The greek asylum procedure in figures: most asylum seekers continue to qualify for international protection in 2021
Key figures
Asylum applications
- Out of a total of 28,360 applicants lodging asylum claims in Greece, 43% were registered in Attica and only 22% on the Eastern Aegean islands.
- The number of subsequent applications was 5,802, more than double the number registered in 2020. One in five claims was a subsequent application.
First-instance procedure
- The (in-merit) recognition rate at first instance remains at 60%, similar to 2020 levels.
- Inadmissibility decisions (12,332) exceeded rejections on the merits (10,991) at first instance.
- The national list of safe third countries laid down in JMD 42799/2021 directly resulted in a sharp increase in inadmissibility decisions based on the “safe third country” concept, from 2,839 in 2020 to 6,424 in 2021. Of those, 5,922 (92%) were issued under JMD 42799/2021. The overwhelming majority concern the mainland, as only 979 such decisions were taken in the border procedure.
- The Asylum Service issued almost 30,000 formal decision at first instance, i.e. suspensions, withdrawals of applications and terminations.
- The first-instance recognition rate in the border procedure of Article 90(3) IPA reached 68.6%. 1,569 applications were exempted from the procedure and referred to the regular procedure on grounds of vulnerability.
Appeals
- A total of 17,470 appeals were lodged with the Appeals Committees. Only in 11,045 (63%) cases, however, did appellants request legal aid.
- The overall second-instance recognition rate at the Appeals Committee level doubled from 5.2% in 2020 to 10.6% in 2021.
