Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the Childbirth Benefit?
The mother is eligible, provided she has not lost custody of the child.
When did the Childbirth Benefit become available?
From 1 January 2020, for every child born alive in Greece.
How much is the Childbirth Benefit?
The amount depends on the number of dependent children in the family after the child’s birth and is paid as follows:
a) €2,400 for the first dependent child by birth order;
b) €2,700 for the second dependent child by birth order;
c) €3,000 for the third dependent child by birth order; and
d) €3,500 for the fourth and each subsequent dependent child by birth order.
In how many instalments is the Childbirth Benefit paid?
Once the application is approved, the benefit is paid as follows:
a) In two equal instalments of €1,200 each for the first dependent child by birth order;
b) In two equal instalments of €1,350 each for the second dependent child by birth order;
c) In two equal instalments of €1,500 each for the third dependent child by birth order;
and
d) In two equal instalments of €1,750 each for the fourth and each subsequent dependent child by birth order.
What counts as a dependent child when determining the amount of the Childbirth Benefit?
Dependent children are living, unmarried children who, on the date of birth of the child for whom the benefit is requested, have not passed 31 December of the year in which they turn 18.
Who submits the application for the Childbirth Benefit?
The child’s mother.
When must the application be submitted?
The application must be submitted within three months of the child’s birth.
Where can I submit the application?
The application may be submitted: a) through OPEKA’s Childbirth Benefit application, operated by IDIKA S.A.; or b) through the Civil Registry Information System subsystem used to register the child’s birth at a public or private maternity hospital or hospital maternity clinic/department (this option will become available later).
What are the eligibility conditions for the Childbirth Benefit?
The child must have been born alive in Greece on or after 1 January 2020; equivalent family income must not exceed €40,000 per year; the child’s mother or custodian must reside permanently and lawfully in Greece and be a Greek citizen, an expatriate, an EU citizen, a citizen of an EEA country, or a third-country national who has continuously resided in Greece since 2012. The application must also be submitted within three months of birth. From 2024 onwards, third-country nationals must have resided lawfully and permanently in Greece for the preceding 12 years.
How is permanent residence in Greece proved?
By submitting the beneficiary’s E1 income tax return for the tax year before the year of birth and the corresponding tax assessment act, unless the applicant’s Tax Registry details show a change of residence after that return was filed.
How is compliance with the income criterion proved?
By submitting the beneficiary’s E1 income tax return for the tax year before the year of birth and the corresponding tax assessment act.
How does a third-country national prove permanent residence in Greece for the Childbirth Benefit?
By submitting the beneficiaries’ or their spouses’ income tax returns for each tax year or, if they were not required to file, the tax return on which they appear as dependants.
I have lived lawfully and permanently in Greece since 2012 but did not file tax returns every year. Can I file late returns now?
No. Each E1 return must have been filed during the year in which the filing deadline applied, not at a later date.
I am a third-country national and have not continuously lived lawfully and permanently in Greece since 2012. The child’s father is a third-country national who has. Am I eligible?
Yes, provided the other eligibility conditions are also met.
I am a third-country national and have not continuously lived lawfully and permanently in Greece since 2012. The child’s father is Greek and lives lawfully and permanently here. Am I eligible?
Yes, provided the other eligibility conditions are also met.
The three-month application deadline is about to expire, but I cannot yet file the E1 return for the tax year before the child’s birth. What happens?
In this case, the E1 return and the tax assessment act issued on its basis for the tax year before the year preceding the child’s birth are checked.
Can the Childbirth Benefit be seized?
No. It cannot be seized or offset against certified debts (Article 10 of Law 4659/2020, Government Gazette 21A).
If the mother dies or abandons the child, who is eligible for the benefit?
The child’s father may receive the benefit if he resides lawfully and permanently in Greece, has custody of the child and submits an application. In all cases, the benefit is paid to the person who lawfully and permanently resides in Greece and has custody.
The mother died after her application was approved, but the benefit was not paid while she was alive. Who is now eligible and what procedure applies?
