How to register for the PEGP exam

Who needs to take the exam, and who is exempt

PEGP was introduced by law 4735/2020 as a requirement for filing a naturalization application as a foreign national not of Greek descent. It certifies that the applicant knows Greek well enough, and knows Greek history, geography, culture and institutions of government, to meet the responsibilities of a Greek citizen.

People of Greek descent (omogeneis) are exempt from the requirement, as are people who successfully completed 9 years of primary and secondary education, or 6 years of secondary education, at a Greek school or a school that follows the compulsory Greek curriculum, people who graduated from a Greek language program at a Greek university, hold a masters degree from a Greek language program at a Greek university, or wrote a doctoral thesis in Greek at a Greek university. If you think one of these applies to you, contact the relevant citizenship service listed on ypes.gr to confirm it.

The exam runs twice a year. Most candidates take it in writing. An oral version exists for people over 62 who choose it, for candidates certified as unable to sit a written exam because of a learning difficulty, and for candidates with a certified disability of 67 percent or more.

Before you start: ΕΜΕπ and myPhoto

Two things need to be in place before you can open the application form. First, your contact details and address of residence must already be registered in the National Contact Registry (ΕΜΕπ) through gov.gr, and you need to have confirmed the declaration of other contact details by selecting yes at the relevant point. Without this, the platform blocks you with an error saying your ΕΜΕπ registration is not complete.

Second, you need a color, passport style photo in digital form, obtained exclusively through the myPhoto service for citizens on gov.gr. After uploading the photo, you have to authorize its use by third party applications, selecting the option for issuing the PEGP candidate card and submitting PEGP applications. Without that authorization, the application form shows an error saying no active authorization for the PEGP exam was found.

Documents you need

Every document is uploaded digitally inside the application form itself. Prepare a copy of your valid travel document, only the page with your personal details, as a .jpeg file of up to 5MB, and a copy of your residence permit, or the electronic confirmation that you filed for its renewal, or the permit issued by the police authorities, also as a .jpeg of up to 5MB.

If you belong to one of the categories that take the oral exam, you also need a copy of your ΚΕΠΑ certificate, or a certificate confirming you cannot take a written exam because of a learning difficulty, as a .jpeg or .pdf of up to 5MB.

If this is your first attempt and you already filed a naturalization application before 31 March 2021, you need the file number and the name of the citizenship service handling it, instead of paying the fee. In every other case, including a retake after a failed attempt, you need the twenty digit παράβολο code confirming payment of the fee, plus a copy of the payment receipt as a .jpeg or .pdf of up to 5MB. The cost article on this site covers the fee and payment methods in detail.

The application form: nine sections

You reach the form at exetaseis-ithageneia.ypes.gr, through Υποψήφιοι, then Υποβολή αίτησης συμμετοχής στις εξετάσεις ΠΕΓΠ, and the ΣΥΝΔΕΣΗ button, which requires your personal TAXISnet credentials. The application screen is organized into nine sections.

1. Candidate details: pulled automatically from the tax registry, plus your myPhoto picture. Nothing to fill in.

2. Travel document details: document number, expiry date, issuing country, and an upload of the copy. If your document has no expiry date, for example an EU citizen ID card, you enter 31/12/2030 instead. If you genuinely do not hold a passport, there is a checkbox for that.

3. Residence permit details: the type of permit from a dropdown, its details and number, and an upload of the copy.

4. Contact details: your mobile number and email, pre filled from ΕΜΕπ. You can change the email here but not the mobile number.

5. Residence details: your address, pulled entirely from ΕΜΕπ and not editable on this screen. If something is wrong, fix it in ΕΜΕπ first, then restart the application.

6. Documents for oral exam candidates: this section only applies to the 62 plus, learning difficulty, and 67 percent plus disability categories. If none applies to you, you skip straight past it.

7. Naturalization case: if you have a pending naturalization file and this is your first exam attempt, you enter the service and file number here. If the system confirms you qualify for a fee free exam, you go straight to choosing your exam city.

8. PEGP exam fee payment: the παράβολο code and a copy of the payment proof, if you owe the fee.

9. Exam center: you choose your city. As of the 14 July 2026 manual, the available cities are Athens, Heraklion on Crete, Thessaloniki, Thira (Santorini), Ioannina, Kalamata, Komotini, Corinth, Larissa, Mykonos, Mytilene, Patras, Rhodes, Tripoli, Chalkida, Chania and Chios. Thira and Mykonos were recently added to the list. If you pick a city other than Athens or Thessaloniki, you can add a second choice in case fewer than 70 candidates register for your first choice, the minimum needed to open an exam center there. Oral exam candidates can only choose Athens, Thessaloniki, or Heraklion.

Submitting, and what happens after

To finish, tick the box next to Λαμβάνω γνώση (I acknowledge) and click ΥΠΟΒΟΛΗ. Every required field from the previous steps has to be filled in, or the submission will not go through.

Once it is accepted, you can download a PDF copy right away, and a copy is also emailed to you, worth checking your spam folder too. The application status changes from Εκκρεμής (pending) to Υποβληθείσα (submitted), with a number and date attached. If you never got the email but your account shows Υποβληθείσα, the application still counts as filed.

If reviewers find a problem with your documents, you will get an email asking you to fix it, and the status reverts to Εκκρεμής until you resubmit. If you do not respond before the application deadline, the application is cancelled automatically and any fee you already paid is refunded.

Changing your exam city or cancelling

Up until the application deadline, logging back in at exetaseis-ithageneia.ypes.gr/aitiseis/#login lets you download your application again at any time.

While your application shows Υποβληθείσα, the only thing you can change yourself is your contact email. For anything else, you have to write through the contact form on the exam portal, which puts the application back into Εκκρεμής status so you can edit it and resubmit with the ΥΠΟΒΟΛΗ button.

To withdraw entirely, click ΑΚΥΡΩΣΗ and confirm in the popup. The official portal FAQ states that you can only cancel an application before the application period ends, and that the same deadline applies to changing your exam city. Do not cancel if you actually want to correct something rather than withdraw: you cannot file a new application for the same exam session once you have cancelled, so use the correction route above instead.

Between the deadline and exam day: the Δελτίο Εξεταζόμενου

Once the application window closes, keep checking the exam portal for announcements, since important procedural updates get posted there.

Ten days before the exam, you are required to log back into the same platform where you applied and print your Δελτίο Εξεταζόμενου, the candidate card. It states your exam center and the time you need to arrive.

For reference, the spring 2026 session was officially set for Sunday 26 April 2026. Dates change from one session to the next, so always confirm the current application window and exam date on the official portal at exetaseis-ithageneia.ypes.gr.