Issuance of marital status certificates, declaration of marriage, birth or death, acquisition of Greek citizenship are some of the documents that Greeks abroad will be able to receive remotely and electronically without queues and inconvenience since their physical presence will not be necessary.

According to reports, the new digital service, “Digital Request Management Service“, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Digital Governance in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is expected to be fully operational in a short period of time, will enable Greeks living abroad to submit digitally to the consular authorities their requests, but also the supporting documents required.

At the same time, as planned, it will also be possible to digitally control of the requests as well as the sending of the requested documents. In fact, the use of the new digital service will serve not only Greeks abroad, but also citizens of EU countries as well as third countries, who do business with the consular authorities of our country.

The “Digital Request Management Service” is one of the actions, the initiatives of the overall government strategy for faster and better service to expatriate Greeks. In fact, the above initiatives are part of the coordinated effort of the Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou in close cooperation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Gerapetritis and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Kotsiras with the aim of further strengthening ties with the Greeks in the diaspora. According to information, a strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Hellenism Abroad 2024-27 is being prepared, among the axes of which is the strengthening of efficiency and the upgrading of the services provided to Greeks abroad.

What is being planned?

This service is currently in pilot mode, while as predicted, in the coming months citizens will be able to use it and have access either through the central website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the website of each consular authority as well as the gov. Gr. In fact, it is planned that entry will be done using taxisnet codes or by receiving one-time use codes (OTP) or, alternatively, with codes that the interested parties will receive after their authentication process by the respective consular authority.

Among the consular services that will now be partially or fully provided electronically, some of the most important and common services are included, such as the acquisition of Greek citizenship, the submission of a passport application, powers of attorney, etc. In addition, through the new digital service, it will also be possible to register in the Register of Greek Expatriates. In fact, it is planned that the contact information of the registrants will be used by the respective consular authority, which will inform them about current issues in Greece, but also about actions and events in their place of residence that may concern them.

It is noted that the implementation of the Digital Request Management Service will take place within the framework of the project “Transformation of Consular Services Processes” with funding from the Operational Program “Public Sector Reform” of the NSRF, the European Social Fund of the European Union and from National Resources.

3000 documents with an apostille stamp via gov.gr

The “package” of actions to facilitate everyday life and better service for expatriate Greeks also includes the electronic notification service, one of the first actions implemented by the new leadership of the Ministry of Digital Governance, which has been operating since July 2023 and is available through https://e-apostille.gov.gr/ directly or by browsing gov.gr from the route Citizen and Daily Life / Digital Documents gov.gr. So far, over 3000 documents with an apostille stamp have been issued through gov.gr. Let us remind you that this service enabled Greeks abroad to issue the document they want, mark it electronically and send it to the final recipient without requiring any visit to a public authority or any other wording. The Hague Seal is added to the document and is available in 3 languages, Greek, English and French.

What is an Apostille?

Apostille is the stamp with which a government agency certifies the authenticity of a document so that it can be accepted as valid by a foreign state under the conditions established in 1961. Once a document has the Apostille stamp, it can used for any legal use in another member state, since it bears the signatures and seals of the government and has been considered genuine.