Greece to Extend Validity of Passports From 5 to 10 Years
The Minister, who was hosted on the SKAI show “Mismatches”, noted that Greece is one of the last European Union Member States that still issues passports with validity shorter than ten years, claiming that extending the validity of these passports from five to ten years will result in substantial financial and administrative savings.
“It will mean less bureaucracy for Greek citizens, especially Greeks abroad. It will free up police time. Both the state and citizens will benefit,” the Minister said during the show.
In a press release issued following the interview, the same Ministry also pointed out that a regulation has been submitted to the Greek Parliament, which foresees that Greek citizens soon be issued passports valid for a period of ten years.
The Ministry highlights that in this way, the country is moving towards harmonization with the passport issuance rules applied in the other EU countries and developed countries worldwide while also dodging significant financial and administrative costs.
“It is a situation that benefits both the state and all Greek citizens in terms of security and better utilization of our forces,” the press release points out.
Currently, obtaining or renewing a Greek passport costs €85, but the same is valid for only five years, while renewing a passport in Belgium costs €65, and the same is valid for seven years. Whereas in Italy, where passports cost a bit more, €116, the same are valid for a period of ten years, which still makes obtaining a passport in Italy cheaper than obtaining or renewing one in Greece.
In other countries in the EU, obtaining a passport for a period of ten years is even cheaper, as listed below:
- France €86
- Austria €75.90
- Cyprus €75
- Ireland €75
- the Netherlands €74.77
- Germany €60,
- Lithuania €43
- Estonia €40
- Spain €30
- Latvia €28.46
According to the Henley Passport Index, which ranks world passports according to the number of countries that they permit their holder to enter visa-free or with a visa on arrival, in mid-2022, the Greek passport gives its holder the possibility to travel visa-free or with a visa on arrival to a total of 185 world countries, which makes it the world’s eighth most powerful. Greek citizens still need to obtain a visa to travel to another 38 countries, including here the Russian Federation, India, Vietnam, China, Japan, North Korea, Nigeria, etc.
