4.2. Naturalisation procedure Beneficiaries of international protection who wish to apply for naturalisation must first take exams and get the Certificate of Knowledge Adequacy for Naturalisation. Exempted from this obligation are those who have studied for a given number of years in Greek primary school, elementary school, high school or Greek universities, who can submit a direct application for naturalisation, when completing the required number of previous years of legal residence.1338 In particular, according to the Ministry of Interior, 1339 this applies to: “(a) those who have successfully completed either nine classes of primary and secondary education or six classes of secondary education; (b) those who attend a Greek university and have obtained a bachelor's or master's degree or a doctorate, are exempted from the obligation to obtain the Certificate of Adequacy of Knowledge for Naturalisation (Πιστοποιητικό Επάρκειας Γνώσεων για Πολιτογράφηση (ΠΕΓΠ)”. Those who have passed the exams and have obtained the Certificate of Knowledge Adequacy for Naturalisation are able to submit an application for naturalisation to the competent Citizenship Directorate of their place of residence, provided they have completed the required years of previous lawful residence in the country (i.e., 7 years).1340 A EUR 100 fee of is required for the submission of a naturalisation application for refugees. In case of beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, the fee is EUR 550. 1341 A EUR 200 fee is required for a reexamination of the case.1342 For the participation in the exams for the acquisition of the Certificate of Knowledge Adequacy for Naturalisation, an additional fee of EUR 150 is required. For those who already had a pending application before the change of the law and the provision of the written test, the first participation in the examinations does not require a fee. 1343 In case of a negative decision, the applicant may file an application for annulment before the competent Administrative Court of Appeal.1344 In case of a positive recommendation, the the competent authority of the Ministry of the Interior (i.e., “Head of the Directorate-General for Citizenship of the Ministry of the Interior”) issues a decision granting the applicant Greek citizenship, which is, subsequently, published in the Government Gazette. 1345 Greek citizenship is acquired following the oath of the person, within a year from the publication of the decision.1346 Persons with disabilities can take the oath in their house or via teleconference. 1347 If the oath is not taken during this period, the decision is revoked. 1348 The procedure, in general, remains extremely slow and beneficiaries of international protection are often requested to submit several times social security certificate and tax clearance that expire. During 2025, applications for citizenship were processed within a year, provided the supporting documents in the file were complete. 1349 However , GCR observes that there are exceptionally long delays in practice in the issuance of naturalisation decisions. In particular, in cases concerning beneficiaries of international protection, the legal unit of the organisation is currently handling cases that have been pending since 2019. 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 Generation 2.0 For Rights Equality and Diversity, New naturalization process: what is it about?, 30 March 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/44gUsa4. Ministry of Interior, General Secretariat of Citizenship, General Directorate of Citizenship, prot. no. Φ1200000/3316 / 07.05.2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3zhfg5L. Ibid. Article 6(1)(g) Citizenship Code. Ibid. Article 2(c) Ministerial Decision 28881/13.04.2021, Gov. Gazette B’ 1535/15.04.2021. I. Kamtsidou, Associate Professor of Constitutional Law, Advisory note on the rejection of an application for naturalisation on the basis of income criteria, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/c9xemmmw. Article 8 Citizenship Code in conjunction with the Ministerial Decision 34226/06.05.2019, Gov. Gazette Β΄ 1603/10.05.2019. Article 9(1) Citizenship Code. Article 9(5) Citizenship Code. Article 9(1) Citizenship Code. Information provided by the Central Directorate of Citizenship operating under the General Secretariat of Citizenship of the Ministry of the Interior on 4 February 2026. 264