ΕλληνικάInstructions on citizenship procedures for those with an extended residence permit.
The General Secretariat for Citizenship on 18/03/2021 published a circular with new clarifications on how Directorates of Citizenship will accept expired residence permits and blue certificates that have been extended due to measures for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the following apply:
- To file a new citizenship/naturalization application
Those who have not been able to renew their resident permits or their blue certificates, which have been extended by law, can apply for Greek citizenship with their residence permit or certificate of submission within the time of the extension given by the Ministry of Immigration for these permits, for example: If the permit expired on 1 September 2020 the application for Citizenship must be made by 1 May 2021.
When submitting the supporting documents, the certificate of extension should also be submitted and is issued online by the General Secretariat for Migration Policy (instructions for its issuance can be found here).
*Warning: In this case the decision to acquire citizenship will only be given when the applicant shows the definitive residence permit in force which will have been granted to him under the following conditions:
A) The date starting date of the residence permit must be in accordance with the date of filing of the application for the Greek citizenship.
B) The residence permit issued must be within the accepted permits in accordance with the applicable rules of the Code of Greek Citizenship.
- For the examination of pending applications and the issue of citizenship decisions
For those who have previously applied for citizenship/naturalization with a residence permit in force, both the examination of their application and the issuance of the decision to acquire Greek citizenship can be completed even with the extended residence permit or extended blue certificate. In other words, it is not necessary for the interested parties to renew their resident permit and present a new blue certificate as long as the immigration services (DAM) cannot provide them with this service.
