Restoration — Article 19 deprivation legacy (sub-arc)

GR-RST-03 (program_id 766, bucket GR-RST) is a SPENT / no-live-route. It records the cohort of persons denationalised under the now-repealed former Article 19 of Legislative Decree (ΝΔ) 3370/1955 (the 'allogeneis'/non-ethnic-Greek ethnic-deprivation mechanism) and the dispositive legal finding that the 1998 repeal created NO restoration mechanism. As of 2026-06-05 there is no application a person can file to 'restore' nationality lost under ex-Art 19; the only residual pathways are ordinary jus-sanguinis descent through an un-deprived Greek line (GR-DSC) or, for the still-stateless, facilitated 3-year reduced stateless naturalisation (GR-NAT-04 — a new acquisition, not a restoration).

There are NO eligibility criteria, because there is no live restoration route. The HISTORICAL deprivation criterion (1955–1998) was: a person classed as an 'allogenis' (not of Greek ethnic origin) who left Greece 'with no intention to return' (also reaching allogeneis born/living abroad and their minor children abroad) could be declared to have lost Greek nationality by Ministerial decision on a concurring Citizenship Council opinion. Today, a descendant's only 'eligibility' is for the SEPARATE residual routes (descent under Code Art 1, or stateless naturalisation under Art 5(1)(δ) reduced track) — each on its own criteria, not on any ex-Art 19 entitlement.

No language/civics test attaches to a restoration that does not exist, nor to the residual descent pathway (descent is by determination of pre-existing status, not naturalisation). For the residual stateless-naturalisation pathway the standard ΠΕΓΠ written exam applies (Greek ≈ B1 + Geography/History/Culture/Institutions; pass 70% overall with sub-minima), unless an Art 7(4) exemption applies (e.g. 9 grades primary+secondary or 6 grades secondary in a Greek school).

No restoration filing exists, so no document set attaches to GR-RST-03 itself. For the RESIDUAL descent pathway a claimant assembles the un-deprived Greek ancestor's records — Greek birth/baptism certificate, Μητρώο Αρρένων (Male Registry) entry, Δημοτολόγιο (municipal roll) registration, older Greek passport — apostilled (Greece is a 1961 Hague Apostille party since 18-5-1985) and accompanied by an official Greek translation. For the residual stateless-naturalisation pathway, the 1954-Convention travel-document residence title plus ordinary-naturalisation documents apply.

There is NO process for ex-Art 19 restoration — no form, no fee schedule, no competent-authority procedure. HISTORICAL deprivation process (1955–1998): MoI declares loss on a concurring Citizenship Council (Συμβούλιο Ιθαγένειας) opinion; the loss was administrative, discretionary and frequently un-notified, so affected persons learned of it only on document renewal or attempted re-entry. RESIDUAL processes today are those of the separate routes: descent determination (διαπίστωση) via the Regional Citizenship Directorate (Art 25(2)/26), or ordinary stateless naturalisation via the Regional Citizenship Directorate of residence.

Restoration timeline: N/A — no route. Residual descent determination runs ~18 months via the L.4735/2020 declaratory-decision (διαπιστωτική πράξη) procedure under Art 26 ΚΕΙ. Residual stateless naturalisation is multi-year (ordinary naturalisation: 3-year reduced residence clock plus decision and oath stages). As of 2026 the dedicated Statelessness Determination Procedure remains non-operational, so determination of statelessness runs through ordinary channels, adding practical delay.

Greece is a party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (accession 4-11-1975, no reservations; domestic vehicle L.139/1975, ΦΕΚ Α' 176/25-8-1975) — this underpins the residual stateless-naturalisation pathway and the statelessness framing of the cohort. Greece is NOT a party to the 1961 Reduction-of-Statelessness Convention, so its anti-statelessness duties for this cohort rest on the 1954 Convention + domestic Code safeguards. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) frames the Western Thrace Muslim minority — the most-affected ex-Art 19 subgroup — as a protected (religiously-defined) minority holding Greek citizenship.

No competent authority for restoration exists (no route). Historically the deprivation acts issued from the Minister of Interior on a concurring Citizenship Council opinion. For the residual pathways the competent body is the Regional Citizenship Directorate (Περιφερειακή Διεύθυνση Ιθαγένειας) under the General Secretariat for Citizenship, Ministry of Interior — for descent determination (Art 25(2)/26) and for ordinary stateless naturalisation (renamed/restructured by L.5225/2025 Art 95, in force 2-9-2025).

Not applicable — there is no grant under GR-RST-03. For the residual pathways: a person who qualifies via descent (GR-DSC) is recognised as having been Greek ipso jure (retroactive, full citizenship including EU citizenship on registration); a person who naturalises via the residual stateless track (GR-NAT-04) holds full Greek (and thereby EU) citizenship from the oath date, with dual nationality permitted (Greece imposes no automatic loss on holding another nationality).