Apostille or Embassy Legalisation: What Greece Requires

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Country requirements change. This page is re-checked periodically, and nothing on it replaces confirming the position with the Greek body that will receive your document.

Most Australian documents going to Greece are powers of attorney: for a family property, an inheritance, a Greek tax number, a bank account. For those, there are two routes, and one of them does not involve an Australian notary or DFAT at all. Knowing which suits you is the most useful thing on this page.

Check the current position before acting on this or any other page. Convention membership is a live fact. Confirm Greece's status against the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention on the day you start. Greece has been a party for decades, so an apostille is the expected route for Australian documents within the Convention's scope.

Two routes for a power of attorney

Route 1: sign at a Greek consular authority in Australia. Greece's consular posts in Australia can take a power of attorney (plirexousio) from you in person. The consular officer certifies your signature, and because this is a Greek act, the document can be used in Greece without an apostille. You attend in person with identity documents; the post sets its own booking and application process, and procedures differ between posts.

Route 2: sign before an Australian notary. The chain is:

1. Sign before an Australian notary
2. DFAT apostille
3. Official translation into Greek

Route 1 is usually simpler if the document is in Greek and you can get an appointment. Route 2 can suit you if you live far from a Greek post, the Greek side has sent you an English or bilingual form, or you need the document faster than an appointment allows. Ask your lawyer in Greece which they prefer; some have a strong view.

Get the wording from Greece first

Whichever route you choose, ask your Greek lawyer or notary for the text. A Greek power of attorney for property or inheritance needs specific powers, and one that is too general may be refused at the land registry, the tax office or the bank. Common uses include:

• obtaining a Greek tax number (AFM), which is often the first thing needed before anything else can happen
• accepting or renouncing an inheritance
• buying, selling or transferring property
• dealing with the tax office and banks

Official translation into Greek

If you use Route 2, the document will need an official translation into Greek. Greek law restricts who can make one. As a general guide, official translations are made by translators on the register of certified translators kept by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or by Greek lawyers, who are permitted to translate documents for official use. An Australian NAATI translation is a professional translation but is not, by itself, an official Greek translation.

Ask the receiving body or your Greek lawyer:

• Who should make the translation?
• Should the apostille and the notarial certificate be translated too?
• Can the translation be done from a scan, or does the original need to go to Greece first?

Because the apostille is usually translated with the document, translation comes last.

Names that do not match

A problem particular to Greek-Australian families: the same person's name often appears differently in Greek and Australian records. Georgios becomes George, Konstantinos becomes Con, surnames are transliterated in more than one way, and women's surnames may appear in a different grammatical form. A Greek registry comparing an Australian death certificate with a Greek birth record may not accept that they refer to the same person.

Raise this with your Greek lawyer early. Where it is a problem, the usual remedy is a sworn statement explaining that the names refer to the same person, which an Australian notary can administer. Whether that statement then needs an apostille and translation depends on who will rely on it.

Other documents commonly needed

• Inheritance: Australian death certificates, wills and probate documents where a relative in Australia has left property in Greece.
• Civil status: birth and marriage certificates for registering events with a Greek municipality, often for Greek citizenship purposes.
• Study and work: degrees and transcripts for recognition in Greece.

Australian registry certificates may be able to go to DFAT for an apostille directly, without a notary. Confirm with DFAT before lodging.

Frequently asked questions

Is a power of attorney signed at the Greek consulate valid in Greece straight away? Greek consular guidance indicates it is usable in Greece without an apostille. Your Greek lawyer will still need the original or a certified copy, so plan how it will get there.

I signed a power of attorney before a Justice of the Peace. Will it work? No. A JP's witnessing cannot be apostilled and is not recognised in Greece. Use one of the two routes above.

Do I need to go to the Greek embassy for legalisation? Not for an apostilled document. The consular route is an alternative way of signing, not an extra step.

How long does it take? It depends on appointment availability, DFAT processing and translation. Do not plan to a figure quoted on a blog, including this one.