Recognised refugees in Greece – 2026
New report: Access of beneficiaries of international protection to documents and socio-economic rights
Introduction
Chronic legal and practical barriers to recognised refugees’ access to documents and socio-economic rights in Greece remain unresolved, according to the new annual report published today by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and Stiftung PRO ASYL.
Constant barriers to a dignified life for recognised refugees in Greece include a bureaucratic maze to obtain essential documents, the absence of housing, and restrictions on access to health care and other core services. These barriers expose many beneficiaries of international protection to conditions of homelessness and destitution, in breach of the right to dignity and of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment.
More than 167,000 people have been granted international protection in Greece from 2020 to 2025. Greece granted international protection to 27,181 people last year alone, while at the end of the year 96,438 international protection Residence Permits were active and 19,398 initial permits were pending issuance. For these people, recognition of their status does not translate into effective access to the rights provided for by law.
The situation is further exacerbated by the significant rise in deportations (returns) of recognised refugees to Greece from other EU Member States and Schengen Associated States. Last year alone, Greece received 9,179 readmission requests (more than triple the number received in 2024 – 2,468) while 725 recognised refugees, including families with children, were deported to the country. Most requests came from Germany, pointing to a 555% increase from 2024 to 2025.
RSA has supported at least 50 of these people from the start of 2025 to present. They are men, women and children from Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria and other countries, returned mainly from Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. In the overwhelming majority of cases supported, these people ended up without documents, without material support and without any information on the procedures for access to their rights. The support of these people directly informs the findings of this report.
The new annual report of RSA and Stiftung PRO ASYL covers in detail the conditions faced by recognised refugees as regards the issuance and renewal of the Residence Permit (ADET) and the Travel Document (TDV), the barriers to obtaining tax and financial documents, the exclusion from the majority of social benefits, and the obstacles to access to housing and health care. It also analyses deficiencies in information and support from responsible authorities and services to people for the purpose of claiming their rights.
The observations made in the report draw on RSA legal and social casework. The report also draws on findings of qualitative research conducted through a questionnaire to civil society organisations, as well as on publicly available information such as up-to-date statistics of the Greek authorities and documents of EU institutions.
RSA thanks the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), SolidarityNow and Meraki Humanitarian Support for their contributions to the research conducted in the context of this report.
Additional material
Read about the video game
Recognised refugees in Greece are called to navigate a complex, exhausting and often self-defeating process of obtaining documents required for access to a series of basic rights.
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) endeavours to capture this difficulty in its respective annual reports. This year, we also illustrate this quagmire of procedures through a video game. The video game follows the Great Bureaucratic Adventure of two recognised refugees who have recently been returned to Greece from another European country.
Recognised refugees who are returned to Greece after having built a dignified life in another European country often find themselves suddenly landed at a Greek airport without documents and without any support.
For the purposes of the game, various problems have been simplified, while it is impossible to capture the sense of entrapment, endless waiting without prospect and being pushed into survival on the margins.
Highlights from the Report
Below we highlight some of the key issues documented and analysed in detail in the report.
Contents
Quagmire of procedures for essential documents
Recognised refugees’ access to essential rights and transactions with public services in Greece is conditioned on possession of a series of documents, issued by various national authorities. Guaranteeing them in practice requires one to navigate extensive processes falling within the responsibility of different branches of government, not least six different Greek ministries.
Beyond its complexity, the process of obtaining the necessary documents to reside and participate in public life in Greece often leads to ‘catch 22’ situations, where the issuance of one document may presuppose possession of another document or compliance with conditions that are virtually impossible to meet. The following are illustrative examples:
- The process of updating personal details on the tax records of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is done online and requires TAXISnet Credentials. To obtain such credentials, however, one would need to have already updated their personal details on the AADE records.
- Disabled recognised refugees wishing to obtain an Unemployment Card from the Public Employment Service (DYPA) must already hold a Disability Certification so as to be registered as unemployed persons with a disability. Requesting a disability certification, however, requires an Active ΑΜΚΑ, which in turn presupposes secured lawful Employment and a work contract or recruitment certificate from an employer.
