Welcome to the Passport & Citizenship Unit of the U.S. Embassy Athens. We provide services for United States citizens residing in Greece.
Our services are by appointment only; there is no walk-in service related to passports, citizenship, or birth registration. Please note that the U.S. Embassy in Athens, is open on weekdays, except on U.S. and Greek public holidays.
Contact the Passport and Citizenship Unit through the U.S. Citizen Services Navigator. Our navigator will guide you to the information you need or help you contact us by email if your question is not answered.
Apply for Citizenship
Report the birth of a child born abroad
You should review the information concerning transmission requirements to see if your parent(s) had the prerequisite physical presence in the United States required by U.S. citizenship law in effect at that time. If, based on the information under “Do you qualify to transmit citizenship?”, you believe a minor or an adult has a claim to U.S. citizenship, please follow the instructions to report the birth of a child born abroad.
A child under age 18: If you were born outside the United States, have not been previously documented as a U.S. citizen and are under the age of 18, please see our instructions for obtaining a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) is a formal document certifying the acquisition of United States citizenship at birth for a person born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent.
A child over age 18: If you were born outside the United States, have not been previously documented as a U.S. citizen and are over the age of 18, please see our instructions for obtaining your first U.S. passport, If, after reviewing these transmission requirements, you believe that you qualify, please follow the instructions to send us an email for an appointment to be scheduled.
Per State Department regulations, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) are issued to applicants born abroad who acquired U.S. citizenship at birth and, in general, are under the age of 18 at the time of the application. Therefore, to determine your eligibility to U.S. citizenship, we will collect the applicable fees for a U.S. passport, not for a CRBA, on the day of your interviews and if the case is approved, a U.S. passport will be issued. The passport fees are non-refundable processing fees and are retained by the Department of State whether or not the case is approved and the passport is issued. For more information please visit the State Department’s website here.
Documents that prove U.S. citizenship for a U.S. passport
If you have been issued any of the following documents, you may apply for your first U.S. passport. If you are no longer in possession of any of these documents, you must obtain a certified copy from the issuing authority.
A U.S. Birth Certificate – for certified copies, please contact the state in which you were born. The National Center for Health Statistics maintains a list of states’ contact information for this purpose;
A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) – for certified copies, please contact the Passport Services Office at the Department of State;
A Certification of Birth (Form FS-545 or DS-1350) – this document is no longer issued. Instead you may request multiple copies of your Consular Report of Birth Abroad from the Department of State.
A U.S. Certificate of Citizenship / Naturalization Certificate – for certified copies, please contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services;
A passport of your U.S. citizen parent(s) in which you are included – for a copy of your parents’ passport records, please contact the Passport Services Office at the Department of State.
Child Citizenship Act of 2000
If a U.S. citizen parent does not meet the physical presence requirements to transmit citizenship at birth, the child may qualify for U.S. citizenship through the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. This act allows foreign-born, biological, and adopted children of U.S. citizens to acquire U.S. citizenship if they satisfy certain requirements before age 18. The child must either be lawfully admitted to the U.S. (by application for the proper visa category) while a parent or grandparent meets the requirements of proof of physical presence in the U.S., or the child must be a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. For more details, click here .
Apply for Loss of Citizenship
Relinquishment of U.S. Nationality – Request a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States (CLN)
Relinquishment of U.S. citizenship by performing certain statutory expatriating acts, including taking the oath of renunciation, voluntarily and with the intent of relinquishing U.S. citizenship, is a personal right that cannot be exercised on a person’s behalf. For example, under current U.S. law, a person’s parent(s) or legal guardian may not take the oath of renunciation for that person. A Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) approved by the Department of State is the final agency determination of loss of U.S. nationality.
NOTE: STEPS 1-4 below outline the process for requesting a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 349(a)(1)-(5), 8 USC 1481(a)(1)-(5).
REQUESTING A CERTIFICATE OF LOSS OF NATIONALITY OF THE UNITED STATES (CLN)
The U.S. Embassy in Athens processes requests for a CLN. Minors, individuals who do not read or write English, individuals with mental health or cognitive disability or impairment and/or guardianship, and those for whom loss of U.S. nationality would result in statelessness are invited to contact the U.S. Embassy in Athens and email AthAmCitizenServices@state.gov before proceeding with their request.
