Expatriateing to Greece.
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my wife and I are retiring in about 3 to 4 years. We are having serious conversations about moving to Chania in Crete. I am the grandson of Greek Citizens that have come to the US. Here us my question. Can someone direct me to where I can start this process? It all sounds very hard to do.
Any help would be appreciated. -
If both of your grandparents were Greek citizens, then you should be eligible to apply for citizenship by ancestry. To prove this, you will leave the birth certificates marriage certificates come a death certificates and proof of citizenship of your Greek ancestors. Greek citizenship is historically based on being registered in the Municipal Rolls (Dimotologio). If your Greek ancestors weren't registered, you may need additional steps to prove their citizenship.In almost all cases, acquiring the assistance of a Greek attorney that specializes in such matters is necessary.
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Check with Greek Consulate for your area and their web site.
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JKEHAYES said:
my wife and I are retiring in about 3 to 4 years. We are having serious conversations about moving to Chania in Crete. I am the grandson of Greek Citizens that have come to the US. Here us my question. Can someone direct me to where I can start this process? It all sounds very hard to do.
Any help would be appreciated. -
Weve been working on the same issue for my husband for several years The place to start is rhe Greek consulate in your area- theyll have a checklost for you. First thing will be to get all your papetwork in order- certified copies of all birth, marriage, and death certificates. Get them apostilled at the Sec of State in the state of their issuance, get them translated by a translator approved by the consulate. Get an FBI background check. Get your passport apostilled and translated.
Concerning the previous comment regarding getting you family "registered" in Greece according to where your grandparents are from... we are just learning anout this step ourselves (the LAST task for us) so cant comment about that yet.
And if your husband doesnt speak Greek its time to start studying... weve heard they will require some sort of evidence of his "Greekness"- language, culture, knowledge of history/current affairs etc. This part is not spelled out in our consulate communications but weve heatd this from other sources. They are raising the bar on citizenship so its not as easy as it used to be. Good luck!