Allowance for Ethnic-Greek Refugees (Omogeneis)

The Ethnic Greek Refugees Allowance is a welfare allowance for: a) ethnic Greeks (omogeneis, people of Greek descent from abroad) who have reached the age of 60 or are unable to work, have limited means and have no parents/grandparents or children/grandchildren able to support them; b) students with limited means at higher, upper and vocational schools who are ethnic Greeks from the countries of Eastern Europe and from China and came to Greece after 1944 (or were born in Greece to an ethnic Greek parent), as well as students from Northern Epirus who took refuge in Greece from the Greco-Italian War onwards (or were born to a Northern Epirote parent), provided they attend regularly and pass their exams. The application is filed with the social services of the municipality of residence, which checks the documents, carries out a social assessment and issues a decision; with an approval decision the beneficiary is entered in the register and the payment lists. Every year beneficiaries go to the service with their new tax return and tax assessment notice. The allowance is paid by OPEKA (Organisation for Welfare Benefits and Social Solidarity), with funding from the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family approved per period (2026: January–March €600,000; April–September €1,200,000; full year €2,400,000). The amount per beneficiary is not published.