Living in Greece

Acquiring EU citizenship through ancestry or naturalization

March 18, 2008 at 07:51 ·

Permalink

hello : if a daughter of european citizenship of a country of schengen needs to stay in europe with a resident permit cause she didn’t take the citizenship cause of the bureaucracy (changing rule every time unfortunately) what can she do? when applying in the consulate (the consulate said this is not our work, this the work of municipality of our country : then in this schengen country, they said u should took from embassy !!!!!! so is there any rule for daughter of european citizenship (schengen county ) right to took this residence visa !! even she is married and up to 18 years old !!! who and what is the step that should be take it !!!!!

If you do not have EU citizenship, you must get a residence permit. There is no such thing as a residence visa in Greece.

If you would like to apply for EU citizenship through an ancestor/relative born in an EU country, you must apply at the appropriate ancestor’s consulate or embassy in the country you now live. For example, if you live in Greece and your ancestor is from Germany, you apply at the German Consulate/Embassy in Greece for German citizenship.

If applying for EU citizenship is not an option or too difficult for you, you must get a residence permit if you are a non-EU citizen. This is accomplished by going to the municipality office where you live. If you are married to an EU citizen, you still need a residence permit and still need to go to the municipality. If you are the child of an EU citizen, you still need a residence permit if you yourself are a non-EU citizen.

You could have found answers to your questions in articles on the front page:

“How non-EU citizens can move, live and work in Greece”
“FAQ: Greek residence/work permits”

Please search more carefully next time, and best of luck to you.

how to get eu passport if american?

Kat Reply:
August 6th, 2010 at 01:22

As stated above, you need to meet the requirements and be granted citizenship from an EU member state in order to qualify for an EU passport.

Was very much enjoying the informative content of your site when I discovered some dead-end links (error 404: file not found). On the portion discussing getting permission to work/live in Greece by acquiring EU citizenship (via ancestral connection to an EU country), I found that the links for the German official sites no longer work. Just wanted to bring that to the attention of your site manager.

Thanks again for such a quality site. It’s the most helpful one I’ve found yet!

Blessings,

MIB

Kat Reply:
March 20th, 2011 at 01:46

Hello!

I last checked links on February 13, 2011, as indicated above. However, “official” websites have a habit of changing, either due to a revamp or a change in government, without leaving old links in place, so I’ll put this on my to-do list and scout out some new ones.

Thank you for letting me know and for your kind words.

Thanks to this site, I was inspired to acquire my German citizenship so I could come work in beautiful Greece. I hadn’t thought it was an option for me as a U.S. citizen, but I learned that since my mother was a German citizen at the time of my birth, I was indeed eligible.

Kat’s site has been invaluable to me while I have been working and playing in Greece. I really appreciate all the time and care she takes to update and keep information current – it seems like maintaining this site could be a full-time job!

From one Kat to another…. Thanks a million – my time in Greece has been nothing less than life-changing.

Kat Reply:
August 3rd, 2011 at 20:31

Hi Kat,

You’re right. This could be a full-time job and I have ideas that can further enrich this project, but I have a career that crosses borders and time zones.

I appreciate you taking the time to seek me out on Twitter and come back to the website to tell me how it helped you. In “Should I move to Greece?“, I say that I and this website can assist in making dreams come true and I’m glad to hear it’s happening. Most of the time people accuse me of being negative or having an ulterior agenda, but my work has always been out of love for Greece.

It’s very easy to help people like you, not to mention a pleasure to meet you.

I am a US citizen and want to live permanently in Spain, my great grandfather emigrated from Italy to the US around 1900 could i Claim EU citizenship through this link. Also my father, now deceased had permanent leave to stay in England, married an English woman and lived there for 40years, his wife is still alive and living in the Uk

Kat Reply:
August 19th, 2011 at 20:56

If you click the link I provide for Italy and switch to English, it says you can automatically be an Italian citizen if your parents were born in Italy or you can stake a claim through a second-generation ancestor under certain conditions, which would be your grandparents. It says nothing about great grandparents. You are free to verify my answer at the Italian embassy/consulate nearest your residence.

If your father was born in the UK and had UK citizenship, you could stake a claim through him. I’m guessing he didn’t since you say he had a permanent stay permit; that’s not even close to being the same thing. As you are not related by blood to his last wife, she is not your ancestor and you cannot stake a claim to anything through her. Again, you are free to verify my answer at the UK embassy/consulate nearest your residence or read through the ample resources via links I provided above for the UK.

