The Interior Ministry’s new draft bill plans to give all second-generation immigrants living in Greece the right to apply for citizenship in the country where they were born or where they have completed certain levels within the Greek education system.

The bill will be a relief for an estimated 200,000 second generation children and young adults born and raised in Greece who are denied citizenship status because their parents are immigrants. As a result, these second generation Greeks have been required to apply for a residence permit in order to live in the country they consider home and often encountered walls when applying for public sector jobs, social welfare or in applications to higher education institutions, especially beyond the borders of Greece.

The new bill will fill in the gap by allowing second-generation migrants to apply for Greek citizenship and also vote and stand in local elections. It comes to fill in the gap by the so-called Ragousis law that had been revoked in 2010.

The draft bill sets certain prerequisites:

* The applicant must have completed the compulsory minimum education in the Greek system (primary and junior high), must have completed six academic years in secondary education (junior and senior high), have completed high school and be a graduate of a Greek university or technical college
* The applicant can apply from the age of 16 years and will be eligible for citizenship from 18 years of age.

Ministry sources state that at least 50,000 migrant children fulfil the criteria to be eligible for Greek citizenship.