The child’s father may receive the benefit if he resides lawfully and permanently in Greece and has custody. In all cases, payment is made to the person who lawfully and permanently resides in Greece and has custody. They must provide an IBAN for an account of which they are the holder or co-holder.
I applied for the Child Benefit and was told my application is still pending. What should I do?
Visit www.epidomagennisis.gr to check your application, then follow the instructions shown in the notifications panel.
The child’s mother’s spouse or civil partner works abroad. Is the mother eligible for the Childbirth Benefit?
The spouse’s or civil partner’s employment abroad does not prevent eligibility. However, they must have a Greek AFM (Tax Identification Number) and AMKA number.
How does the mother apply if her spouse or civil partner works abroad?
In this case, the application must be submitted through a Community Centre or Municipality, together with an officially translated document from the competent foreign tax or other authority clearly stating the spouse’s or civil partner’s total annual income.
How should the application be completed if the spouse or civil partner is an EU citizen?
The application must be submitted at a Community Centre or Municipality. The spouse’s or civil partner’s details will be added and accepted there, provided the requirements are met.
Which application field should be used to enter an EU citizen registration certificate or EU citizen card?
The Community Centre or Municipality enters it under “OTHER”.
Will the application accept an EU or Cypriot citizen’s passport instead of an EU registration certificate or EU citizen card?
No.
Does the Childbirth Benefit application show the deadline for submitting the application within three months?
Yes. The application’s home page displays “Submission Deadline” in the upper-right corner.
Why does the application not recognise a third-country national’s lawful and permanent residence when their 2020 tax return has been assessed, even though seven years of tax returns appear in the application?
For applicants with an assessed 2020 tax return, eight consecutive years of tax returns are now required, not seven. Any missing year from tax year 2013 (income year 2012) onwards is not included in the “number of tax returns” count.
A third-country national was listed as a dependant on their parents’ tax returns for some years from 2012 onwards. Do those years count, or must documents be checked at a Community Centre or Municipality?
The application recognises all years in which the person was listed as a child on a parent’s tax return using their AMKA number.
Must spouses have filed tax returns for the same year?
Yes. Both spouses must have assessed tax returns for the same year, not different years.
Can a joint tax return cause an application to be rejected?
No. The application accepts either individual or joint tax returns.
Before the tax return filing period for 2020 ends, can spouses apply using their 2019 tax returns?
Yes, provided both spouses have assessed 2019 tax returns.
After the 2020 filing period ends, both spouses have only assessed 2019 returns. Can they still qualify?
Once the filing period for 2020 ends, both spouses must have an assessed 2020 tax return.
Why does the application display this error: “Your application failed: no person with this AFM (e.g. 1111111) was found in the AMKA registry and the application cannot continue”?
Check which family member the AFM belongs to and update that member’s AMKA Registry details at a Citizens’ Service Centre (KEP). Then cancel the application and submit a new one.
Can a Community Centre or Municipality officer accept and approve tax returns submitted by a citizen as proof of lawful and permanent residence in Greece since 2012?
No. The officer is not authorised to do so. They can view the approved number of tax returns in each member’s application details under “Tax Return Financial Details” and “Number of Tax Returns”.
If both parents of the newborn are third-country nationals, or the family is single-parent and the mother is a foreign citizen, can the Childbirth Benefit application be submitted through the maternity hospital’s birth declaration?
No. The third-country national must first obtain an AMKA number for the child by visiting a service desk (such as a KEP or IKA office). After the AMKA is issued, they must apply through OPEKA’s Childbirth Benefit application within three months of the child’s birth.
A third-country national says that obtaining a family status certificate from their country will take several months and may cause them to miss the deadline to finalise their application. Can the application be completed without it?
Yes, if a marriage certificate and an older family status certificate showing the other family members are available. The applicant must expressly state that they will submit the new family status certificate as soon as it is issued, within the reasonable period set by the Community Centre.
Can a Community Centre or Municipality officer prevent a citizen from applying because they believe the person is not eligible for the Childbirth Benefit?
The safest way to determine eligibility is to submit an online application for the Childbirth Benefit.
Why does the application not show the date on which the three-month application deadline expires?
