Greek Consulate General

know people have different experience when they try to get the visa appointment. We had to waited few days for them to reply for the visa appointment which was Aug 24^th. Went to consulate with my wife whom she needed the visa. I had all the paperwork handy. Took elevator to 5^th floor, greeted by nice lady. She asked us for the reservation, w-​2, fight ticket, and took finger prints. She was very helpful and we asked her few questions and she politely answered them. The passport pick date was give on the spot which is today. Wifey got the visa. Whole process at interview was less than 15 mins, and visa processing was even sweeter only 8 days. I would like to share you this to people because they don’t understand they are having so much on their plates right now and its hard to keep up. Anyways, my suggestion would be keep everything handy originals as well copies, put stickies and paperclip them so your interview process will be smoother. If you send them an email for inquiry or questions, the usual turn around time is about 4 days, which is okay. Such a great experience, please don’t haste and give any negativity to this place.

I’m surprised at all the positive comments. The Greek Consulate in NYC is probably one of the least pleasant places I’ve had the misfortune to visit in my young adult life. I’d probably rather sit through a root canal than have to visit the Greek Consulate again, but unfortunately as a Greek-​American, I’m sure I will have to see them again.
Answering emails? Didn’t happen.
Answering phone calls? Well, if you like playing phone tag it’s fun. They apparently don’t answer in the mornings (a worker there told me this), and their voicemail is almost always «full.» If you try to call and select the English option — good luck if they ever answer. I called back and selected Greek and did get a response. I think it’s mostly a matter of luck that someone is next to the phone and willing to pick it up.
Getting straight forward answers? LOL. If you call them 5 times (and they actually answer), you’ll get 5 different answers to your question. We ask what documents we need for certain services, and rarely get the same response (leading to the mishap below).
Scheduling an appointment isn’t too bad, and they do try to avoid making you come back… except when my mother and I had to come multiple times to get her passport (costing hundreds of dollars in plane tickets — my mother nearly broke down in tears when they told her she needed to come again because she was missing a document, missed work and school, and sleepless hours on buses).
Interestingly, they couldn’t mail my mother’s passport or perform any procedures by mail when she applied. A year later when I applied, they could mail it. Go figure…
Oh, and most documents appear to be filled in by hand rather than with a computer. Technologically up to date? You bet!
You can only pay in cash (which I always find questionable among Greek services), but always bring change and more than you need because I’m sure nobody will be able to quote the same price for you. It’s yet another fun surprise when you get there (for example, one person’s review said it cost them $ 600 for dual citizenship… I only paid under $ 100).
I was also surprised by the positive review of Mr. Pappas. When I was there he judged my allegiance to the Greek nation, and made a racial slur solely based on the city in Greece where my family is from — completely inappropriate for an employee of a consulate. Of course, for fear of confrontation and the typical Greek response (you pissed me off? Ok, let me charge you more and take forever to complete your request), I unfortunately had to sit in silence.

Before coming here, I tried calling to confirm my appointment. I should have known better because I wasted about 5 hours trying to call them back because the line was always «busy». If you need answers, EMAIL them, and they respond to all your questions within a day or two. Coming into the consulate in person with this already negative view of them, I was surprised that service here was not too bad. I went in at my scheduled time, and the lady who was doing my visa tried to be as quick and efficient as possible. They try not to schedule you a second time if they can help it, so if you’re missing documents or whatever, they send you to the copy center up the street and stuff like that. But the staff came off as rude to non-​greek people, and some of them can not speak english at all, so communication was hard.

Their next visa appointment available is for July 15^th. Its hard to believe. Is there anyone in the same boat?

I was here for an appointment to apply for Greek (dual) citizenship.
It was SHOCKINGLY less painful than I had anticipated having dealt with horrific Greek bureaucracy as an savvy American of Greek-​born parents.
Mr. Pappas on the 4^th floor (Registry Office) was pleasant and decent. None of that dismissive contempt you usually get from Greek government workers.
If you’re interested in Dual Citizenship as a child (or grandchild) of a Greek citizen I suggest you google and educate yourself on all the papers you need to bring with you. It’s not something you can do in a day or even a month. Once you have all the documents the appointment itself should take you 1 – 2 hours. And there’s a fee of $ 600!
Even the Bursar staff on the 1^st floor were unexpectedly efficient and conversational! Seriously, I thought I was on an episode of Punkd /​Candid Camera.

Visa person was quite rude. Waited an hour to be seen and there were two people ahead of me. Some other person came in after us and was seen first so I asked the visa lady why that was since we were there first. She said «do you want a visa or not» and told me to sit down. Unacceptable. Unfortunately I need the visa so had to wait and be seen. As a representative of their country I d expect better manners from a diplomat

They have a really good visa team! Very helpful and so professional. Thanks to them, I got my visa on time, and I was applying 10 days before my flight. I am very thankful to their visa section and the people who works there! God bless!!!

Being an only child, I will admit I can be a little self centered. On the other hand I would not be too quick to say that I come across as bossy or over-​indulged. I certainly would not say I «lack social skills» which is why I am surprised that the people at the Greek Consulate think they know everything there is to know about me.
All that being said, I will say I was impressed that the Consulate is dog friendly. I was able to leave Francis leashed up right outside the door and did not have to pay for a dog sitter, which, given the waiting and redundant paperwork (as well as crowds) made for a slightly more enjoyable experience. Francis recently had some golf ball size polyps removed and is wearing an «e-​collar» so being able to have him close by was a definite plus.
Lastly, although the process was slow and slightly confusing I was able to get my passport processed with minimal headache. I’m excited for my trip.

I was really impressed at the improved quality of the service my brother, sister, and I received when we recently (10÷9÷13) visited the Greek Consulate in NYC to renew our passports.
Since we last visited in 2006, the staff has gotten smaller, but the service was much improved. Angie Iliopoulou was extremely friendly and helpful, as was the Consul General, Georgios Iliopoulos, who actually welcomed us to the Consulate and the Passport Office. All of the employees made us feel welcome, and worked diligently to complete the different steps of the passport experience as efficiently as possible. Everyone was attentive, friendly and polite. We had our three Greek/​EU passport applications completed in just two hours, which was much speedier than our first application experience in 2006. I am happy to see that the Greek Consulate is welcoming, friendly, and back to serving the Greek, Greek-​American, and American communities in NYC with politeness and humility.
Thank you for the kind and helpful attention afforded us. We are looking forward to continued friendly and efficient service when we visit next.
Respectfully,
Eleftheria Delis