People of Greek origin across the U.S. and other parts of the world, even those who were not born in Greece, are interested to know what exactly is required to apply and qualify for Greek citizenship. They may not have been born in Greece as such, but were born to either Greek parents, grandparents, or even Greek great-grandparents, who were born in Greece. Others who have ancestors of Greek origin who were not born in Greece, such as Greeks from the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East, and are interested to know more. So how can one go about obtaining Greek citizenship, and who qualifies? Well, as long as you can prove that you have Greek ancestors who were born in Greece, you should have no problem. However, those individuals who have Greek ancestors who were not born in Greece are eligible to apply for naturalization. Those of you who are interested in applying for Greek citizenship, here are some guidelines to assist you. First and foremost, you will need the full name and data of your ancestor or ancestors born in Greece. You will need their first and last names, as well as their father's names. You will also be required to submit proof of your ancestor's date and place of birth. Once you have this information at hand, you will need to seek out birth certificates or other records from official archives or municipal records from the place of birth. Should these documents be available to you, this increases your chances of obtaining citizenship, considerably? The marriage certificate of your ancestor is another document which is required. Although it is not necessary for the marriage to have taken place in Greece, it is preferable. If both of your ancestors were born in Greece, it should speed up the application process. If only one of your ancestors were born in Greece, their gender is significant for further investigation. For instance, if you have a Greek -born grandfather and a non-Greek grandmother, you will have to be able to show proof of his religion, whether he was Greek Orthodox or Jewish and so on. Should your Greek-born ancestor be a woman, for instance, your grandmother who married a non-Greek, their union needs to be proven to be a civil marriage. The marriage, whether civil or religious, of the parent of the applicant, is, however, of no relevance, and will not affect the application. All that is required is an apostilled copy of the marriage certificate (required in USA, Australia, South Africa, not Canada). If the applicant has a Greek parent, their birth certificate is required along with the birth certificate of the applicant (apostilled certificate if from the USA, Australia or South Africa). If the ancestor divorced before the marriage from which the applicant was born, a divorce certificate and previous marriage certificate would be required as well. Should the ancestor have divorced after the birth of the applicant, this will not be of any relevance. If your ancestor Greek origin was not born in Greece, you should know exactly where they were born. In this case, your application will be considered for naturalization. This process does not always require a "strict line" of the birth and marriage certificates linking the ancestor to the applicant. The applicant will, however, be required to attend an interview with the Consul of Greek, so that the applicant's ties to Greece can be determined, as well as their general knowledge of Greek culture and History. If you are considering making an application, firstly, make sure that you meet the requirements and also that you have all your documents in order.