must be met.
The general rule for acquisition of Greek citizenship is that it is based on the jus sanguinis (right of blood), which means that in principle it is self-righteous, acquired by birth, as it is specifically described in article 1 of the Greek Citizenship Code.
Provided that a foreign citizen has no such connection to the country, so to establish citizenship through ancestry, the way to succeed this, is through the process of naturalization.
The typical requirements for that, stipulated by the Greek Citizenship Code (Greek Law 3284/2004 article 5) are:
a. The applicant/foreign citizen must be of legal age (adult) at the time of submission of the naturalization application.
b. The applicant/foreign citizen must not have been irrevocably convicted for an offense committed with malice, during the last ten years prior to the submission of the application for naturalization, to imprisonment of at least one year or at least six months and irrespective of the date of the conviction, for crimes against the State, treason, manslaughter and grievous bodily harm, drug-trafficking and drug-trafficking crimes, money-laundering, international financial crimes, cyber-crimes, crimes related to currency, trafficking crimes children, child prostitution and child pornography (law 3625/2007, Official Gazette 290 A’ ) crimes of forming or joining as a member of a criminal organization within the meaning of article 187 of the Criminal Code and crimes of article 187 A of the Criminal Code, resistance against authority, abduction of minors, crimes against sexual freedom and financial exploitation of sexual life, theft, robbery, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, usury, the law on middlemen, forgery, false solemn declaration, usurpation of false solemn declaration, defamation, smuggling, crimes involving weapons, antiquities, the promotion of undocumented immigrants or facilitating their transportation or promotion or providing them with accommodation for concealment. “Criminal conviction of a foreigner, according to the above, which was imposed with suspension of execution of the sentence.
c. Not to be subjected to deportation or other pending status of legal residence in the Country.
d. To reside legally in Greece for seven consecutive years prior to the submission of the naturalization application (more specific cases are also described in this paragraph).
e. To possess one of the following titles of legal residence:
aa) long-term resident’s permit* (Code of Immigration)
ab) certificate or other document of residence granted to citizens of member states of the European Union or of the EFTA countries
ac) card or other residence permit issued to family members of a Greek citizen or a citizen of a European Union member state or to parents of a minor citizen
ad) card of recognized political refugee or subsidiary protection status or family member of the holder of such a card
ae) travel documents or a special card issued by a national authority, in accordance with the provisions of the New York International Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons
In any case, a foreign citizen who holds any valid residence title, except for temporary ones, and meets the standard conditions of cases a’, b’ and c’ above of can request his naturalization if he has resided in Greece legally for twelve (12) consecutive years before from the submission of the naturalization application
Furthermore, special substantive requirements are provided by law (article 5A Code of Greek Citizenship), in order a foreign citizen to acquire Greek citizenship through naturalization:
1.The foreign citizen must have sufficient knowledge of the Greek language in order to fulfil the obligations arising from the status of Greek citizen
2. To be sufficiently familiar with Greek history and geography, Greek culture and the habits of the Greek people, as well as the functioning of the country’s political institutions.
3.To have smoothly integrated into the economic and social life of the Country, having made it a continuous center of his livelihood activities.
To verify the financial integration of the applicant, the existence of stable work in the country and his economic activity in general, as well as the continuous fulfillment of his tax and insurance obligations towards the State, are taken into account.
To verify the social integration of the applicant, the formation of a family bond with a Greek citizen, his familiarity with the customs and manners of Greek society, his participation in voluntary activities, sports teams, municipality activities and civil society events are taken into account in particular.
4. Must not have reasons of public order or national security. Regarding the presence of such reasons in the person of the applicant, the competent services of the Ministry of Citizen Protection provide an opinion with a certain procedure.
It exceeds the scope of the present to make a detailed reference to the supporting documents attached to the application for naturalization, but it is important to underline that one of the supporting documents is the Certificate of adequacy of knowledge for naturalization (PEEGP), which is granted after the applicant – foreign citizen has passed successfully the written test described by law (more detail will be given if needed).
So, even though the holders of a Golden Visa bear no obligation to actually reside in the country, contrary to holders of other residence permits, who are obliged to actually live in the country, in terms of acquiring citizenship, this obligation (of constant actual residence in the country) not only exists, but it is a typical requirement in case the foreign citizen wishes to use the golden visa to apply for Greek citizenship, plus the foreign citizen must also meet the above substantive requirements described above in a generic form.
* The information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as at the time of writing. We have no obligation to update it. We accept no responsibility against any third party who is not a client of the firm and has not signed the terms of our engagement.