Adoption — International (Hague 1993 framework)

GR-ADP-02 es hermano internacional de GR-ADP-01: la consecuencia de nacionalidad es idéntica y se rige por el artículo 3 del Código de Nacionalidad griego (Ley 3284/2004), según el cual un extranjero adoptado siendo menor por un griego se convierte en griego ex lege el día de la adopción. Lo que distingue esta ruta es la superposición procesal transfronteriza proporcionada por el Convenio de La Haya sobre Adopción Internacional de 1993, que rige cómo se administra una adopción conforme a La Haya entre dos Estados contratantes. A junio de 2026 el régimen está vigente; la Convención de La Haya es la superposición procesal y el artículo 3 ΚΕΙ es el desencadenante de la nacionalidad nacional.

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Qualifying as of 2026: a minor habitually resident in a Hague State of origin, matched through Central Authorities to a Greek habitual-resident family with an Article 23 certificate, becomes Greek ex lege on completion of the adoption; likewise a minor adopted abroad by a Greek single parent in a full adoption recognised in Greece. Not qualifying: an adult adopted by a Greek (minority required); a minor adopted by two non-Greek parents (no Greek adopter); and a minor from a non-Hague country (the Convention overlay is unavailable, though Art 3 may still operate once a foreign adoption is otherwise recognised in Greece).

Not applicable. Art 3 acquisition by adoption carries no language requirement and no civics/integration examination, because it is an ex-lege acquisition rather than a discretionary naturalisation. The Greek-language and civics/integration assessment attaches to ordinary naturalisation (the Art 5/5A line), which is a separate route; as of 2026 nothing in Art 3 conditions the adopted minor's acquisition on any test.

Core documents (as of 2026) are the foreign adoption decree plus, for a Convention case, the Article 23 certificate of conformity (the instrument that triggers automatic recognition); proof of the adopter's Greek nationality (Greek ID/passport/δημοτολόγιο entry); and proof of the adoptee's minority at the adoption date (birth certificate). Foreign public documents in the Greek file must be apostilled and accompanied by an official Greek translation; EU Member-State civil-registry documents may instead use EU Regulation 2016/1191 multilingual standard forms without apostille.

Practical guidance as of 2026: confirm both countries are Hague-1993 Contracting Parties before relying on the Convention overlay (if not, plan for Civil-Code recognition of the foreign adoption in Greece); secure the Article 23 certificate of conformity, which delivers automatic cross-border recognition; document the adopter's Greek nationality and the child's minority at the adoption date (the two Art 3 conditions); apostille and officially translate all foreign civil-status documents (or use EU 2016/1191 forms for EU documents); and remember the acquisition is automatic and fee-free, so the post-adoption task is recording the child in the municipal rolls and obtaining the Greek passport/ID. Flag prospective military-service obligations for adopted boys.

The nationality consequence is instantaneous: Greek nationality vests on the day the adoption is legally complete under Art 3, with no processing queue for the acquisition itself (only the administrative recording takes some weeks). The intercountry adoption procedure that precedes it — home study, matching, Central-Authority co-operation, Article 17 agreement and judicial pronouncement — typically spans many months to a few years depending on the State of origin, and is the rate-limiting stage. This descriptive timeline is not a Code-fixed period.

There is no fee for the nationality acquisition: Art 3 acquisition is ex lege and is not a paid naturalisation (so the ordinary-naturalisation fee debate of €550 on the mitos.gov.gr registry vs €700 on the ΥΠΕΣ PDF does not apply here). Costs that do arise are procedural and documentary — the intercountry adoption procedure's own costs (home study, agency, court), apostilles (issuance is 'no charge' in Greece) and official Greek translations of foreign documents; a €10 consular stamp may apply to a consular birth-registration step. Figures current as of 2026.

El desencadenante interno es el artículo 3 ΚΕΙ (Ley 3284/2004, ΦΕΚ Α' 217/10.11.2004), sin cambios en la consolidación hasta el 17/9/2025. La superposición internacional es el Convenio de La Haya de 1993 sobre la Protección de los Niños y la Cooperación en Materia de Adopción Internacional (abierto a la firma el 29 de mayo de 1993), que Grecia ratificó mediante la Ley 3765/2009 (ΦΕΚ Α' 101). Los dos operan juntos: el Convenio regula el procedimiento transfronterizo, mientras que la nacionalidad griega se deriva del artículo 3 una vez que la adopción del menor por un griego está legalmente completa.

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For nationality, the acquisition is automatic under Art 3 ΚΕΙ and is recorded by the Citizenship Directorate of the competent Decentralised Administration (Ministry of Interior structure); there is no Citizenship-Council adjudication for an Art 3 acquisition (contrast loss procedures under Arts 17/20, which require a Citizenship-Council opinion). For the intercountry adoption procedure, the Greek Central Authority for intercountry adoption (within the ministry responsible for social cohesion/family, the name of which has shifted across reorganisations) co-operates with the State-of-origin Central Authority under the Convention.

Dual nationality is permitted: Greece is a complete non-party to ETS 043 (1963 CoE Multiple Nationality Convention — never signed, never ratified) and only a signatory (not party) to the ECN/CETS 166 (signed 6 Nov 1997, not ratified), so multiple nationality is governed by domestic Greek law, which does not require renouncing the prior nationality on an Art 3 acquisition. The adopted child therefore generally keeps the birth nationality alongside Greek, and acquires full Greek and EU citizenship, passport and free movement immediately. Male Greek nationals are subject to conscription obligations, which would attach to adopted boys on reaching the relevant age.