Author
According to Article 20(1) L. 344/1976, the birth of a child must be declared within 10 days to the Registry Office of the municipality where the child is born.[1] In case of late declaration, the person liable for the declaration of the relevant civil status event has to submit, along with an application, a fee of thirty (30) euros if the declaration was made after the lapse of the ten-day deadline provided for in Article 20(1) L. 344/1976 and sixty (60) euros if the declaration is made after the lapse of ninety (90) days from the date on which the event occurred.[2]
As for the birth registration, beneficiaries of international protection have reported to GCR that if they do not or cannot obtain a certified marriage certificate from their country of origin, the child is declared without a father’s name. Though the Asylum Service issues family status verifications, these state that the family status of the beneficiaries is in accordance to their declaration. This results in many such verifications not being accepted by public services (e.g., EFKA, Tax Authorities, KEP (Citizens’ Service Center), since they are perceived as solemn declarations and not as official certificates. In what regards beneficiaries subject to the ‘old procedure’, the Headquarters of the Hellenic Police does not issue, as a matter of practice, family status verifications, in breach of Article 25 Asylum Code.
In 2025, GCR observed that the Headquarters of the Hellenic Police continued not to issue family status verifications. However, it did issue file progress verifications/certificates (βεβαιώσεις πορείας φακέλου), in which, if family members were included in the same file as the refugee, they were explicitly listed by name together with the phrase “the following persons are being regularised alongside him/her” (“πλησίον του/της τακτοποιούνται…”). Since this document was not formally titled a “family status certificate,” or “family status verification” it was frequently not accepted by Greek public authorities.
A further challenge is that according to Greek Legislation, the father’s first name or grandfather’s first name cannot be used as the child’s surname, as per applicable practice in many of the beneficiaries’ countries of origin. This is a very common mistake made by many mothers and interferes with the name-giving (ονοματοδοσία) of the child, especially when the child’s father is not residing in Greece. In these cases, it is hard to prove that the child’s father, as declared in the child’s birth certificate, is the same person signing the authorisation held by the mother for the name-giving. Since name-giving is one of the essential rights of a legal guardian, this leads to a situation whereby a Court must first decide upon removing the parental responsibility of the parent not present/residing in Greece, before the parent residing in Greece can proceed with the name-giving. This is a lengthy and uncertain legal procedure, since the Greek Civil Code establishes strict grounds for the termination of parental responsibility.[3]
Pursuant to Ministerial Decision 9169 ΕΞ 2022-10.3.2022, the name-giving (ονοματοδοσία) can be done electronically through the Greek government’s official website.[4] However, in order to access this website (gov.gr), beneficiaries need to verify their phone number through e-banking. The system theoretically also allows the usage of taxisnet codes (taxation/fiscal electronic codes used for the submission of tax declaration). Yet in practice, after a couple of steps, if the beneficiary’s phone number has not been verified through e-banking, the system shuts down. This means that a large number of beneficiaries are de facto unable to access this new electronic name-giving system as they do not have e-banking.
A marriage must be declared within 40 days at the Registry Office of the municipality where it took place.[5] In case of late declaration, alongside an application, beneficiaries need to pay a thirty (30) euro fee if the declaration is made after the 40-days deadline has lapsed, and a sixty (60) euro fee if the declaration is made after the lapse of ninety (90) days from the date on which the event occurred.[6] In order to get legally married in Greece, the parties must provide a birth certificate and a certificate of celibacy from their countries of origin.[7] For recognised refugees, due to the disruption of ties with their country of origin, the Ministry of Interior has issued general orders to the municipalities to substitute the abovementioned documents with an affidavit of the interested party.[8] However, asylum applicants and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection are still required to present such documentation, which is extremely difficult to obtain, and face obstacles which undermine the effective enjoyment of the right to marriage and the right to family life. In some cases, this forces them to obtain a court order to officiate their wedding ceremony.[9]
As for civil partnership, as far as GCR is aware the Registry Office of Athens requires from beneficiaries of international protection to provide interpretation services by their own means, in order to be able to register the notarial act of the civil partnership. In these cases, personal data of interpreters appears on the civil partnership certificates, despite the fact that they do not constitute elements of the present act.[10]
Civil registration affects the enjoyment of certain rights by beneficiaries of international protection. For instance, a birth certificate or a marriage / civil partnership certificate are required to prove family ties in order to be recognised as a family member of a beneficiary of international protection and to be granted a similar residence permit according to Articles 22(2) and 23(3) Asylum Code (see Status and Rights of Family Members).
In practice, the main difficulties faced by beneficiaries with regard to civil registration are the language barrier and the absence of interpreters at the Registration Offices of the municipalities. This gap often leads to errors in birth or marriage certificates, which are difficult to correct and require a court order to do so.
[1] Article 20 L. 344/1976 on Civil Registration Acts, Gov.Gazette A 143/11.6.1976.
[2] Article 49(1) L. 344/1976.
[3] Article 1532 Greek Civil Code.
[4] Ministerial Decision 9169 ΕΞ 2022-10.3.2022, Gov. Gazette Β’ 1210/16.03.2022.
[5] Article 29(1) L 344/1976.
[6] Article 49(1) L. 344/1976.
[7] Article 1(3) P.D. 391/1982.
[8] See e.g., Ministry of Interior, General Orders to municipalities 4127/13.7.81, 4953/6.10.81 and 137/15.11.82.
[9] Single Member Court of First instance of Athens 6459/2009, 3581/2010, Single-member Court of First Instance of Kos 390/2013 and Athens Magistrates’ Court 91/2017.
[10] Article 9 & 31A L. 344/1976.