- Enrolment on the HELIOS+ Programme requires an Unemployment Card, among other documents. Yet, in order to receive rental subsidies, the only financial assistance offered by the programme, beneficiaries must have already rented property on their own means.
- Refugees seeking to register with EFKA and receive ΑΜΑ so as to start working must have already secured housing in order to produce Proof of Residence Address.
See also the related video game we created:
Residence Permit (ADET)
“The issuance and renewal of resident permits is the initial and first formality that serves as a prerequisite for others and yet is the most important bottleneck.”
European Commission
Possession of a valid ADET is a prerequisite for a series of steps such as obtaining and maintaining ΑΜΚΑ, opening a bank account, accessing employment, applying for and receiving social welfare benefits, renting property, even moving within the Greek territory. The European Commission highlights that “The issuance and renewal of resident permits is the initial and first formality that serves as a prerequisite for others and yet is the most important bottleneck.”
According to official figures supplied in response to parliamentary questions, the number of ADET renewal applications pending before the Asylum Service at the end of 2025 was 7,640, of which 2,237 were pending for more than one year. Throughout this protracted waiting period, beneficiaries receive only a “certificate of beneficiary status” which is still not accepted by the majority of public authorities as valid identity documentation; and this two years after relevant announcements of measures to address the issue.
Official Greek data demonstrate a significant, steady increase in the backlog of ADET renewal applications over the past few years. The Asylum Service reports serious staff shortages.
Particularly serious obstacles arise in the case of beneficiaries who are returned to Greece from other Member States without being given back their documents (ADET and travel document). People deported back to Greece end up undocumented for several months, without adequate information on the procedure they need to follow. It is clear that without the assistance of a lawyer, beneficiaries will not be able to navigate this administrative maze.
Travel Document (TDV) - Tax and financial documents
Access to TDV presents significant legal and practical barriers, as restrictive provisions contrary to EU law continue to be applied, leading to refusals without establishment of “compelling reasons”. The renewal process is further characterised by excessive delays, bureaucratic requirements (e.g. solemn declarations with certified signature) and limited access to information, resulting in prolonged uncertainty for beneficiaries.
Correspondingly, access to basic administrative and financial rights is impeded by conflicting and arbitrary practices (e.g. non-acceptance of ADET or homelessness certificates), as well as by conditions that create practical ‘catch 22’ situations, particularly for homeless persons (such as the requirement of proof of residence address for issuance of AFM). Procedures are further characterised by circular requirements (such as the need for TAXISnet credentials for actions that already presuppose such credentials), compounded by a lack of information and inconsistent practices between services and banks.
Social Security Number (ΑΜΚΑ)
The Social Security Number (ΑΜΚΑ) is a mandatory requirement for employment, health care, social benefits and transactions with core public authorities. Since 2024, activation of AMKA for third-country nationals (unlike Greek nationals) requires production of a work contract or recruitment certificate uploaded on ERGANI, while the process of conversion of PAAYPA into AMKA is characterised by significant delays, administrative obstacles and arbitrary requirements. This regulatory framework introduces discriminatory treatment contrary to the Qualification Directive and creates a ‘catch 22’ whereby access to basic rights is conditioned upon prior secured employment.
The European Commission stresses that “the new provisions of the law on the AMKA activation set additional requirements for beneficiaries of international protection in comparison to Greek citizens. This provision hinders the effective access to the healthcare system and is particularly worrying for persons with disabilities who are unable to work.” The Greek Ombudsman notes that the regulation “runs counter to any sense of integration policy.” Yet, the aforementioned provisions remain in force to date, resulting in the exclusion of many beneficiaries of international protection from fundamental rights.
Social welfare
There is no dedicated social benefit for beneficiaries of international protection in Greece to guarantee their transition into the social welfare system in view of their particular circumstances. The financial allowance afforded to asylum seekers is automatically ceased upon grant of status (even before the decision has been notified to the person). In practice, its disbursement has effectively ceased entirely since 2025. Access to social benefits is further administratively more onerous for third-country nationals, as applications may only be submitted through municipal services and not online.
