Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are officially Greek citizens

• Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are officially citizens of Greece.
• Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister of Greece, announced the news with an Instagram picture of the actors holding their Greek passports on Sunday.
• "@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens!" he wrote.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are officially citizens of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the country's prime minister, confirmed on Sunday.

"@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens!" Mitsotakis wrote on Instagram.

The politician included a photo of himself and his wife Mareva Grabowski with the two actors, who held their Greek passports.

@ritawilson @tomhanks are now proud Greek citizens!

A post shared by Kyriakos Mitsotakis (@kyriakos_) on Jul 25, 2020 at 11:02pm PDTJul 25, 2020 at 11:02pm PDT

Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the former president of Greece, signed an honorary naturalization order that allowed Hanks and Wilson to claim Greek citizenship after they assisted victims of a wildfire near Athens in 2018, according to AP News.

The outlet reported that honorary naturalization is given to those "who have provided exceptional services to the country or whose naturalization serves the public interest."

Hanks celebrated the news via Twitter in January, writing, "Starting 2020 as an Honorary citizen of all of Greece! Kronia pola! ( more or less, 'happy year!'). Hanx."

—Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) January 2, 2020

Wilson said she was "honored" by the gesture and shared an Instagram photo of herself at the Aegean Sea.

Thank you, Greece, for the Honorary Citizenship along with @tomhanks We truly are honored!!! Photo taken in the beautiful Aegean Sea. #greece

A post shared by Rita Wilson (@ritawilson) on Jan 3, 2020 at 2:46pm PSTJan 3, 2020 at 2:46pm PST

The couple's ties to the European country are deeply rooted.

Wilson was raised in a Greek Orthodox household, and Hanks converted to the religion 32 years ago when he married the singer. They've since purchased a property on the island of Antiparos and often spend their summers vacationing there.

"Greece is a haven. My family goes to Greece. I've been around the world. I've been to the most beautiful places in the world. None of them tops Greece — the land, the sky, the water. It's good for the soul. It's a healing place," he said at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards.

Wilson and Hanks have even used Greece and its culture as an inspiration for their work.

The couple teamed up to produce "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (2002), a romantic comedy following a Greek American woman that falls hard for a non-Greek man, and its 2016 sequel.

Wilson and Hanks also produced a film adaptation of "Mamma Mia!" (2008), a star-studded musical filmed in Greece, along with its 2018 sequel.