STEP 1: Review the legal requirements for and the effects of issuance of a CLN in your name.
Please read the information available online at the Department of State and Internal Revenue Service links below regarding the legal requirements for and effects of issuance of a CLN. Loss of U.S. nationality is irrevocable, and you should fully understand the effect of issuance of a CLN before beginning this process. Renouncing U.S. citizenship is irrevocable and cannot be canceled without successful administrative or judicial appeal.
For questions related to possible U.S. tax implications, please contact the Internal Revenue Service and/or review the Joint Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) FAQ. For questions related to Social Security Administration (SSA) or other federal benefits, contact Athens Federal Benefits Unit.
Department of State and Internal Revenue Service links:
- Relinquishing U.S. Nationality Abroad (state.gov);
- Oath of Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship – INA 349(a)(5) (state.gov).
- Advice about Possible Loss of U.S. Nationality and Dual Nationality (state.gov)
- Accepting, Serving in, or Performing Duties of a Position with the Government of a Foreign State – Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 349(a)(4);
- Loss of U.S. Nationality and Service in the Armed Forces of a Foreign State – Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 349(a)(3)
- Expatriation Tax Guidance
- IRS Form 8854 – Initial and Annual Expatriation Information Statement (PDF 133.1KB)
- Instructions for IRS Form 8854 (PDF 239KB)
- IRS Notice 2009-85 – Guidance for Expatriates Under Section 877A
STEP 2: Email AthAmCitizenServices@state.gov to initiate the process and receive instructions. Gather and submit scanned copies of the required documents and schedule your first interview by email.
To request it, please send an email to AthAmCitizenServices@state.gov, using the subject Line: E55 – RENUNCIATION APPT REQUEST – SURNAME, FIRST MIDDLE NAME
You should attach to your email request the following documents:
- Complete applicable sections of Part I in accordance with the instructions of Form DS-4079 Questionnaire – Loss of United States Nationality; Attestations DO NOT COMPLETE OR SIGN ANY SECTION OF PART II OF THE DS-4079 BEFORE YOUR FINAL IN-PERSON INTERVIEW. Applicants should personally review instructions for Form DS-4079 Questionnaire – Loss of United States Nationality; Attestations.
- Evidence of U.S. citizenship such as your most recent U.S. passport or U.S. birth certificate, U.S. Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Certificates of Citizenship, Certificates of Naturalization;
- Bio-pages of all current foreign passports;
- Evidence of any name changes, if applicable. For example marriage or divorce certificates, court orders or deed polls;
The initial interview will be conducted by e-mail.
STEP 3: Schedule and attend the final interview at the U.S. Embassy in Athens with all required original documents; complete the required sections of PART II of the DS-4079 in person before the U.S. consular officer; and pay the required fee if you choose to proceed.
Schedule your final interview appointment. On the day of your final interview appointment, you must bring the originals of all documents you previously submitted by email. You will be asked to reschedule if you do not have the required documents at the time of your final interview appointment.
Your Consular Report of Birth Abroad, and Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship, if applicable, generally will be retained by the embassy or consulate during the remainder of the process and then returned to you. Your U.S. passport also will be retained and, if your Certificate of Loss of Nationality is approved by the Department of State, it will be canceled before it is returned to you upon your request. If you need to travel to the United States on your U.S. passport after the second interview but before the Certificate of Loss of Nationality has been adjudicated, please so advise the embassy at the second interview.
You will meet with a U.S. consular officer for your second interview, and you will be given another opportunity to review the parts of the document that you have already filled out (but not signed) (Form DS-4079, Questionnaire – Loss of United States Nationality; Attestations) prior to signing where required.
If you are unable to complete the in person CLN interview(s) in English, you must have two disinterested witnesses who speak and read English and the language to be translated at your appointment. These witnesses cannot be relatives, friends, representatives, or associates and must sign all the necessary documents in the presence of a consular officer. You should bring an official (professional and credentialed) interpreter with whom you have no personal connection, who may also act as one witness. At the U.S. embassy/consulate’s discretion, a staff person may serve as a second witness. Without these two witnesses, the interview cannot proceed. If you are unable to provide an official interpreter and require an alternative arrangement, please notify us by email at AthAmCitizenServices@state.gov.
