Asylum procedure statistics in Greece: first half of 2025
Two out of three asylum claims granted
Key figures
Asylum applications
23,851 initial asylum applications
3,574 subsequent asylum applications, including 421 following an inadmissible initial claim on “safe third country”
741 subsequent applications subject to a 100 € fee per person
First instance procedure at the Asylum Service
71.6% recognition rate, based almost exclusively on refugee status, mainly for Afghanistan
89.8% recognition rate in the border procedure
3,539 manifestly unfounded rejections
357 inadmissibility decisions on “safe third country” grounds, of which 307 regarding Türkiye. Of those, 150 were taken in the border procedure
1,965 inadmissibility decisions on subsequent claims without new elements, including 26 regarding initial claims dismissed on “safe third country” grounds
27,496 pending cases at first instance, including 13,148 awaiting an interview
Second instance procedure at the Appeals Committees
6,019 appeals, of which 4,044 benefitting from free legal assistance from the Registry of Lawyers of the Asylum Service
747 appeals dismissed due to failure to appear in person
843 appeals dismissed due to late submission
204 oral hearings at the appeal stage
10% recognition rate at second instance
Judicial review at the administrative courts
1,416 pending judicial review applications at the Administrative Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki
36.5% approval rate for judicial review applications
This note analyses the implementation of the Greek asylum process over the first half of 2025, based on the monthly statistics published by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and on figures provided in response to parliamentary questions.
Below, we present a selection of key statistical data on the asylum procedure in Greece in the first half of 2025, drawn from the full content of the note.
Access to the asylum procedure
Official data of the Greek authorities refer to 25,799 arrivals of undocumented persons in the first half of 2025. Of those, 15,131 people arrived via Evros and the Eastern Mediterranean, while 10,668 arrived via the Central Mediterranean.
The RIS registered a total of 20,049 people in screening procedures, including 2,700 in Evros, 9,486 in the Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCAC) of the Eastern Aegean islands and 7,863 in the Reception and Identification Centres (RIC) on the mainland. Most RIS registrations took place in RIC Malakasa and Diavata.
The Asylum Service and the RIS, as responsible authorities for receiving asylum claims, registered a total of 27,425 asylum seekers during the first half of 2025.
The main nationalities of asylum seekers registered in the first six months of the year were as follows:
The main countries of origin of asylum seekers include Syria and Afghanistan. The Greek government has re-designated Türkiye as a “safe third country” (STC) for the nationals of those countries, after the Plenary of the Council of State annulled the previous designation due to inadequate reasoning. Main countries of origin include Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, designated as “safe countries of origin” (SCO) under a separate national list.
Subsequent applications
Subsequent asylum applications are lodged at the RAO and AAU of the Asylum Service. The figures supplied by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum in response to parliamentary questions refer to a total of 3,574 subsequent asylum claims lodged in the first half of 2025 following a final decision on the initial claim. The main nationalities of people lodging subsequent applications were as follows:
Out of a total of 3,574 subsequent asylum applications lodged in the first semester of the year, 741 were second or onward subsequent claims. Since 2022, these claims are subject to a fee of 100 € per person according to Greek legislation. No other EU Member State has enacted such a rule. While review of this rule is still pending before the Council of State, a recent reform has increased the fee from 100 to 300 €.
Second or onward subsequent applications subject to a 100 € fee per person were lodged predominantly by nationals of Pakistan (206), followed by Albania (91) and Sierra Leone (83).
First instance procedure at the Asylum Service
22,517 personal interviews of asylum seekers were held in the first half of 2025 according to official figures. The Asylum Service took 16,593 first instance decisions on the merits of asylum claims, i.e. assessing whether the conditions for refugee status or subsidiary protection were met.
More than 2/3 of asylum applications examined on the merits by the Asylum Service were granted. The general recognition rate at first instance stood at 71.6%, down from 79% in 2024. Over the semester, 11,618 decisions granted refugee status, 256 granted subsidiary protection and 4,719 were rejections on the merits.
Recognition rates for main countries of origin of people seeking protection in Greece have remained extremely high: 100% for Syria, 99.8% for Afghanistan and Sudan, 98% for Palestine and 88% for Eritrea. Official statistics of the Greek authorities confirm for yet another year that the majority of people applying for asylum in the country are refugees and are entitled to protection in Greece.
Most rejection decisions concern manifestly unfounded applications (3,539), rejected under the accelerated procedure almost exclusively based on the national list of “safe countries of origin”.
Second instance procedure at the Appeals Committees
Throughout the first half of the year, 6,019 appeals were lodged at the Appeals Authority against Asylum Service decisions. The main countries of origin of appellants reflect countries listed as “safe countries of origin” e.g. Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Albania, Nepal and Georgia, as well as countries such as Somalia and Syria:
Appeals Committees took a total of 4,894 second instance decisions during the first half of 2025. These figures point to an overall second instance recognition rate of 10% for the first six months of 2025.