Hi,

My girlfriends grandfather was born in Germany and moved to Australia where he married her grandmother (an Australian woman). Their son, my girlfriends dad, and mum were both born in Australia, and so was my girlfriend. Her German born grandfather has now passed away. Would their be any possibility of obtaining a German passport through this link?

Kat Reply:
November 1st, 2011 at 23:02

I get the feeling you didn’t read the article or click the links.

– As I say in the article above, you need to have citizenship from an EU country before applying for a passport. Can you get a passport through the link? No.
– If you had clicked either of the links for Germany and read the documentation, it says that having a German ancestor in itself is not enough to qualify, plus Germany only recognizes citizenship through ancestry via parents born in Germany, not grandparents.

The information cannot help you unless you help yourself.

Hi there, I am an Australian citizen living in Victoria in Australia. I live with my two grandparents and hope to move to Europe either in 2012 or 2013. Although my mother was born in Australia, my grandmother was born in the Czech Republic in 1927 and my grandfather in Austria in 1932. Although they are my grandparents not my direct parents, am I eligible for dual citizenship? Or if my mother gets a dual citizenship with Austria or Czechoslovakia, am I able to apply for dual citizenship? Regards Luisa

Kat Reply:
November 21st, 2011 at 12:41

There’s no way I or anyone can answer your question based on the little information you gave.

The procedure in claiming citizenship in Austria is very different than the Czech Republic and involves a lot of documentation. You need to follow the links I gave above to learn more and contact the Austrian and Czech embassies/consulates closest to your current place of residence if you have questions.

To whom it may concern,

I am looking at applying for an EU visa through my maternal grandfather, unfortunately his birth and death certificates have been lost so I am unsure how to go about obtaining this information so I am able to apply for the visa. What are the exact requirements for this visa so that I may start the process of obtaining necessary records and paperwork as soon as possible?

Kat Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 17:43

There is no such thing as an EU visa. As it says above, each country retains its separate borders and laws on what’s required in granting visas and citizenship, since Europe is a continent and has not fused into a single entity. This is why the list is organized by country.

Explore the links or call the relevant consulate/embassy handling matters pertaining to your grandfather’s country of origin. The information cannot help you if you do not help yourself.

Hi There

I am writing in reply to Kat’s reply who said she was inspired to apply for her German Citizenship to work in Greece?

I have applied for my German Citizenship through the process of staatsangehoerigkeit and have lodged it at my German Consulate here in Sydney Australia.

The Consular official was, as far as i can tell, satisfied with the documentation I lodged but as he said and I have read, he did not give me a timeline as to how long it will take- “It will be ready when we contact you.”

I was wondering Kat if you knew how long this would take or how long yours took as it has been 4months and I am getting ‘itchy feet’ now waiting to go!

Kind Regards

Chris.

Kat Reply:
January 10th, 2012 at 18:00

I asked Kat to check in, which she kindly obliged below, but I want to mention separately that a person’s processing time is unique to their case, so whatever happened in Kat’s case doesn’t necessarily apply to you. You applied in different countries at different consulates, and there was likely a different number of staff and applications in the queue, and there is not generally anything you can do to make the process go faster. Just something to keep in mind.

Hi Chris! I paid extra to have the passport expedited, so from beginning to end it was less than a month for me. This also included having to battle a bit with what was “satisfactory” to them (but only for a few days).

Are you expecting them to ship the passport to you, or are you picking it up at the consulate? From what I understood (but I could have been given the wrong information), the passport comes from Germany and the consulate in the US couldn’t give me the exact time it would arrive.

Not sure why you are having to wait so long! Have you tried to contact them again to see if you are missing a piece of information?

Hi Kat & Kat, thanks for your speedy replies! How efficient you all are!

Yes what I am expecting them to provide me with is a German Citizenship Certificate which they have said that I will be able to pick up at the Sydney Consulate.

How do you mean you had it expedited? What were the costs involved with this? I have been told that there “is no way to speed up the process” in those words from the German Consulate.

Yes all the processing is taking place in Cologne in Germany and I have to sit and wait apparently? I have received a confirmation of receipt for my Application in Cologne and asked is there any furthering I can do on my part but again been told to just wait.

