Greek Canadian/Americans Applying for Greek Citizenship

Hello yaniMontreal and welcome on board

While waiting for members who have gone through the formalities to help, may I suggest you to read out an article in our Visa section.

This might be a good starting point.

Regards

Kenjee

hello Yanni,I am english living in Athens,married to a Greek man,If you go on line asking about Greek citizenship you will read that you have the right,a big right, but you must show all the paper-work from the municipality where your parents were born and living and probably proof of your grandparents in Greece,your Greek embassy there should be able to help you,it will be a long process for you,your children may also be able to take citizenship through their grandparents as well.My Canadian neighbor took a British passport because of her English grandparents.Non EU people can also get 5 year resident permits if they buy a property of minimum 250.000.renewable continuously if they continue to own the property.thats a new thing since this crisis to encourage the property market.If you go to Expat Forum which is part of Expat.com and scroll down through the posts you will read about other peoples experiences with applying for citizenship.And I believe you are right about the rat-race,despite everything life can be very sweet here,land is cheap and houses,for the moment anyway,you can get rural and be a bit more self sufficient etc...wonderful fresh food and so little violence,persevere with the formalities,I wish you well,and if you need any help or information (Greek husband) post me from Concertina

Hello Yani,

As a Canadian who left the country for Brazil almost 13 years ago and took an early retirement five years ago at 60 I'd like to make a few observations and comments just to provoke your thinking process; so please don't take offense because none of this is directed to you personally, just at the situation.

First off have you lived in Greece for any prolonged period of time? By that I mean more than 6 months, because that is exactly what it takes to know any place well enough to make an informed decision to move there permanently. You have been born and raised in Canada and despite any perceived problems that you think the country may have, it is paradise compared to most other places in the world today; not just in economic terms, but in terms of every aspect of day-to-day life. We Canadians have been quite spoiled by growing up where EVERYTHING actually works the way it is supposed to, so much so we take ALL of our infrastructure, institutions, systems, etc., for granted. Unfortunately in many other countries they do not and worse still they also tend to have lots of government corruption and bureaucracy. Have you considered any of these factors in thinking about leaving Canada? I can tell you personally I was never prepared for just how much the style of government could change my life. Despite being called a DEMOCRACY there are unfortunately many countries that certainly do not act like one, or don't have a clear understanding what the word means. Had I known this, I certainly would not have jumped at changing my life so radically.

Canada is a country with economic stability and despite it's relatively small population it is a developed, "first world", nation and has been for a good long time. While you might not be making my mistake of moving to a "developing nation" are you prepared to endure the economic crisis in Greece that isn't going to go away anytime soon? You're young yet, unless you are independently wealthy, you're far too young to think about retirement; and if you retire early I can tell you your CPP/QPP alone even in a country where the monthly benefit payment doubles in value due to currency conversions this won't be enough to live on, you're planning on going to a country where it will be less still you'll be losing 1/3 of your buying power right off the bat. If you have a private pension plan you can cash it out, but you may only take (unless the amount has been changed recently) a small amount of this and the rest must be transferred into a locked in RSP of some kind. This could throw all your plans for a comfortable retirement out the window, especially if you're planning on retiring to a country where you will lose on the currency conversion and one that is presently in an extremely unstable economic position and essentially in crisis. Have you really thought about these factors seriously? Unfortunately, through no fault of my own, I lost all of what my private pension plan had bought me here in Brazil; beautiful home, resort destination property to build a new home and income properties on, cars, everything. I married a woman who wiped all that out and then gave me the boot. Now even though I've rebuilt my life, re-married happily and my CPP benefit has virtually doubled because of the currency rates it is nowhere enough to live on by itself. I face the proposition of never being able to retire fully as a result. Are you prepared for something like that or protected against it?

While you're of Greek origins do you speak the language like a native? I can tell you unless you do it is not going to be an easy transition to move there permanently. Even though I had a highly advanced fluency level in Portuguese when I came to Brazil it was extremely difficult to adapt to living with the language 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is something you've got to consider in moving to a country where English (or your mother tongue whatever it may be) is not the official language. The language barrier is the single largest cause of failure to successfully transition from living in one country to another. Consider this seriously if you don't speak Greek as you second "mother tongue" essentially. If you grew up speaking the language along with English or French whichever was spoken by the general population then you should be OK. If not, you'll have some problems adapting, we all do!

