With dual citizenship, you forge a relationship with a second country other than the one of your nationality. The main advantage is that you get more freedom concerning where you can work, live, and travel. It all sounds simple enough, but the actual process isn’t as clear cut.
Citizenships.com helps you navigate the process of getting dual citizenship if your country of interest allows it. From this article, you can find out the different ways of obtaining dual citizenship Greece has available, requirements for eligibility, and the benefits and challenges involved.
Types of Dual Citizenship Greece Offers
Under Greek nationality law, jus sanguinis, meaning blood right, applies to citizenship. You can get the dual Citizenship Greece offers by the following means:
Descent
Getting citizenship by descent is a form of birthright, relating to having some Greek blood in the family tree.
Declaration
Citizenship by declaration is fast and more cost-efficient, plus it doesn’t require much apart from some blood relation to a Greek parent or having a Greek citizen as an adoptive parent.
Marriage
One of the most common methods of attaining citizenship is through marrying a Greek citizen.
Naturalization
Naturalization is a legal procedure through which non-citizens gain citizenship if they meet specific requirements.
Investment
Through a real estate residency visa scheme, you can invest in the economy or infrastructure of Greece to get a residence permit. If you’re a resident, you can put in an application for citizenship and a passport after seven years.
Eligibility Requirements
Descent
If you were born outside Greece but have at least one Greek parent, you qualify for this form of citizenship automatically.
Declaration
This applies to people born out of wedlock, and outside of Greece to a Greek parent, or anyone adopted by a Greek citizen.
Marriage
Marriage to a Greek citizen will enable you to claim dual citizenship. You’ll need to live in Greece for at least three years and have one or more children.
Naturalization
As long as you’re over 18 years, and have no criminal record, you’ll meet the minimum requirements for dual citizenship Greece offers typically. You must also know the local language, history, and culture, and have at least 10 years of legal residence.
Investment
The cost of the investment program varies, but you have to apply to invest in property within Greece to qualify for dual citizenship Greece.
Application Process
The process differs depending on which avenue you take for dual citizenship Greece, and also according to whether you’re a citizen of non-EU countries, among other things. Typically, you first have to check if you meet the eligibility requirements, including a specified duration as a citizen in Greece and having a clean record over a given period.
The next step is submitting the required documentation, which may include your application, a residence permit, personal tax audits, passport, marriage certificate, or birth certificate authenticated and translated into Greek. After that, you’ll need to pay an application fee, which is usually €700 for first-time non-EU applicants and €200 for subsequent ones.
Benefits of the Dual Citizenship Greece Provides
With the dual citizenship Greece provides, you can work, live, and travel through the European Union countries. There are also academic institutions that grant privileges to Greeks first so you’ll have first preference in those.
The residency investment program helps you get the right to live in Greece and travel through the European Union Schengen visa zone without the need for further visa applications. Non-residents may also qualify for tax exemption on income from outside Greece.
The dual citizenship Greece gives opens up many possibilities, business-wise, such as freedom to purchase a property.
Challenges
Applicants without the option to get citizenship through descent or birth may go through a longer application process. You may need to take several months to learn the Greek language and cultures to qualify. If you’re pursuing the dual citizenship Greece offers by nationalization; you’ll need to wait for 3-10 years before applying.
Joining the residency investment program is undoubtedly faster and more costly, with the typical minimum investment as €250,000. Your investment may only gain you a few limited rights, such as freedom to travel in certain areas and permission to live in Greece but not work there.
Conclusion
The way to the dual citizenship Greece offers depends on your descent, if and how long you’ve been a resident and even your financial affluence. For most of the methods provided to become a dual national, the process can get long and requires knowing the Greek language and culture. You’ll need to submit certain documentation, such as tax audits, passport info, and an address.
Your application may not get approved the first time around, which means re-applying. At Citizenships.com, you’ll get access to a specialist who can help you with the entire process. From planning to getting the dual citizenship you want. Register for a private consultation today!