Press Release
Deon’s New Report:
Modernizing Consular Services of the Greek Diaspora
Email: info@deonpolicy.org
Boston, MA — August 25, 2026 — Deon Policy Institute has published its new report, Modernizing Consular Services for the Greek Diaspora: A Remote Identity Assurance Framework for Greeks Abroad, authored by Dimitrios Pilitsis and Nexus Apex Partners, available here.
Citizens in Greece now transact with the state almost entirely online through gov.gr, which offers more than 2,250 digital services. That channel, however, is not readily available for many of the services offered to the five million Greeks of the Diaspora. Obtaining a tax number, registering contact details, registering a wedding or a birth, and granting a power of attorney all still rely on a physical visit to the closest consulate — at a cost to citizens who must travel to the consulate or to Greece, and at a cost in delay as consular backlogs compound.
The report identifies a single cause behind all of it. Consular attendance is required not because these acts demand physical presence, but because the state has no way to establish, at a distance and to a sufficient standard, that the person is who they claim to be. Everything else — the representative, the travel, the appointment queue — follows from that one missing capability.
The Remote Identity Assurance Framework adds a single new way for a citizen abroad to prove who they are: a smartphone reads the chip in their passport or Greek e-ID, and a live photo of their face is checked against the photograph the chip holds. Existing routes — video calls and consulate visits — remain untouched, and the check itself is deliberately narrow, with no biometric database created and no image kept.
“Serving the Greeks of the Diaspora cannot remain tied to procedures that require physical presence for acts which can now be carried out securely by digital means. Our proposal draws on existing Greek and European infrastructure, with strong safeguards for identity verification and the protection of personal data, so as to reduce bureaucracy, relieve the pressure on consulates and, above all, bring the Greek state substantially closer to Greeks abroad,”
said Grigoris Grigoriou, Legal Partner at Nexus Apex Partners.
According to estimates, this would remove tens of thousands of consular appointments each year — 24,000–54,000 from contact-details registration alone — and open up a further 150,000 to 700,000 routine transactions annually that diaspora citizens currently cannot reach at all.
2,250+
digital services on gov.gr for citizens in Greece
24k–54k
consular appointments removed each year by one process alone
150k–700k
transactions a year opened up to diaspora citizens
Beyond the core recommendation, the authors also offer supporting measures that can further alleviate the pressures at Greek consulates:
A country-aware directory of diaspora procedures: a page on gov.gr for each process, showing the steps, documents and consular post that apply to the citizen’s own country of residence.
Bilingual and plain-language services: Greek and English parity extended to the transaction itself, not only the catalogue pages that describe it.
A verified registry of professionals: lawyers, accountants and notaries working with diaspora matters, surfaced from the EU e-Justice Portal rather than built from scratch.
e-Apostille and document authentication: consistent acceptance at Greek consulates, and clearer guidance on the EU-wide documents that no longer require an apostille at all.
Life-event prompts: at the annual contact-details confirmation, a check on whether an address, name, marital status or child has changed — each linked to the gov.gr process that records it.
Address and phone validation: country-aware checks on every diaspora-facing form, to stop failed notifications and undeliverable mail at source.
“Over the past six years Greece has built remarkable momentum in digital governance, with tangible benefits for those living in the country. Our report shows how that same benefit can reach the Diaspora — fellow citizens whose needs, both in daily life and in their relationship with Greece, are growing. Looking at what other states have already achieved, we conclude that Greece is only a short distance from becoming an international point of reference in this field and, at the same time, from further strengthening its bond with Greeks abroad,”
said Dimitrios Pilitsis, co-founder of Deon Policy Institute.
The report is available here.
About Deon Policy Institute
Founded by a group of Greek academics, entrepreneurs, and professionals, the Deon Policy Institute is a non-partisan think tank that aims to organize and transform the Hellenic Diaspora into a catalyst for the progress of Greece.