Regards

I guess I am not sure what you mean by “German Citizenship Certificate” – what I applied for was a passport. I used the links Kat has provided above for basic information and also corresponded with the German consulate in my state before I applied.

I think the costs for me would be irrelevant for you since you are in a different country. If you click through the links on the pages above to find info about the Australian German consulate, you can find information about the price and process of getting a German passport.

I don’t recall getting any confirmation from Cologne, or even from the consulate itself. I called and they said yes, the information you gave us was enough, and then I had to wait. I think I did call and find out that the passport had been processed, but they couldn’t give me any tracking information. From what I understood, they were waiting for other documents/passports from Germany to arrive – they didn’t send out the passports one by one.

Good luck!

Kat Reply:
January 11th, 2012 at 15:00

Hi Kat,

Before applying for a German passport, were you required to go through a process to claim German citizenship via your mother? Or were you considered to already have it. I think what Chris was required to do was stake a formal claim through an ancestor, though he does not say which one, and get a certificate; and he’s under the impression you did the same thing.

Hi Kat and Kat

Yes maybe we have applied similarly but different none the same unfortunately!?

Yes I was under the impression you did the same thing. I am claiming through my German Grandfather as pre 1975 only the male bloodline counts in German Law. My Mother inherited German Ancestry through being born through her German Parents. They were not Naturalized Australians till 6years after her birth.

My Mother never acquired German Citizenship, thus I am inherently claiming through my German Grandfather. This obviously is different but I knew a German family friend who did the same who said it didn’t take long yet 4months later I am still waiting.

I guess I will just have to sit and wait or simply just visit for a short amount of time. Anyway thankyou all for your help hopefully my posts will help someone else enquiring?

Kat if you wish to put some good info up on your website for German Citizenship by Decent check out something called “staatsangehoerigkeit”, the best English translation of this process can be found on the London German Consulate website.

Kind Regards

Kat Reply:
January 12th, 2012 at 11:05

Hi again Chris,

As I said in my original comment, each case is unique and should be treated that way. I don’t have specific experience with German citizenship, but Greek citizenship cases that typically extend processing time are: a) claiming through a grandparent; b) parent was not born in the relevant country either and did not stake a claim; c) submitting papers through a consulate/embassy. All three of those things apply in your case.

Not saying it will make you feel better, but a man I know claimed through a Greek grandparent and had to wait 2 years and 8 months before his citizenship was processed. There were no problems with his papers; that’s just how long it took. Germany is far more efficient, so be patient. Four months is not a long time.

Thank you for the tip. I’ll check it out.

Ah, I see – my mother was a German citizen at the time of my birth, so I think it was easier for me to make my claim. I didn’t have to go through any process before my appointment at the consulate, I just had to provide her birth certificate and marriage certificate, as well as my birth certificate. With that, it was fairly straightforward to get a passport, but your situation sounds a bit different.

Hello dear sir
I saw your website & find alot of useful information related to EU countries.

I have 2 questions :
1. if we ( me & my wife) legally stay in EU by schengen visa & she born a child inside EU,my child will be a EU citizen ?
or in which one of EU countries have such kind of law yet.
2. if my child take citizenship by borning in EU , we can follow the processes to be EU citizen through my child?

And in which part i need a lawyer to follow
Thanks for your kind attention
Hope to hear from you soon

RGDS

Kat Reply:
January 15th, 2012 at 13:04

Kat is a woman’s name. Therefore, I am not a ‘sir.’

As I say in the above article, the EU is a membership composed of individual countries and these countries retain individual laws on citizenship. Use the list to research the different rules of each country.

Most EU countries do not grant citizenship to babies who are simply born in the country. The parents must be a citizen of that country and/or long-term (several years) legal residents who live/work there with a residence permit.

In nearly all countries of the world, citizenship and residency rights pass from parent to child, not from child to parent.

Lawyers are not needed to stake claims to citizenship. The applicant simply meets all qualifications, collects documents, pays fees and makes the application himself/herself.

You cannot come to the EU as a tourist on a Schengen visa, have a baby and get EU citizenship for your baby and yourselves. If it were that easy, we’d all have EU citizenship.

I have been married to a German citizen for the past three years but we live in London.(UK) where i have been granted a Visa for 5 years after how long can i apply for citizenship either for German or UK?

