A free pass to the European Union, gaining a stronger Greek identity, living and working in the EU, shorter airport queues – these are just some of the reasons given for wanting a Greek passport. A Greek passport – which ultimately means a European passport – is one the most lauded and desired possessions of Greeks of the diaspora.

The passport itself represents so much to so many. A chance to embrace an inner Hellenism, as well as embrace their freedom. It really is the best of both worlds. You have a passport in the nation of birth, but a passport in the nation of your background.

Yet with that comes its own set of trials and tribulations. Obtaining a passport can be a long process and cause a lot of frustration but it all depends on your situation.

Ilias Tsonis, from the Passports and Visas department of the Greek Consulate in Melbourne, says for anyone wanting to obtain a passport, their first step is and should always be to contact the consulate to understand what category you fall into. Each person’s circumstance may be different and there is not one road to obtaining a passport; that’s why the process is varied from person to person, depending solely on circumstance.

Before a member of the Greek Consulate will issue an appointment, they first need to assess what path the intending passport recipient should follow.
“It’s very important that the person contact the consulate before they think about getting a passport,” says Mr Tsonis, “and it’s very, very important they visit the consulate in the state they were born in.” He adds that Greek passports can only be issued to Greek Australians from the consulate of their birth. So if you were born in Melbourne, but live in Adelaide, you will still need to visit the Greek Consulate in Victoria to begin the process.

“The first thing we do is speak with the person, and then we can let them know what they need to do to get their passport,” Mr Tsonis tells Neos Kosmos.
The simplest category to be in is to have both parents born in Greece. That way they are registered in the municipality (δήμος) of their birth in Greece. The consulate from Australia can find the parents’ registration as Greek citizens and then begin the process to have the person wanting the passport registered in Greece.

“You need to be a Greek citizen before you can get your passport, and it all depends on your family’s situation,” says Mr Tsonis. “In some cases your parents have registered you already and that’s the easiest situation for the person, but in some situations, the person is looking to get a Greek passport through, say, their grandparents’ birthright, and this can be a very lengthy process as the person will need to firstly register their parents as Greek citizens and then themselves.”
Holder of a Greek passport, Nick Voulanas remembers the process very well. He applied in 1999 and said that because he was the second born, he needed to have his eldest brother register as well. But because his brother was living in Darwin at the time, it made the process even harder because he needed to go to the Greek consulate in the state of Australia where he was born.

In order for Nick to get his Greek passport, he needed to be registered in Greece, so – under the advice of the Greek Consulate – he collated the necessary paperwork and submitted his registration to Athens, who then forwarded the application to the municipality of where the parent was born. But following this, he didn’t hear back from Greece, and it was a matter of it being a waiting game.

Like any government official documentation, citizens of the world – no matter where they are from – need to execute a level of patience in order to get the required documentation that they’ve requested.

For Nick, he decided that it would be quicker for him physically being in Greece to see where the process was at. But Nick also needed to get his national identity (αστυνομική ταυτότητα) while he was there. All in all, it was an easy process, but there was a lot of waiting that he says was worth it. For four years, Nick lived and worked in London, with a freedom that came with having a European passport. Freedom to travel freely in the EU, freedom to have a dual passport but freedom from the burden of work visas. He says a lot of Australians he met in London were on work visas and were being sponsored by their employees. Yet many of them were unhappy with their job for a variety of reasons, but couldn’t leave as that would force their hand to leave the country and return to Australia. He also notes another benefit being he didn’t have to get visas to travel in certain countries, unlike his spouse, who was travelling on an Australian passport.

The same situation presented itself to Mina Lekkas, who used her situation to live and work in London. She said employers looked at her favourably because of her dual passport. And by living and working in the UK, Mina was able to use her Greek passport to travel freely throughout Europe. She visited a variety of countries – from Belgium to France, travelled throughout England and generally had the luxury to do so through her Greek passport.

In 1985, Theo Nicolopoulos – another Greek Australian with a Greek passport – lived in Greece for about four years. While there, he did his military service in the Greek army, and was also issued with his national identity card and also went through the process of getting his passport while there.

“I see it as our birth right,” says Theo on having his Greek passport, “I served in the Greek army so I thought I definitely had the right to get one.”
In 2000, Theo also lived and worked in the UK, and he and his wife used the opportunity to also travel around Europe.

For whatever reason you want to obtain your Greek passport, and become a citizen of the nation of your heritage, remember with that comes the responsibility to serve that nation along with your own. A Greek passport is more than just a book that is stamped at the airport, it’s more than just a easy ride in Europe, it’s more than a job – it’s identifying yourself to the motherland. And saying ‘I am as much Greek as I am Australian’.