Fee: The fee is $450. Immediately after signing all applicable sections of Form DS-4079, Part II before a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer, if you choose to proceed, you must pay the non-waivable and non-refundable consular services fee for administrative processing of a request for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality. If your request for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality is denied, the fee is not refundable solely because of that denial.
Step 4: Receive the Certificate of Loss of Nationality if your request is approved by the Department of State
The Department of State will review each request for a Certificate of Loss of Nationality to determine whether there is a legal basis to approve it. This step may take several months or more. The embassy or consulate may contact you for further information before the Department of State decides your case. The embassy or consulate will email you if and when your request has been approved. If your request is denied, the embassy will send you an email attaching a denial letter.
Third party attendance at Passport and CRBA appointment interviews
Generally, immediate family members may accompany passport or CRBA applicants to their appointment interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and all minor children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Passport or CRBA applicants also have the option of being accompanied by an attorney at their appointment interview. Attendance by any third party, including an attorney, accompanying an applicant is subject to the following parameters designed to ensure an orderly appointment interview process and to maintain the integrity of the adjudication of the application(s):
o Given space limitations in the consular section, not more than one attendee at a time will be allowed to accompany an applicant (or the applicant’s parent or guardian if the applicant is a minor).
o Attendance by an attorney does not excuse the applicant and/or the minor applicant’s parent or guardian from attending the appointment interview in person.
o The manner in which a passport or CRBA appointment interview is conducted, and the scope and nature of the inquiry, shall at all times be at the discretion of the consular officer, following applicable Departmental guidance.
o It is expected that attorneys will provide their clients with relevant legal advice prior to, rather than at, the appointment interview, and will advise their clients prior to the appointment interview that the client will participate in the appointment interview with minimal assistance.
o Attorneys may not engage in any form of legal argumentation during the appointment interview and before the consular officer.
o Attendees other than a parent or guardian accompanying a minor child may not answer a consular officer’s question on behalf or in lieu of an applicant, nor may they summarize, correct, or attempt to clarify an applicant’s response, or interrupt or interfere with an applicant’s responses to a consular officer’s questions.
o To the extent that an applicant does not understand a question, s/he should seek clarification from the consular officer directly.
o The consular officer has sole discretion to determine the appropriate language(s) for communication with the applicant, based on the facility of both officer and applicant and the manner and form that best facilitate communication between the consular officer and the applicant. Attendees may not demand that communications take place in a particular language solely for the benefit of the attendee. Nor may attendees object to or insist on the participation of an interpreter in the appointment interview, to the qualifications of any interpreter, or to the manner or substance of any translation.
o No attendee may coach or instruct applicants as to how to answer a consular officer’s question.
o Attendees may not object to a consular officer’s question on any ground (including that the attendee regards the question to be inappropriate, irrelevant, or adversarial), or instruct the applicant not to answer a consular officer’s question. Attendees may not interfere in any manner with the consular officer’s ability to conduct all inquiries and fact-finding necessary to exercise his or her responsibilities to adjudicate the application.
o During a passport or CRBA appointment interview, attendees may not discuss or inquire about other applications.
o Attendees may take written notes, but may not otherwise record the appointment interviews.
o Attendees may not engage in any other conduct that materially disrupts the appointment interview. For example, they may not yell at or otherwise attempt to intimidate or abuse a consular officer or staff, and they may not engage in any conduct that threatens U.S. national security or the security of the embassy or its personnel. Attendees must follow all security policies of the Department of State and the U.S. embassy or consulate where the appointment interview takes place.
Attendees may not engage in any conduct that violates this policy and/or otherwise materially disrupts the appointment interview. Failure to observe these parameters will result in a warning to the attendee and, if ignored, the attendee may be asked to leave the appointment interview and/or the premises, as appropriate. It would then be the applicant’s choice whether to continue the appointment interview without the attendee present, subject to the consular officer’s discretion to terminate the appointment interview. The safety and privacy of all applicants awaiting consular services, as well as of consular and embassy personnel, is of paramount consideration.