Kat Reply:
January 30th, 2012 at 11:23

Click the links I provided above for Germany and the UK to learn citizenship requirements for each country, as they apply to your specific situation. Both countries provide extensive resources.

Hi my boyfriend and soon to be husband was born in Austria. But lived most of his life in South Africa. We want to move to Austria as soon as we are married what are the correct steps in making sure we do everything legally.

Thank you

Kat Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 09:44

This article is about obtaining citizenship, so the link for Austria pertains to that. This website is about Greece.

If you need help on residence permits or other legalities, you need to contact the Austrian embassy/consulate nearest your residence and/or take a look at the government’s official website: http://www.wien.gv.at/english/ I found the website by doing a simple Google search.

Hi, I am an Egyptian Married to Romanian (EU National), me and my European wife are living and working in Italy. I have permanent permit stay (5 years of validity) based on family motivation. We have got married for about 2 years now under the Italian laws and constitution. she is living in Italy for more than 8 years as resident.

I would like to ask if I am eligible to apply for an Italian Citizenship? if so, after how many years of the marriage I should submit my documents? and how long it takes.

Many thanks,

A

Kat Reply:
February 13th, 2012 at 14:09

I get the feeling you didn’t click the link I provide for Italy on citizenship since your questions are answered there, in English and Italian. You can also get in touch with interior ministry, since you’re living and working in Italy.

This website is about Greece and I am a journalist; I do not provide help on Italy or submitting citizenship papers beyond the article above.

Hi,

I think my question could be simple but I just want to check. I have a UK passport but was not born there (I got it via my mum who moved from India to UK age 7 and obtained certificate naturalisation/passport).

Anyway, I am obviously now entitled to live/work in EU countries. I am an Australian also and am soon to marry another Australian and hopefully have children soon (not in the EU). If we wanted to move to the EU in the future (wife and children with Oz passports, me with Oz/UK passports) would they be able to come with me and ultimately get EU passports for themselves? I am imagining this is possible- they come over with residency permits at first and after time become eligible for passports. Is this how it works and after how long living in say France or Spain would they be able to apply for passports?

Thanks Aditya

Kat Reply:
February 18th, 2012 at 08:56

In moving to another country, you should first check immigration requirements for family members, not citizenship or eligibility for passports.

They cannot get EU passports without first acquiring citizenship in an eligible country. You can click the links I gave for France and Spain to read the different residency, language and other naturalization requirements. This website is about Greece.

so, if iam an american/mexican. both citizenships, and my grand grand father was spanish, can i become spaniard? if not, ok. but being an american, can i work and live in europe? from what i have read that what i understood.

i am very interested because i plan to go to spain and live there for a while, if not madrid, i go to paris, france. i have almost everything ready to go there.

thank you folks, please write back. good day!

Kat Reply:
February 29th, 2012 at 23:06

Only EU citizens have the legal right to live and work in Europe.

Non-EU citizens (Americans, Mexicans, Australians, Canadians, etc.) must have a residence/work permit as explained in the first sentence, just as non-Americans need to have a permit or green card to live in the USA. However, because Europe rarely issues residence/work permits to non-EU citizens, I say in the second sentence that claiming EU citizenship through an ancestor born in an EU member state is a way around.

Whether you can become a Spanish citizen through your grandfather depends on meeting all requirements to apply. Click the links for Spain and find out. All best.

So basically all ehow did was copy your article, then try to disguise it by giving you credit in the last link. Only difference I found was your links are all updated and it sounds like you know what you’re talking about.

Your comment was moved to, “Greek citizenship by Greek origin, descent or ancestry.”

Hi- we are an Egyptian expat family who have lives as legal residents in the Czech republic for four years and then relocated to Belgium and have been legal residents here for almost 2 years. Could our stay in CZ, which was uninterruptedly followed by our move to Belgium be considered towards citizenship by naturalization?

Kat Reply:
March 19th, 2012 at 01:52

You need to claim Czech citizenship under Czech Republic laws, or Belgian citizenship under Belgium’s laws. Combining residency in two different member states does not count toward one EU citizenship.

Follow the links provided above, or call the Czech embassy in Belgium or call the interior ministry of Belgium if you do not understand the documentation and requirements. My website is about Greece, and I cannot help you beyond the information provided in the article.