Greek OPEKA launches automated checks for Child Benefit A21

The Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, led by Dimitris Papastergiou, has issued a decision published in the Government Gazette that authorises the Organisation for the Collection of Tax (OPEKA) to perform extensive electronic cross‑checks on applications for the Child Benefit A21 program. The new framework gives OPEKA real‑time access to multiple public registries—including the Ministry of Education’s data on vocational school enrolment, the tax records of the Ministry of Finance’s AADE, and immigration information for foreign nationals and EU citizens—to verify family status, the number of children, tax declarations and the legal residence of claimants.

The system can automatically confirm whether adult children listed as dependents are enrolled in public vocational schools and hold the required professional training certificates. Checks can be carried out at the moment of application, during processing and even after payment, reducing manual reviews and preventing benefits from being paid to ineligible individuals.