Adoption — Minor adoption automatic

GR-ADP-01 is the live Greek-nationality route by which a foreign (alien) child adopted as a minor by a Greek man or woman acquires Greek nationality automatically (ex lege) on the day the adoption becomes legally complete, under Article 3 of the Greek Nationality Code (Law 3284/2004). As of the Ministry of Interior consolidation dated 17/9/2025, there is no application, residence requirement, fee, oath, or language test for the nationality consequence itself. The route is restricted to minors; adoption of an adult does not confer nationality.

Qualifying cases (as of 2025) include: a foreign minor domestically adopted in Greece by a Greek adopter (Greek from the decree); a foreign minor adopted abroad by a Greek where the adoption is recognized in Greece or completed under the 1993 Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention (Greek once that adoption is legally effective in Greece); and a stateless minor adopted by a Greek, for whom Article 3 confers nationality and resolves statelessness. Non-qualifying: an adult adopted by a Greek, a minor adopted by a foreigner, and a child only in foster care/guardianship (αναδοχή) without adoption.

No language or civics (γλώσσα/πολιτισμός) examination applies to Article 3 acquisition, which is automatic for the minor adoptee. This is a sharp contrast with adult naturalization under Articles 5/5A, which requires integration/knowledge testing. As of 2025, a minor acquiring Greek nationality through adoption faces no test of any kind.

Because acquisition is automatic, documentation supports completing/recognizing the adoption and registering the now-Greek minor. Typical documents are the adoption judgment/decree (Greek court decision, or a recognized foreign adoption order / Hague-1993 Article 23 certificate of conformity), proof of the adopter's Greek nationality, and the minor's birth/identity documents with translation and apostille (or EU multilingual standard forms under Reg (EU) 2016/1191 for intra-EU documents). As of 2025, registration is then made at the competent municipality or, if abroad, the Greek consular authority.

The practical sequence (as of 2025) is: (1) complete or obtain Greek recognition of the adoption of the minor by the Greek adopter (domestic court adoption under CC 1542-1588 / L.2447/1996 / L.4538/2018, or an intercountry adoption under Hague-1993); (2) Greek nationality vests automatically under Article 3 on the adoption's legal-completion date, with no separate nationality application; (3) register the minor as a Greek national at the municipality or consulate; (4) issue the Greek ID card and passport. No naturalization decision, Citizenship Council step, or ΦΕΚ publication is required to acquire the status.

The nationality itself vests instantaneously (ex lege) on the adoption's legal-completion date, so there is no processing time for the nationality consequence under Article 3 (as of the 17/9/2025 consolidation). The only timelines that arise are those of the underlying adoption proceedings (court schedules) and the intercountry-adoption steps under the 1993 Hague Convention, plus the declaratory municipal/consular registration — none of which is governed by the Nationality Code.

There is no nationality fee for Article 3 acquisition because it is automatic and involves no naturalization application; this contrasts with the €100 fee on the BTH declaration routes (Art 1A/1B) and the separate fees of ordinary naturalization. As of 2025, the only costs are adoption-proceeding costs, document translation and apostille, and ordinary civil-registration fees — none of which is a nationality fee under the Code.

Article 3 was enacted in Law 3284/2004 (ΦΕΚ Α' 217/10.11.2004) in the form it retains today. Its lineage runs back to the pre-2004 codified regime ND 3370/1955 (jus sanguinis), which contained the analogous adoption-acquisition concept and was expressly repealed and replaced by Article 34 of L.3284/2004. The 2010-2026 reforms (L.3838/2010 jus-soli experiment struck by ΟλΣτΕ 460/2013; L.4332/2015 restored BTH regime; L.5225/2025 Art 1B; L.5265/2026 espionage deprivation ground) did NOT amend Article 3, which is stable through the 17/9/2025 consolidation and L.5265/2026.

Two layers of authority apply. For the adoption itself: the competent Greek first-instance court for domestic adoptions, and the Central Authority for Intercountry Adoption (Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs) for Hague-1993 cases. For the nationality registration: the municipality (δήμος) of registration, or the Greek consular authority abroad. The Regional Citizenship Directorate / Decentralised Administration, which handles nationality applications generally, has at most a confirmatory/registrational role here because Article 3 acquisition is automatic and needs no application.

Minority is measured at the date the adoption is legally complete; a person adopted while a minor remains Greek after turning 18 (the vested status is not undone by majority). A foreign adoption must be recognized in Greece (or completed under Hague-1993) to trigger Article 3. If the adopter is not yet Greek at adoption, Article 3 does not apply at that moment, though a later naturalization of the parent could pull a minor under Article 11 instead. Subsequent annulment/revocation of the qualifying adoption is an adoption-law question that can unwind the trigger; the inverse case of a Greek minor adopted by a foreigner is governed by the loss provision Article 20.