Greece Police Clearance 2026 — Αντίγραφο Ποινικού Μητρώου via gov.gr, Foreign Certificates, Apostilles

Through gov.gr (under Δικαιοσύνη → Ποινικό Μητρώο) or the National Criminal Record portal at ncris.gov.gr, logging in with your personal TaxisNet credentials. The application is submitted immediately and the certificate arrives electronically within a few days; it is valid for three months and can be reused for multiple purposes within that window. The practical prerequisite is an AFM (Greek tax number), since TaxisNet credentials hang off it — which is one more reason AFM registration is the first task of any new arrival in Greece.

Your country of residence — the consulate wants the record where you actually live, issued recently (typically within the last three to six months; check your consulate's checklist). If you have been living outside your country of nationality for more than a year, the MFA's codified visa legislation also allows the consulate to request a certificate from your country of nationality, where your residence country does not itself demand one for residence-permit purposes. Every foreign certificate needs an apostille (or legalisation) plus official Greek translation.

Since Law 4781/2021 took effect in September 2021, the MFA Translation Service no longer exists. Official translations come from certified translators on the official register — searchable at metafraseis.services.gov.gr, where each translation receives a unique serial number and minimum per-page fees are fixed under Article 148 of the law — or from a Greek lawyer, who may also certify translations. Translate after the apostille is affixed, so the apostille itself is covered, and keep the translator's certification page with the document.

Not automatically. The MFA's codified national-visa legislation provides that where a final court judgment exists, irrespective of the sentence, the authorities conduct an individualised assessment weighing the severity of the offence, recidivism and the applicant's overall conduct. Minor or old matters therefore do not doom an application by themselves, but they must be disclosed — an undeclared conviction discovered through the certificate or checks is treated far more seriously than the conviction itself. Take advice before applying if the record is significant.

The Greek Αντίγραφο Ποινικού Μητρώου is valid for three months from issuance. For foreign certificates, Greek consulates typically specify issuance within the last three to six months at the moment you lodge the D-visa application. Since apostille and certified translation each add days to weeks, the workable sequence is: book the consular appointment, then obtain the certificate, apostille and translation in that order, counting back so everything is inside the validity window on filing day — not when you started gathering documents.

Two routes. If your certificate was issued electronically via gov.gr on or after 13 October 2023, use the e-Apostille service at e-apostille.gov.gr, which creates and verifies the electronic Hague apostille without any office visit. For paper certificates, the Decentralised Administration apostilles Ministry of Justice criminal-record copies provided they are not older than three months and bear the issuing department's original signature; judicial documents go to the Courts of First Instance of the issuing district. Then arrange translation under the destination country's rules.