The application cannot calculate the deadline if the child for whom the benefit is requested is not listed. Add the child through a Community Centre or Municipality for this field to appear.
If the baby dies, is the mother eligible for the Childbirth Benefit?
Yes, provided the baby was born alive and an AMKA number was issued.
I am an unmarried mother and a third-country national, and I have not continuously lived lawfully and permanently in Greece since 2012. Am I eligible?
Yes, provided the other conditions are met and the child has been recognised by the biological father, who must be Greek, an EU citizen, or a third-country national meeting the lawful and permanent residence requirement since 2012. The following additional documents must be submitted to the Community Centre for review: additional supporting documents:
- The child’s recognition deed.
- The father’s latest E1 income tax return, if he is Greek or an EU citizen.
- If the father is a third-country national, provide tax assessment notices for tax years 2013 and 2014 (income years 2012 and 2013), and for tax years 2014 onwards. The relevant tax returns must have been filed during the year in which the filing deadline applied, not after that year ended. For example, the E1 return for income earned from 1 January to 31 December 2014 had to be filed by 31 December 2015. A return filed on or after 1 January 2016 is not counted toward the required number of tax returns proving residence in Greece since 2012. Under the Childbirth Benefit provisions, the residence check for third-country nationals starts in 2012 (tax year 2013).
Please note that the father who recognised the child is not added to the unmarried mother’s family composition in the online application.
A spouse whose AFM record shows residence abroad works in the UK. Which documents should they provide to a Community Centre or Municipality so that their UK income can be recorded?
To declare income from the UK, the applicant must provide:
1.P60-End of the year certificate
2. An annual tax summary showing total annual income;
3. A taxable income statement from the UK tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs, showing the applicant’s name.
4. A statutory declaration with a certified signature stating: (a) the exchange rate from pounds sterling to euros; (b) the deduction of social security contributions; and (c) the calculation and conversion of income to euros after those contributions are deducted.
The officer must verify the calculations above.
A citizen is waiting for a public document to be issued, and the three-month application deadline has passed. Are they eligible, and how can they complete the application?
Yes, if all other conditions are met. They must complete the application at a Community Centre or Municipality and provide: (a) the request submitted to the competent public service to obtain the document, dated within the three-month deadline; (b) the public document, showing its issue date; and (c) a statutory declaration with a certified signature explaining the delay.
The Community Centre or Municipality officer will accept the declaration that the three-month application deadline passed before the application could be completed.
Tax returns specifically: A citizen had to submit a paper tax return, and the three-month application deadline passed before it was assessed. Are they eligible, and how can they complete the application?
Yes, if all other conditions are met. They must complete the application at a Community Centre or Municipality and provide:
a) the original unassessed electronic tax return or paper tax return, filed before the three-month application deadline;
b) the tax assessment act, issued after the three-month application deadline;
and c) a statutory declaration with a certified signature explaining the delay.
The Community Centre or Municipality officer will accept the declaration that the three-month application deadline passed before the application could be completed.
A Community Centre or Municipality officer failed to finalise a citizen’s application, causing it to become late. May the officer finalise it after the three-month deadline?
No. The officer is not authorised to do so, except in specific cases described in the two preceding questions (where a public document is pending or a tax return has not yet been assessed).
Can a minor mother apply for the Childbirth Benefit?
Yes. In many cases, however, a minor or adult mother does not have an AFM and was listed as a dependant on her parents’ E1 return. In that case, she must obtain an AFM and file an E1 return for the tax year before the child’s birth.
Who is eligible for the retroactive increase in the Childbirth Benefit?
The retroactive increase is paid to people who became eligible for the Childbirth Benefit on or after 1 January 2023: that is, those whose children were born on or after that date and whose applications were approved.
My Childbirth Benefit application has been approved. Do I need to submit a new application to receive the additional amount resulting from the increase?
No new application or action is required. The additional amount is paid as follows: (a) beneficiaries who have received the full benefit (both instalments) receive the additional amount as a lump sum in April 2024; (b) beneficiaries whose applications were approved but who have not yet received both instalments (they have received one or none) receive the additional amount with the second instalment.
