Reacquisition of Greek citizenship by victims of the Holocaust who previously held Greek citizenship (born in Greece before May 9, 1945, and in direct line of descent)
Greek citizenship is restored or granted to persons of Jewish origin in the following two cases, which presuppose that the person of Jewish origin is or was born in Greece before 9 May 1945. There is no special visa related to this right, neither the application for Greek citizenship gives the right to reside in Greece before the application is accepted.
In particular,
1. Citizens of Israel or of other countries of Jewish origin, as evidenced by public documents, who were born in Greece before 9 May 1945 and are still alive, shall be restored to Greek citizenship, provided that they previously had Greek citizenship by birth and lost it in some way.
In such cases, Greek citizenship shall be granted by decision of the Minister of the Interior upon application by the person concerned to the Greek Consul of his place of residence, accompanied by documents proving his previous possession of Greek citizenship by birth. The decision shall be published in the Government Gazette, while Greek citizenship shall be acquired by the person concerned taking an oath before the Greek consular authority of his place of residence, in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Code of Greek Citizenship.
[In this case, the applicant must have been born in Greece until 09/05/1945 (and be alive), must have previously held Greek nationality since birth and have lost it, and must produce public documents proving his/her Greek origin].
2. The lineal descendants of persons who acquire Greek citizenship in accordance with paragraph 1, as well as the lineal descendants of citizens of Israel or other countries of Jewish origin who were born in Greece on or before 9 May 1945 and who died before acquiring Greek citizenship, may apply for naturalization as descendants of Greek citizens in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the Code of Greek Citizenship.
[In this case, apart from his/her proven Greek origin, certain substantive prerequisites must be fulfilled regarding his/her actual contact with Greek culture and his/her Greek consciousness (i.e. he/she must be aware that he/she is from the Greek diaspora). It is not necessarily required to speak Greek, but to have a real connection with his/her Greek ancestry.
So, the applicant must be an adult, foreigner with proven Greek origin, reside within the territorial jurisdiction of the consular authority to which the application is submitted, and – in addition to the above – there must be a report of the Consul (following an interview with the applicant), who shall give an opinion on the applicant’s person as to the existence of the substantive requirements, documenting his/her status as a Greek expatriate, after taking into account his/her knowledge of important subjects relating to Greece and the level of national consciousness formed, thus ascertaining his/her genuine interest in acquiring Greek citizenship.
Also, the applicant must not have been irrevocably convicted of an offence committed intentionally, during the last 10 years prior to the submission of the application for naturalization, and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of at least one year or at least six months, irrespective of the date of the conviction, for specific crimes, and there must be no grounds of public policy and public security in respect of the applicant.]
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.