Passport validity is doubled
Citizens’ Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos announced in comments to Skai TV on Thursday that the validity of Greek passports is being doubled from five years to 10. As he pointed out, Greece is one of the few countries in the European Union with passports with a duration of just five years.
The regulation increasing the validity of passports issued by the Hellenic Republic from the current five years provided by the law to 10 has been submitted to Parliament, he said. The passports of minors, up to the age of 14, will also be valid for 10 years so that they are in line with European standards.
“In this way, we are harmonizing with what is happening in almost the whole of the European Union and developed states across the globe. We are also avoiding significant financial and administrative costs. The bureaucracy to serve the citizen and especially the Greeks abroad is being reduced. The police is also being relieved,” noted Theodorikakos.
“It is a situation that benefits both the state and all Greek citizens in terms of security and better utilization of our forces,” he added.
A comparison with other countries shows how essential the change is: A passport that is valid for five years in Greece costs 86 euros, when in Italy, passports are valid for a decade and the cost reaches €116, proportionally smaller than in Greece. In Belgium it is seven years and cost €65 euros.
In many other EU countries passports are valid for 10 years at a lower cost than Greece: In France €86, in Austria €75.90, in Cyprus and Ireland €75, in the Netherlands €74.77, in Germany €60, in Lithuania and Estonia €43 and €40 respectively, in Spain €30 and in Latvia €28.46.
In Greece, in addition to the cost of stamp duty (€84.40 for five years, €68.80 for 13 months), there is the cost of the necessary photos, but also a significant bureaucratic burden, both for citizens and services, which is now reduced.
At the same time, the Greek passport is a particularly desirable document, as it provides the possibility of access to 185 countries without a visa. In a report London-based company Henley & Partners said Greece comes eighth in the relevant ranking.
