A new project that will allow Greeks living abroad to request and receive official certificates online from the country’s consular offices around the world was unveiled by Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Interior Minister Panos Kouroumblis on Friday.
The new scheme will operate in pilot mode for a week at the Greek Consulate in Dusseldorf, which is home to hundreds of Greeks who can benefit from the new service. Titled “Proxenos” (Consul), it will allow Greeks all over the world to get hold of birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as other documents within minutes from their nearest consulate, which will have access to central public records databases.
Also on Friday, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias announced plans to digitize the ministry’s history archive and to improve its translation service.
Speaking during a joint press conference, Kotzias said it is a “jump in the quality of services offered by Greece’s consular services throughout the world, facilitating the lives of Greek expatriates.”
Cutting time spent searching for paperwork
When the project begins, Greeks will be able to receive certificates of birth and marital status online, thus cutting time spent searching for such paperwork in Greece and saving money for the State.
The minister also said the first online database will be launched soon at Greece’s consular office in Dusseldorf for a trail period of one week, before it is expanded to other countries.
On his side, Kouroumblis said this program will bring the diaspora closer to Greece, by showing the country cares and sends them a message of hope and optimism. He also said this connection with the database is the second achieved by the interior ministry, with the first one connecting with a database of the education ministry.
Kouroumblis also said that the ministry will complete a program of 15 database connections during the year.
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