Isolation - wow, you're going to be moving from the second largest nation (by landmass) on earth to an island nation that you could fit easily into Lake Ontario with room left over. You're used to being able to pick up and travel at will, you're used to wide open spaces whenever you want them. Are you physically and emotionally prepared for the difference, isolating yourself on an island and worse still one that is so far removed from the rest of your immediate family? While you may have family roots in Greece, which is going to help you immensely, are you prepared to isolate yourself from siblings and their families? Think long and hard about this, because it's going to be one of the most painful aspects of leaving a country that has always been your home.

I can tell you that from my own perspective, if I could go back in time I certainly wouldn't have ever chosen to leave Canada, knowing what I do now, never in a million years and not for any other nation on earth. Unfortunately for me, for both financial and physical reasons I have to resign myself to the true meaning of the old saying, "You can never go home again". If I could, I'd pick up my family and get myself back to Canada in a heartbeat, never to venture outside her boundaries ever again; but unfortunately I can't do that.

I'm not trying to judge you in any way, please don't think that. I do however want you to do your homework, study every aspect of what you're thinking of doing inside and out, backwards and forwards until there is no hidden area whatsoever. Then and only then if you still decide that leaving Canada is truly what is best for you, and that you're doing so for all the RIGHT REASONS, then go for it and God Bless.

Cheers,
William James Woodward, EB Experts Team

Of course William is right on so many of those points and it would be most sensible to come here,stay for a while and look around,as Yannis is only late forties what about work,theres none although Greece cannot fill some vacancies like in managerial--pension, what about it?AND---health care?There is nothing if you are not paying into the system and anyway public system would be suicide.A 12 year old girl just died because the system refused her epileptic tablets.her mother was unemployed,not paying into the system,they can be very cruel here.Greece can be good if you are financially secure,you can do things that you cant in the UK for example and there is not the violence like in the UK and that is a developed country,developed is a debatable word.I dont like city life here or anywhere but Greece retains culture, tradition and family ties,they do not have an alcohol problem,having religion in their lives has been a good thing.I go to my corner shop at midnight without fear of being murdered or raped.Living in middle Greece or some of the Islands can be wonderful,Ikaria for example they live to about 100 years in good condition,stress free life lovely weather,again one must be financially secure,but how much do we all need?Its the health care which is the problem.It all depends what we all want from life.Working and living in different countries does pose problems when retiring and drawing a pension and that has to be thought about.The crisis has not made Greece into a third world country or a developing one,it is a country with severe corruption and political problems,tell me a country that isnt,yes wages are very low but so are they in the UK,your rent will swallow what little you earn there.Utopia does not exist.Since this crisis people have started up new businesses such as my Canadian neighbors son in law making beautiful handmade soaps,shampoos face creams etc..and he used to be a brick layer.He cant get the stuff out fast enough.Greek natural products are really doing well and can only get better.But William is right,and I have tried to tell people on the Expat Forum....be very careful what you are doing....They come and buy land and property all by themselves,dont speak Greek even,then of course some have been completely done over,thats when the tears fall.

Of course with an ancestry passport to an EEA country, you can easily live in any number of European countries. I have three friends who used their ancestral ties to Europe in order to gain passports that allow them to live in Norway far easier than if they were trying as Americans.

Hello Yani, hope you are fine. I read your message and I have this for you. Stay where you are and don't think about moving to Greece. It is not the place where you want to live for the rest of your life. Canada is heaven compare to Greece and you are very lucky to be living in Canada. Take care

James -

You have evaluated all aspects of life in your advice.  fantastic.  Wish you will be back in your country soon.

RAJEEV

Check out this site: livingingreece.gr/2007/07/09/acquiring-greek-citizenship-by-foreign-nationals-of-greek-origin/

She posts the most accurate and thorough information on many topics of interest for those of us living in Greece - a much more reliable source of information than any government site.

Why someone would consider leaving the magical city of Montreal is beyond me or the ultra civilized country of Canada even for Greece.  I agree with previous posters, go for an extended period before deciding to live in Greece permanently. 

And brush up on "rudeness" - it's required in Greece and you Canadians are notoriously lacking in that skill.  I have a friend here who was born and raised in Edmonton.  When he was 8, his parents decided to return to Greece and entered him in a local Greek elementary school in Athens.  After a few months, his parents were summoned to school for a serious parent/teacher conference.  The teacher advised that there was something wrong with their son because he didn't behave like other boys in his class.  The father's reply was "he was raised in Canada where he learned proper behavior and manners and the only difference from other boys in his class is that he is respectful and well mannered".

So as a Canadian, I would definitely have a trial run before making a permanent move.