The right to EU citizens and their family members for residence and movement in Greece
The right to EU citizens and their family members (irrespective of their nationality) to enter, reside and move in the Greek territory is recognized by the Greek Presidential Decree no. 106/2007 which integrates the Directive 2004/38/EC into the Greek legislative framework, and more specifically in article 3, as in force:
Article – 3 Beneficiaries (Article 3 of Directive 2004/38/EC)
- This Presidential Decree shall apply to citizens of the Union who enter or reside in Greece and do not have Greek nationality and to members of their families, irrespective of nationality, as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 2, who accompany them or come to meet them.
- Without prejudice to any individual right to freedom of movement and residence of the persons concerned, priority consideration shall be given to and general facilitation of the entry and residence, in accordance with the Greek legislation in force, of the following persons:
(a) Any other member of the family of a citizen of the Union, irrespective of nationality, who does not fall within the categories referred to in par. 2 of Article 2, provided that such family member is dependent on the Union citizen having the same right of residence or lives under his/her roof in the country of origin or where serious health reasons make it absolutely necessary for the Union citizen to take personal care of that family member; and
(b) irrespective of nationality, [her or his] partner with whom the Union citizen has a stable, duly documented relationship.
- In all cases, a thorough examination of the personal situation shall be carried out and reasons shall be given for any refusal of entry or residence of such persons.
In particular, the abovementioned rights are recognized:
a) to the spouse of an EU citizen under a legitimate marriage, the substantive conditions of which are regulated by the law of the nationality of one of parties or by the law of the place where the marriage took place (it should be noted that a provision of foreign law is not applicable in Greece if its application would be contrary to public morality or public policy in general, i.e. same – sex marriage)
b) to the partner with whom the Union citizen has a registered partnership under the legislation of a Member State, provided that the legislation of the host Member State recognizes the registered partnership as equivalent to marriage, and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State,
c) to the partner with whom the Union citizen has a stable and duly proven relationship, the right to a two-year residence permit in the country is also granted.
* 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.