Greek passports are issued exclusively to Greek citizens by the Greek Police for the purpose of international travel. Greek citizens can use their ID card instead for travel within the European Union and a number of other European countries.

Biometric passports have been issued since 26 August 2006, with old-style passports being declared invalid as of 1 January 2007. From July 2009, the passport's RFID chip will also include fingerprint and iris recognition. Currently, it stores only the personal data and a high resolution JPEG image of the passport holder.

Passport appearance

The Greek passport follows the standard European Union passport design, with a burgundy red cover and the national emblem emblazoned on the centre of the front cover. The word ΔΙΑΒΑΤΗΡΙΟ (Greek for "passport") is inscribed below the coat of arms, while ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΗ ΕΝΩΣΗ ("European Union") and ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ ("Hellenic Republic") appear above.

A Greek diplomatic passport has the same size and design as the standard one, but it features a black cover and the text ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΙΚΟ ΔΙΑΒΑΤΗΡΙΟ ("diplomatic passport") inscribed below the coat of arms.

Greek passports contain 32 pages.

Issuing process

Greek passports are issued by the National Passport Centre ("Διεύθυνση Διαβατηρίων/Αρχηγείο Ελληνικής Αστυνομίας"). Applicants have to apply in person - in case of a child under 14, accompanied by a parent - at the local police department. Upon submitting all the requirements (special portrait photo, issuing request and fee), the police department begins the issuing procedure. All passports are manufactured centrally at the N.P.C main building in Athens. Depending on the circumstances, passports are issued in 3 to 9 business days and must be picked up by the police department in which the issuing request was made. For this, an applicant must carry with him a special receipt he/she received after applying. Standard passports are valid for a period of 5 years for adults and 2 years for children under 14. If one person is between 14 and 17 years old, then the issued passport is valid until that person becomes 18 years old, at which time he/she must request an adult one.

Greek passports cannot be renewed. A holder has to make a request for a new one, if his/her passport expires within the next six months of the request and he/she plans to use it after the expiry date.

The issuing of a standard adult passport costs €82, while that of a child passport costs €42. Reissuance of an existing and still valid passport whose no blank pages exist is possible, the end validity date will remain the one of the previous passport and the cost will be €50.

Visa-free and Visa-on-arrival travel

Europe

* European Union unlimited access
* Albania‡
* Andorra‡
* Bosnia and Herzegovina‡
* Croatia‡
* Iceland unlimited access
* Liechtenstein unlimited access
* Moldova[1]
* Monaco‡
* Montenegro
* Norway unlimited access
* San Marino‡
* Kosovo 90 days
* Serbia
* Switzerland unlimited access
* Republic of Macedonia‡
* Ukraine[2]
* Vatican City‡

* ‡ – can also enter with a valid ID card

Africa

* Botswana
* Burundi (visa issued on arrival)
* Comoros (visa issued on arrival)
* Cape Verde (visa issued on arrival)
* Djibouti (visa issued on arrival)
* Egypt (visa issued on arrival)
* Ethiopia (visa issued on arrival)
* Gambia
* Kenya (visa issued on arrival)
* Lesotho
* Madagascar (visa issued on arrival)
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mayotte
* Mozambique (visa issued on arrival)
* Réunion
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* South Africa
* Swaziland (visa issued on arrival)
* Tanzania (visa issued on arrival)
* Togo (visa issued on arrival)
* Tunisia
* Uganda (visa issued on arrival)
* Zimbabwe (visa issued on arrival)

Americas

* Anguilla
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Aruba
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Bermuda
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada[3]
* Cayman Islands
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic ($10 tourist card issued on arrival)
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Falkland Islands
* French Guiana
* Grenada
* Guadeloupe
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Martinique
* Mexico
* Montserrat
* Netherlands Antilles
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Uruguay
* Venezuela
* British Virgin Islands

Asia

* Armenia (visa issued on arrival)[4]
* Azerbaijan (visa issued on arrival)[5]
* Bahrain (visa issued on arrival)[6]
* Bangladesh (visa issued on arrival)[7]
* Brunei[8]
* Cambodia (visa issued on arrival)[9]
* Georgia[10]
* Hong Kong[11]
* Indonesia (visa issued on arrival)[12]
* Iraq (visa issued on arrival; only Iraqi Kurdistan)[13]
* Israel[14]
* Japan[15]
* Jordan (visa issued on arrival)[16]
* Kuwait (visa issued on arrival)[17]
* Kyrgyzstan (visa issued on arrival)[18]
* Laos (visa issued on arrival)[19]
* Lebanon [20]
* Macau[21]
* Malaysia[22]
* Maldives (visa issued on arrival)[23]
* Mongolia (visa issued on arrival)[24]
* Nepal (visa issued on arrival)[25]
* Oman (visa issued on arrival[26]
* Philippines[27]
* Qatar (visa issued on arrival)[28]
* Singapore[29]
* South Korea[30]
* Sri Lanka (visa issued on arrival)[31]
* Syria (visa issued on arrival)[32]
* Taiwan[33]
* Thailand[34]
* United Arab Emirates[35]
* Yemen (visa issued on arrival)[36]

Oceania

* Australia (ETA or eVisitor required)[37][38]
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* French Polynesia
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* FS Micronesia
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand[39]
* Niue
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea (visa issued on arrival)
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Timor-Leste (visa issued on arrival)
* Tuvalu
* Tonga
* Tokelau
* Vanuatu
* Wallis and Futuna

See also

* Video presentations of the new Greek biometric passport
* Greek Nationality Law
* Information from the Greek Foreign Ministry