Restoration — Maternal-line transitional (pre-1984)

GR-RST-02 es la ruta de declaración transitoria por línea materna anterior a 1984 según el 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 se convierta en griega mediante declaración de intenciones. Existe porque, antes de la reforma de igualdad de género L.1438/1984 (en vigor desde el 8 de mayo de 1984), la nacionalidad griega se transmitía por defecto a lo largo de la línea paterna, por lo que un hijo de madre griega y padre extranjero no adquiría la nacionalidad griega automáticamente al nacer. El artículo 14(1) es la cura transitoria para esa cohorte.

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Qualifies (as of 2026): a person born 1979 in London to a Greek-citizen mother and a British father, who never registered as Greek because pre-1984 law transmitted only through the father — they may declare under Art 14(1). Does NOT qualify via this route: a person born 1990 to a Greek mother (acquires automatically at birth under Art 1(1), route GR-DSC-01); a person claiming through a Greek FATHER born before 16 July 1982 (that is Art 14(2), not 14(1)); a person who once held and LOST Greek nationality by a foreign father's legitimation (that is Art 23 reacquisition).

As of 2026 there is NO language or civics test for GR-RST-02. The ΠΕΓΠ examination (B1 Greek language + history/culture/institutions) under Art 7 of the Code applies to naturalisation (e.g. GR-NAT-01), not to a declaration-based transitional acquisition under Art 14(1). Eligibility turns solely on the birth date (before 8 May 1984) and the mother's Greek status, not on integration assessment.

As of 2026 the load is evidentiary — proving the mother's Greek status at the child's birth or at the marriage. Core documents: the mother's Greek municipal roll record (Δημοτολόγιο) and/or Male Registry record (Μητρώο Αρρένων), the mother's older Greek passport/ID, the applicant's birth certificate, the parents' marriage certificate, and the maternal-line civil records establishing the chain. A Greek birth certificate alone is not proof of municipal registration; alternative proof is accepted case-by-case where direct ancestor registration is absent.

Documentary-translation note (as of 2026): foreign-issued documents in the declaration file (foreign birth/marriage certificates, the foreign father's records) must be officially translated into Greek and legalised (apostille where the issuing state is a 1961 Hague Apostille party, otherwise consular legalisation) before submission to the Regional Directorate of Nationality or consulate. The mother's Greek-issued municipal/male-registry records do not require translation. This translation/legalisation layer is frequently the practical bottleneck for the ~18-month timeline.

As of 2026 the administrative registry indicates approximately 18 months for processing an Art 14(1) declaration. Where the related L.4735/2020 declaratory-decision (Art 26) procedure is used instead, the registry likewise reflects an extended multi-month timeline. Timing depends heavily on how readily the mother's historical Greek municipal/male-registry records can be located and certified.

As of 2026 the mitos administrative registry lists a consular fee of €140–240 for the Art 14(1) declaration route. Where the L.4735/2020 declaratory-decision (Art 26) pathway is used instead, the registry shows €100 administrative fee + €140–240 consular. No naturalisation παράβολο (the €550/€200/€100 naturalisation fees) applies, because Art 14(1) is a declaration, not naturalisation. (Fee figures are administrative-registry values, not yet pinned at Code Art 6 / ΦΕΚ level.)

As of 2026 the eligibility window is fixed and closed at the front end — the applicant must have been born before 8 May 1984 — but the declaration right itself is open-ended: there is no statutory sunset, so an eligible person may still declare in 2026 and beyond. As the qualifying cohort ages the practical population shrinks, but the route is NOT spent. The 8 May 1984 boundary separates era window W4 (pre-reform patrilineal default) from W5 (gender-equality reform onward).

As of 2026 the competent authority is the Regional Directorate of Nationality (Περιφερειακή Διεύθυνση Ιθαγένειας) of the Ministry of Interior for declarations made in Greece, and the Greek consular authority for declarations made abroad. The declaration of intent under Art 14(1) is made to the Head of that Directorate (or to the consul). The Ministry of Interior holds overall nationality competence; final registration is in the Greek municipal roll.

Common pitfalls (as of 2026): (1) citing the wrong cutoff — it is 8 May 1984, not '5 August 1984' (date-format transposition, V-CORR 15); (2) treating acquisition as retroactive to birth — it is prospective from declaration (Art 14(3)), which determines whether the declarant's own children are Greek; (3) conflating Art 14(1) [Greek mother, born <8.5.1984] with Art 14(2) [Greek father, born <16.7.1982] or Art 23 [reacquisition after foreign-father legitimation]; (4) assuming Art 14 is a reacquisition provision — it sits in Code Chapter A 'Acquisition' (Arts 1-15), not Chapter C reacquisition (Arts 22-24).