Greece: Low participation rate in new citizenship exams
The first edition of a new examination system for acquiring citizenship in Greece – newly built around questions from a ‘theme bank’ – will take place on 16 May in seven examination centers across the country. So far, the participation rate looks to be very low. Specifically, only 2 448 people have registered for the exams, while the number of pending naturalization applications stands much higher at 30 000.
One reason for this disparity could be that many of the 30 000 individuals who have pending applications have changed their minds, or that they are young people or students (who are not required to sit the same exams). Additionally, in order to submit an application for citizenship in Greece, relevant legislation states that an individual must prove that they have had an income of 7 800 EUR per year for the three, five or seven years (depending on the residence permit they possess) preceding the submission of their application.
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