Greek citizens living abroad have always had the right to vote in Greek elections according to the country’s constitution.
Still, until recently, they have only been able to exercise their right to vote by travelling to Greece on the day of the election.
Greeks of the diaspora now must meet two conditions to vote in the next election.
They need to have lived for at least two years in Greece in the last 35-year period, and they need to be active taxpayers of the country.
The only exception is for young people under 30 provided their parents have submitted tax statements.
Over 500,000 citizens left Greece during the economic crisis, which would meet the criteria to vote in the next Greek election.
How to vote?
Register on the government’s platform apodimoi.ypes.gr – using the codes they use for TaxisNet.
Once you input your codes on the platform, your details will automatically be filled by the system.
You will also need to submit their permanent residence address, telephone and email.
Once submitted, the voter will receive a statement verifying that their application has gone through and they will either be placed on a special electoral list of voters from abroad for a period of eight years or will be informed if they were rejected.
Rejected applications can be appealed.
Voting centres abroad will be established in areas where at least 40 Greeks have expressed the desire to vote in elections.
Otherwise, Greek voters will need to travel to other areas within their respective country to participate in elections.
The ability to accept postal votes is not permitted.
In the next elections, votes of Greeks abroad, many of whom have assets in Greece, will be equally counted as Greeks living in the country.
