A total of 13 applications were submitted by foreign universities for the creation of a branch in Greece, all but one for the academic year 2025-2026, and the 13th one for 2026-2027.

Following up on an earlier announcement on Tuesday, the Education, Religion & Sports Ministry released the names of the interested institutions as follows:

1. The Open University
2. The University of York
3. University of Greater Manchester
4. Université Sorbonne Paris Nord
5. University of Derby
6. The University of West London
7. University of Essex
8. University of Nicosia
9. London Metropolitan University
10. Queen Margaret University
11. The University of Keele
12. University of East London

The institution applying for operation in the academic year 2026-2027 is Sunderland University, while the process for the same academic year remains open to other foreign universities as well.
The deadline for the applications of the coming academic year was Monday, March 31, and concerned applying for a license to establish and operate branches of the foreign universities in the form of Legal Entities of University-Level Education, according to Law 5094/2024. 

Commenting on the event, Education, Religion & Sports Minister Sophia Zacharaki described it as "a new chapter for Greek college education," "a historic reform," and "the liberation of creativity, an opening to the world, and an investment in the future of young people."
Zacharaki said, "Greece is implementing a historic reform. A reform that provides new choices to Greek college students, establishes Greece as an educational destination for thousands of foreign students, provides the opportunity for return of a noteworthy educational and research talent of Greek scientists working abroad, and it transforms our country from a globally 'educational' uniqueness to a hub of knowledge and innovation for the greater region of southeastern Europe." 

The state, she added, "remains a guarantor of quality, transparency and equal opportunity," while she also expressed the belief that Greek state universities will also benefit, "after they were boosted in recent years by a series of significant reforms the government carried out and will be further strengthened in the immediate future."

Universities' applications will be forwarded to the National Higher Education Authority, which is entrusted with the evaluation of the requirements of establishing and operating foreign branches, and that of certifying their courses of study. At the same time, they will be forwarded to the organization examining the physical requirements of the breanches, both organizations of which will need to approve them.