Greece, listening to the requests of people, instructed its services to find a way to re-register all Greek citizens in the Citizens’ Registry, the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior, Nasos Balerbas, has said.
Balerbas said that the Hellenic Republic is listening to the requests of these persons, many of whom are of advanced age, with the personal interest of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Minister of the Interior Thodoris Livanios, and Deputy Minister Vasilis Spanakis, Schengen.News reports.
“My first contact with these people was in my previous capacity as Secretary General of Citizenship. Then, at the end of 2023, they came and told me that we wanted to become Greek citizens again. Except that these people had been born Greek citizens. That is, there was no question of naturalisation, they have citizenship,” Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior, Nasos Balerbas
He stressed that anyone born to a Greek citizen, even if they are adopted, and their parents ask to renounce Greek citizenship, has the right to take it back whenever they want.
Balerbas also said that the essential thing back then was to have a birth certificate, while the main thing was for boys to be registered in the male registry.
“In order for any procedure to proceed there must be a registry act, because whoever is born in Greece, a registry act is drawn up. Even if a child was found, I remind you that at that time we also had cases of children who were on the steps of a church or on the steps of an institution. Even in these cases, a registry act was drawn up by” the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior, Nasos Balerbas.
Greece Facilitated Process of Obtaining Citizenship
Talking about the numbers, the Secretary General of the Ministry of the Interior, Nasos Balerbas, estimated that, based on historical research, there are between 3,000 and 5,000 Greek-born adoptees, with the majority of them residing in the United States and a smaller number in European countries, especially in the Netherlands.
He said that the government of Greece has facilitated the process for Greek-born adoptees to reclaim their citizenship. According to him, previously, only formal documents, such as birth or adoption certificates, were accepted.
In contrast, at present, a broader range of records is considered valid proof. It consists of school records, documents from orphanages, or baptismal certificates, among others.
The new changes aim to help those who were adopted abroad to reconnect with Greece and obtain official recognition.