Reception & refugee camps in Greece in the first half of 2025
Contents
The reception system for people seeking protection on the Greek islands and mainland faces persisting gaps according to the latest figures supplied by the authorities in response to parliamentary questions in August 2025. The data, referring to 30 June 2025, are analysed by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) in the present note.
Capacity & occupancy of camps
At the end of June 2025, 19,065 people resided in camps (“facilities”) managed by the Reception and Identification Service (RIS) of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum throughout Greece. This includes five Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCAC) on the islands, three Reception and Identification Centres (RIC) and 22 Controlled Temporary Reception Centres for asylum seekers (CTRC) on the mainland. At the end of 2024, the RIS reception system counted 27,100 residents.
The overwhelming majority of residents, i.e. 17,944 out of a total of 19,065, had an active asylum procedure and were thereby entitled to reception conditions such as housing, food, clothing and a monthly financial allowance to cover daily expenses.
Population characteristics
The total number of 19,065 residents in RIS camps at the end of June includes more than 5,000 children. Unaccompanied and separated children that have not been appointed a guardian or whose care has not been assigned to a relative on account of severe delays in the guardianship system remain de facto detained inside “safe areas” of RIC, CCAC and CTRC. Greek administrative courts have ruled that such detention is unlawful.
The primary country of origin of camp residents at the end of the first half of the year was Afghanistan. Afghan nationals mainly resided on the island on Samos and in Serres and Alexandria on the mainland. The second country of origin was Syria, whose nationals resided mainly on the island of Samos and in Kyllini and Malakasa on the mainland.
‘Dead letter’ financial allowance
‘Dead letter’ financial allowance
Ministry of Migration and Asylum figures state that 12,354 out of a total of 17,944 residents eligible for reception conditions have applied for the financial allowance granted to asylum seekers. Only 9,463 people received the allowance according to the data. Therefore, there are substantial disparities in official statistics between the number of people entitled to the allowance, those requesting it and those in fact receiving it.
In reality, however, none of the people residing in the camps receives the financial allowance. That is since the cash assistance programme has come to an end and there has not been a new call for proposals from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum for its continuation, nor is it expected in the immediate future. The last tranche of the allowance disbursed to asylum seekers refers to March 2025. As a result, most asylum seekers in the camps remain unable to cater for even necessary subsistence needs.
Insufficient health care and interpretation services
Figures made available in Parliament confirm persisting gaps in the staffing of medical and psychosocial services in camps, within the framework of the “Hippocrates” programme, despite a slight increase from the end of last year. A total of 60 doctors were deployed throughout the RIS camps, compared to 54 at the end of 2024. This corresponds to one doctor per 317 residents, in view of the total population of 19,065 residents. Camps such as Filippiada, Veria, Kyllini and Pyrgos had no doctor at all.
The number of interpreters deployed in RIS camps was 128 as of 30 June 2025. Since then, however, interpretation services in camps have been halted indefinitely yet again. The absence of interpretation inevitably means a lack of access to necessary services such as health care.
No alternatives for vulnerable persons
Throughout the first half of 2025, the RIS identified 4,873 vulnerable people in the context of screening procedures conducted in CCAC and RIC.
Almost three years ago, the Greek government committed to the establishment of the “Stiriksis” programme, aimed at restoring at least 500 reception places in apartments in urban centres for vulnerable asylum seekers. To this day, however, camps are the only form of housing offered to people seeking protection in Greece.
Official statistics of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum refer to 3,773 vulnerable persons residing in RIS camps. The majority of vulnerable asylum seekers were on the islands of Samos and Lesvos and in Malakasa and Ritsona on the mainland.
Whereas the Ministry states that all of them had access to special reception conditions available to vulnerable people by law, reception conditions for these people in no way differ from those offered to the remainder of the population.