The majority of social benefits (housing allowance: 5 years of lawful residence; child support allowance: 5 years; child-birth allowance: 12 years; uninsured retiree benefit: 15 years) are subject to conditions of long-term lawful and continuous residence that do not take into account the particular circumstances of refugees, resulting in differential treatment and the effective exclusion of beneficiaries of international protection from most forms of social assistance. Even the Guaranteed Minimum Income (EEE), which imposes no minimum residence period, remains inaccessible in practice due to stringent requirements (e.g. the concept of “household”, proof of residence address, Active ΑΜΚΑ). Overall, the existing framework significantly restricts access to basic benefits and undermines effective integration.
Housing
Securing housing remains one of the most critical issues faced by refugees in Greece, despite the legislative provision establishing equal treatment with other legally residing third-country nationals. The Greek state insists on a policy demanding immediate autonomy and self-sufficiency of beneficiaries of international protection: these people are called to vacate their accommodation places in camps within 30 days from being granted asylum, while material reception conditions are immediately ceased when a positive asylum decision is taken. Forced departures are enforced even in vulnerable cases, despite delays in the issuance of essential documents. Over the past twelve months, not a single instalment of the financial allowance due to asylum seekers has been paid.
The problem is exacerbated by the housing crisis affecting the country, with a continuous rise in rent prices and drop in property supply in urban centres. Tens of thousands of people granted international protection are called to search for housing in a real estate market that expects them to hold a plethora of essential documents, to wield the Greek language and to have the financial means to afford several hundreds of euros in monthly expenses, without any meaningful support for their transition into integration.
HELIOS+ Programme
The HELIOS+ programme, formally launched in early 2025 and the main integration programme in the country, has been designed at a dramatically lower scale to the actual needs: the award decisions set a total target of 4,323 beneficiaries for the period 2025–2028 (approximately 1,000 persons per year) while active international and temporary protection residence permits stand at 134,576.
At the end of 2025, the programme had registered 1,318 households amounting to a total of 1,883 people. 934 people received rental subsidies, of whom almost half were temporary protection holders from Ukraine. HELIOS+ does not offer accommodation per se but a rental subsidy under stringent conditions, and only where a rental contract has already been signed. The strict and cumulative enrolment criteria, as well as the extensive documentation requirements, create significant delays and exclusions.
Some regions have already halted new enrolments and submissions of new rental contracts as of early 2026. As of early March 2026, the European Commission had not received information from the Ministry of Migration and Asylum as to the timeline of renewal of the projects concerned. The continuity of housing support services under HELIOS+ remains uncertain at present, against a backdrop of consistent public statements by members of the government on the phasing out of rental subsidies. In January 2026, the Minister of Migration and Asylum stated that “We do not believe that housing actions make sense” and that funds would be transferred entirely to employment and training programmes.
Homelessness
Homelessness and extreme precarity are a near-automatic adjunct to deportations of recognised refugees to Greece from other European countries. In the overwhelming majority of the at least 50 cases supported by RSA from the start of 2025 (regardless of gender, nationality or profile and including single-parent families with children, LGBTI+ persons and persons with serious health conditions), these people ended up on the streets, in squares or in “invisible homelessness” under precarious conditions of informal rental.
Beneficiaries of international protection are not eligible for accommodation in camps due to their legal status. RSA’s requests to the responsible authorities for housing of people deported back to Greece without shelter are systematically met with negative replies. In a case of a single-parent family supported by Meraki Humanitarian Support, a public authority advised the mother to relinquish custody of her minor son to the Greek state, since no solution could be found to the issue of their homelessness.
Homeless shelters
The accessibility of homeless shelters to beneficiaries of international protection remains highly restricted by the persisting lack of available places, coupled with onerous formal requirements for entry. None of the shelters in Athens and Piraeus contacted systematically by RSA over the past year had readily available accommodation places, while operating long waiting lists. Entry requires possession of several valid documents, an Active ΑΜΚΑ and knowledge of Greek or English, with no interpretation services available. There are no shelters for homeless families with children or for persons with disabilities.
The exclusion of beneficiaries of international protection from core social benefits (housing allowance: 5 years; child support allowance: 5 years; child-birth allowance: 12 years) constitutes a structural barrier to access to housing. In May 2025, the European Commission proceeded to a reasoned opinion in the pending infringement proceedings against Greece, without any meaningful engagement on the matter from the Greek government to date.
