In Greece, passport applications jump in areas that voted 'yes' on bailout referendum

In the days after Greece's referendum vote, the number of applications for passports with the National Hellenic Passport Center jumped more than 50 percent over the same time last year, with the largest increases coming from the northern and southern suburbs of Athens — areas where the majority of people voted "yes" to a European bailout.

The referendum centered on whether Greece should accept austerity conditions from creditors in exchange for a bailout, with 38.7 percent of voters saying "yes," and 61.3 percent "no." The Greek newspaper Kathimerini reports that in the suburb of Kifisia, where 64 percent of voters were in favor of the referendum, passport applications rose 70 percent, while in Filothei-Psichiko, where the number of applications are also way up, the "yes" vote reached 70 percent. These areas are some of the most expensive places to live in Greece.

As MarketWatch points out, Greek passports are valid for only five years, so many of these are likely renewals, but there's also the possibility that people want to make sure they have the documentation to live in another part of the European Union.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up