Greece's citizenship exam (ΠΕΓΠ): the 70-point rule, the public question bank, and how many pass

The written part comes first and takes 150 minutes. It holds the 20 civics questions (4 geography, 4 culture, 6 history and 6 on the institutions of government) and the Greek reading and writing section: 18 questions and one short text you write yourself.

Then a 15-minute break, and the listening section: one recorded topic of two texts, played twice, with 10 questions, up to 15 minutes in all.

Speaking comes last. Candidates come in two at a time before two examiners, but each is examined on their own for up to 15 minutes: one of four topics drawn at random, starting with questions about yourself and moving on to communication and problem-solving tasks set out in photos.

Applicants over 62, and people with a diagnosed learning difficulty, can take the exam orally instead. They are examined orally on the civics questions and on Greek reading and writing, and are exempt from the listening and speaking sections. They can still choose the written exam.

Civics: each correct answer is worth 2 points, so the 20 questions make 40. Greek: reading and writing 30 (9 for the comprehension questions, 9 for the transformation exercises, 12 for your text), listening 15 (1.5 per question), speaking 15. That makes 60.

You pass when you have 70/100 overall, with at least 40/60 in Greek and 20/40 in civics. All written answers are marked by two markers, and a third marks the paper again if the first two differ by more than 20%.

Our reading of the arithmetic: the 70 is the rule that bites. A candidate who scores exactly the Greek minimum of 40 needs 30 in civics, which is 15 of the 20 questions right. With 50 in Greek, 10 right answers are enough. Every point of Greek above 40 lowers what you need in civics, down to the civics floor of 20.

There is no appeal. The decision says that no objection or appeal lies against the result, and the current version adds that you have no right to see your papers. The certificate is issued digitally to your account.

The civics part is drawn from a published bank of 300 questions: 70 geography, 80 history, 70 culture and 80 on the institutions. The ministry publishes the answers too. The Greek part has its own bank: 100 reading-and-writing topics, 50 listening topics and 25 speaking topics.

The bank is renewed every year, 5% of the language topics and 10% of the civics questions, so material from an older year is mostly but not entirely current.

Our reading: because the civics questions and answers are public, they are the most predictable points on the paper. Greek is where candidates have to perform on the day.

The General Secretariat for Citizenship publishes results for every sitting. From the first sitting in 2021 to April 2026, 48,412 people sat the exam and 24,829 passed, just over half. Per sitting since May 2022, the pass rate ran from 40.83% (November 2023) to 59.45% (November 2024). In April 2026, 2,808 of 4,732 candidates passed: 59.34%.

Candidates with an older pending application pass less often. These are people who applied for naturalisation by 31 March 2021 and were never called before the old committees. Their pass rate was lower than the overall rate at every one of the nine sittings: 48.89% in April 2026, and as low as 36.42% in November 2025.

By region, in April 2026, the pass rate ranged from 44.76% in Thessaly to 67.54% in the Ionian Islands. Attica, with 2,416 candidates, had 59.60%.

The fee is €150. If you have a naturalisation application pending, you sit free the first time only. Pay at least two days before you submit the online application, or the payment may not show in time.

Two sittings a year, spring and autumn, applied for online with taxisnet codes. You must be 18 or over and hold a residence permit, or proof that you applied to renew one.

Exam cities: Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Thira, Ioannina, Kalamata, Komotini, Corinth, Larissa, Mykonos, Mytilene, Patras, Rhodes, Tripoli, Chalkida, Chania and Chios. Outside Athens and Thessaloniki you can name a second city in case yours does not open a centre. Oral candidates can sit only in Athens, Thessaloniki or Heraklion.

Exempt from the ΠΕΓΠ altogether: people of Greek origin (ομογενείς), and anyone who completed 9 school years, or 6 years of secondary school, in Greek; or who holds a Greek-language degree, master's or doctorate from a Greek university. How Greece's requirement compares with other countries is in citizenship language requirements by country. The general Greek certificate, Ellinomatheia, is a separate exam with its own rules: our Ellinomatheia guide.