Naturalization — Educational ties (Greek university degree)

GR-NAT-06 is Greece's 'educational-ties' naturalisation lane. It is not a standalone track with its own clock; it runs through ordinary naturalisation (Greek Nationality Code, L.3284/2004, Arts 5-9) but exempts the applicant from the ΠΕΓΠ knowledge exam under Code Art 7(4) where they completed substantial Greek schooling or hold a Greek-university degree, treating the educational tie as evidence of the constitutionally required 'genuine bond'. As of 2026 it also references the alternative Art 1B acquisition-by-declaration for the second generation. The route is active.

Examples qualifying as of 2026: (a) an Albanian national who attended Greek primary+secondary school in Greece for 9+ grades and has accrued 7 years' lawful residence — qualifies for the Art 7(4) exam exemption on naturalisation; (b) a Georgian who earned a Greek-language degree from a Greek ΑΕΙ and holds a Greek apolytirio — qualifies for Art 1B §2 declaration (file within 3 years of graduating); (c) a minor Ukrainian permanent resident who completed 6 secondary grades in a Greek school — qualifies for Art 1B §1 declaration.

The route's purpose is exemption from the ΠΕΓΠ. The ΠΕΓΠ (mandatory from 1.4.2021) is a written exam of 20 knowledge MCQs (40 pts) plus a language part (60 pts), total 100; pass is 70% overall with simultaneous sub-minima of language ≥66% (≥40/60) and knowledge ≥50% (≥20/40); held twice a year (typically May and November). Under Art 7(4) it is waived for those with 9/6 grades of Greek schooling or a Greek-language Greek-ΑΕΙ degree; the Art 1B declaration route has no ΠΕΓΠ at all. As of 2026.

Core documents: a school-completion certificate (βεβαίωση) proving 9 grades primary+secondary or 6 grades secondary, or a Greek ΑΕΙ/ΤΕΙ degree (plus master's/doctorate if relied on), and for Art 1B §2 a mandatory Greek secondary apolytirio. Plus identity (ληξιαρχική πράξη / birth certificate), criminal-record certificates, residence-title proof, and (Art 7(4) lane) economic/social-integration evidence. Foreign public documents need apostille + official Greek translation; EU civil-registry documents use EU Reg. 2016/1191 multilingual forms without apostille (since 16-02-2019).

Art 7(4) lane (as of 2026): accrue 7 continuous years' lawful residence; assemble educational-tie proof; file the naturalisation application (Art 6) at the Regional Citizenship Directorate and pay the παράβολο; claim the Art 7(4) exemption so the ΠΕΓΠ exam is waived; attend an integration interview only if the Directorate has doubts (Art 7(6)-(7)); Naturalisation Committee (Art 12) opinion → MoI decision (Art 8) published in the ΦΕΚ; swear the oath (Art 9) within one year, on which nationality is acquired.

Art 1B §1 (schooling minor): Coordinator decides within 6 months. Art 1B §2 (Greek-ΑΕΙ graduate): decision within 1 year, with the declaration itself due inside the 3-year exclusive deadline from graduation. Art 7(4) naturalisation lane: the 7-year residence accrual precedes filing; the Art 8 naturalisation decision has no hard statutory deadline and runs long in practice, but the oath must be sworn within one year of the decision's publication (Art 9) or the decision is revoked. Re-application after rejection is allowed one year later (Art 8). As of 2026.

Art 1B declaration: €100 παράβολο (per L.4332/2015 verbatim). Art 7(4) naturalisation lane (Code Art 6): €550 initial for αλλογενείς (e-paravolo code 2159) / €200 resubmission (2162) / €100 reduced for ομογενείς, EU-nationals, recognised refugees and stateless (2161) — the official mitos.gov.gr registry, updated 10/03/2025; the 2010/2015-era €700 figure is superseded stale text. The ΠΕΓΠ εξέταστρο of €150 (e-paravolo 2158) is NOT incurred because the exam is waived under Art 7(4). As of 2026.

Era history: W6 — L.3838/2010 schooling/jus-soli acquisition was struck by ΟλΣτΕ 460/2013 (so the pre-2015 'schooling acquisition' is historical/repealed in that form). W7 — L.4332/2015 (ΦΕΚ Α' 76/9-7-2015) inserted Art 1B as the constitution-compliant replacement. W8 — L.4735/2020 (from 1.4.2021) built the ΠΕΓΠ exam and its Art 7(4) exemptions, and reshaped Art 5A (point (c) repealed by L.4873/2021); Art 95 L.5225/2025 amended Art 1B and renamed the service. Both mechanisms are in force as of the 17/9/2025 consolidated Code.

The Regional Citizenship Directorate (Περιφερειακή Διεύθυνση Ιθαγένειας) of the Decentralised Administration receives applications and conducts any integration interview (the service was renamed by L.5225/2025). The Naturalisation Committee (Επιτροπή Πολιτογράφησης, Art 12) gives an opinion on the αλλογενής file; the Minister of the Interior decides naturalisation (Art 8) and has overall competence (Art 25). For the Art 1B route, the Coordinator of the Decentralised Administration decides. ΠΕΓΠ exams are organised by the MoI's competent service but are bypassed here via Art 7(4).

Key edge cases as of 2026: (1) a Greek-ΑΕΙ graduate without a Greek apolytirio fails Art 1B §2 but still gets the Art 7(4) exam exemption on the 7-year naturalisation lane; (2) an English-medium Greek-ΑΕΙ degree may not trigger the Art 7(4) university exemption, which keys to Greek-language programmes (conservative reading); (3) Art 1B windows allow a minor up to 21, and to 23 if the right matures after majority within the 3-year deadline; (4) kindergarten years are excluded from the 9/6-grade count.