Health care - ΑΜΚΑ
EU law provides that beneficiaries of international protection are entitled to access to health care under the conditions applicable to Greek nationals. Under Greek law, uninsured persons have free-of-charge access to public health facilities, in principle upon condition of holding an Active ΑΜΚΑ. The obstacles imposed by the regulatory framework on AMKA activation for beneficiaries of international protection since 2024 have a direct, inevitable impact on their access to health care.
Refugees who have not secured lawful employment and cannot produce a work contract or recruitment certificate are excluded even from absolutely vital treatment, as they objectively cannot be prescribed free-of-charge medication or examinations. In the case of an inactive AMKA, any prescription is issued only with full coverage of the costs by the patient. Given the absolute need for active AMKA for access to health care, the existing framework maintains an inherently circular logic whereby access to basic rights is conditioned upon prior integration into the labour market.
The existing exceptions for access of vulnerable groups without an active AMKA are not applied in practice. The November 2025 Ministry of Health circular has been wholly ineffective, as it requires documents that are virtually impossible for beneficiaries of international protection to obtain. Following the adoption of the circular, instances of denial of health care to beneficiaries with an inactive AMKA intensified. No earlier than mid-March 2026 did we receive information that IDIKA transmitted instructions for activation of a new code enabling health care to beneficiaries of international protection with an inactive AMKA. At the time of writing, however, there has not been any official or public announcement on its implementation.
Beyond institutional barriers, serious practical obstacles are also documented, including the language barrier, the absence of interpretation in public health facilities and significant delays in scheduling medical appointments, reaching six months in certain cases. Access to mental health services remains particularly restricted, with long waiting times and a lack of appropriate support facilities.
Case before the ECtHR
In a recent case represented by RSA, a recognised refugee with a disability had to reach the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and obtain interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court to prevent an imminent risk to her life and health, owing to EFKA’s refusal to activate her AMKA. Even after the issuance of interim measures, the responsible authorities did not comply immediately. Similar cases known to us have required persistent interventions before the Greek authorities to lead IDIKA to exceptionally activate the AMKA of persons with pressing needs for survival treatment.
ECtHR interim measures for a young woman with a disability and chronic illness:
Zakiya*, a young recognised refugee from Syria, suffers from a disability and serious chronic illness that renders access to regular hospitalisation and medication vital for her health. She has received such treatment in a hospital in Athens from her arrival in Greece in the fall of 2024. After she received a Residence Permit, the PAAYPA she held as an asylum seeker was deactivated in January 2026 and she required an Active ΑΜΚΑ to continue her treatment. Zakiya* had to reach the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to be able to continue receiving the necessary medication for her survival (Omar v. Greece, 4827/26).
Specifically, after Zakiya* was informed by the hospital in mid-January 2026 that there was an issue with the continuation of her treatment due to AMKA, RSA lawyers requested a “postponement of removal certificate” from the Aliens Directorate of Attica of the Hellenic Police and stressed that Zakiya* needed the document to continue her treatment without an active AMKA pursuant to the Ministry of Health circular. The Police replied that it is unable to issue a “postponement of removal certificate” to Zakiya* because she is a recognised refugee with lawful residence in Greece.
RSA lawyers also referred to the Greek authorities to inquire into the possibility for her to access care based on the category of persons with disabilities provided in the Ministry of Health circular, to no avail. In mid-February 2026, RSA lawyers asked the Ministry of Health how medication can be prescribed and granted to persons with disabilities who hold a medical certificate as required by the Ministry circular, without an Active ΑΜΚΑ. The Ministry of Health replied as follows: “we inform you that the issuance and activation of AMKA do not fall within the responsibility of our service”.
That same month, RSA lawyers sent a query to the Ministry of Health on how a “postponement of removal certificate” can be issued to a recognised refugee, since the Police is unable to grant it. The Ministry of Health replied that it is not competent to issue the document, nor can it provide instructions on its issuance.
Only after an interim measures decision of the ECtHR in mid-February and after repeated, often unsuccessful contacts with services that declared themselves non-competent on the matter, did the Greek authorities activate Zakiya*’s AMKA – just in early March – and was she able to continue her needed treatment.
