Descent — Pre-1984 maternal-line transitional registration

GR-DSC-03 es la declaración transitoria de línea materna anterior a 1984 en virtud del artículo 14(1) del Código de Nacionalidad Griego (L.3284/2004). A partir de 2026, permite que una persona nacida ANTES del 8 de mayo de 1984 de madre entonces griega adquiera la nacionalidad griega mediante una declaración de intenciones, solucionando el defecto patrilineal anterior a 1984 según el cual una madre griega no podía transmitir la nacionalidad en igualdad de condiciones. La ruta está actualmente ACTIVA para la cohorte finita que vive antes de 1984 y sus siguientes hijos menores.

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Typical qualifiers (as of 2026) include a person born in 1975 abroad to a Greek-citizen mother and a foreign father who, under the old patrilineal rule, did not acquire Greek nationality automatically; and a person whose mother was Greek at the time of the parents' marriage even if her status later changed (limb b). A person born on or after 8 May 1984 to a Greek mother is already Greek by Art 1(1) and uses GR-DSC-01 instead, not this route.

No language or civics test applies. Art 14(1) is a declaration of a descent-based entitlement, not a naturalisation, so the ΠΕΓΠ / Art 5A integration exam, the language requirement and the naturalisation interview — which attach only to naturalisation tracks under Arts 5/5A — do not apply to this route (as of the 2026 consolidated Code).

The official mitos.gov.gr procedure (as updated for 2026) requires the applicant's birth certificate, the parents' marriage certificate, the mother's Greek municipal-registration certificate (Δημοτολόγιο / Μητρώο Αρρένων) proving she held Greek nationality at the qualifying moment, the applicant's passport/ID, and documents for any minor unmarried children who will follow. Foreign public documents must be apostilled (Hague states) and accompanied by an official Greek translation; EU civil-registry documents may instead use Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 multilingual standard forms (applicable since 16-02-2019).

Practical guidance (as of 2026): first verify the birth date — before 8 May 1984 routes to GR-DSC-03, on/after to GR-DSC-01. Prove the mother's Greek nationality at birth OR at the marriage by pulling her Δημοτολόγιο / Μητρώο Αρρένων certificate. Start apostille + official Greek translation early (the usual bottleneck), file in person (no proxy), budget about 18 months and €140–240 consular (plus €100 if Art 26 determination applies), and bring minor children's documents so they follow under Art 14(4). Keep the maternal (8 May 1984) and paternal (16.7.1982) cutoffs straight.

The official estimated processing duration is approximately 18 months from declaration to recording of the acquisition (mitos.gov.gr, as of 2026), corroborated by the Art 26 determination timeline of about 18 months. The effective date of Greek nationality is the date of the declaration (Art 14(3)), even though the administrative recording follows months later; real-world duration varies with consular workload and document-authentication lead time.

As of 2026 the consular fee for the declaration is €140–240 (varying by consular jurisdiction); where the file runs through the Art 26 determination procedure, a €100 administrative fee applies in addition to the €140–240 consular fee. Applicants also bear ancillary costs for apostilles, certified copies and official Greek translations of foreign documents. No naturalisation fee applies because this is a declaration route, not a naturalisation.

La disposición operativa es el artículo 14, apartado 1, del Código de Nacionalidad Griego consolidado (L.3284/2004, ΦΕΚ Α' 217/10.11.2004, consolidado al 17/9/2025). Subsana el vacío dejado por la L.1438/1984 (la reforma de igualdad de género en vigor el 8 de mayo de 1984) para las personas ya nacidas antes de esa fecha. El artículo 34 de la L.3284/2004 derogó y reemplazó el código anterior ΝΔ 3370/1955 sobre el cual se había aplicado la L.1438/1984, trasladando la norma transitoria como artículo 14(1).

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Competent authorities (as of 2026) are the Regional Directorate of Nationality (Περιφερειακή Διεύθυνση Ιθαγένειας) of the Decentralised Administration covering the applicant's residence in Greece, or the Greek consular authority of the applicant's domicile abroad which receives the declaration and forwards the file. Determination decisions are issued under the Art 26 ΚΕΙ machinery (L.4735/2020 procedure, refined by Art 56 L.5143/2024).

Where the marriage would be deemed invalid under Greek law, the route still operates: the Art 26 determination procedure expressly covers in-wedlock pre-1984 cases including marriages deemed invalid under Greek law (as of 2026). A birth exactly ON 8 May 1984 falls under the post-reform automatic Art 1(1) regime, not Art 14(1), because the statute uses 'before the entry into force'. An ancestor's unexercised Art 14(1) entitlement does not make the ancestor retroactively Greek, given the prospective effect of Art 14(3).