{"id":22645,"date":"2025-05-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/?p=22645"},"modified":"2025-05-08T21:53:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T18:53:07","slug":"asylum-procedure-statistics-in-greece-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/asylum-procedure-statistics-in-greece-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Asylum procedure statistics in Greece 2024: Four in five asylum applications granted"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"22645\" class=\"elementor elementor-22645 elementor-22615\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ed9ba34 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ed9ba34\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2cdf03c elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2cdf03c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Asylum procedure statistics in Greece 2024: Four in five asylum applications granted<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2215f4e elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"2215f4e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b171282 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b171282\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff61895 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ff61895\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Asylum procedure statistics in Greece 2024: This note analyses the workings of the Greek asylum procedure over the past year, based on monthly statistics published by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and figures provided in response to parliamentary questions.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bdb6dd2 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"bdb6dd2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d784f3c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d784f3c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-95e94c5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"95e94c5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6fb28e5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6fb28e5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Key figures<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b208449 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b208449\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Asylum applications<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>69,000<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">initial asylum applications, lodged mainly on the islands<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>4,688<\/b> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">subsequent asylum applications, including <\/span><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>867<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">following an inadmissible initial claim on \u201csafe third country\u201d grounds<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>1,223<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">subsequent applications subject to a 100 \u20ac fee per person<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>First instance procedure at the Asylum Service<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>79%<\/b> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recognition rate, based almost exclusively on refugee status, mainly for Syria and Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>91.4%<\/b> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recognition rate in the border procedure\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>7,050<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">manifestly unfounded rejections, of which <\/span><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>6,986<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on \u201csafe country of origin\u201d grounds<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>2,143<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inadmissibility decisions on \u201csafe third country\u201d grounds, of which <\/span><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>2,090 <\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">regarding T\u00fcrkiye, including <\/span><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>1,256<\/b> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the border procedure<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>3,037<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">inadmissibility decisions on subsequent applications without new elements, of which <\/span><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>235 <\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">regarding initial claims dismissed on \u201csafe third country\u201d grounds\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>29,885<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pending cases at first instance, including <\/span><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>14,142<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">awaiting an interview<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Second instance procedure at the Appeals Committees<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>12,039<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appeals, of which <\/span><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>7,902<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">received free legal assistance from the Registry of Lawyers of the Asylum Service<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>1,588<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appeals dismissed due to failure to appear in person<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>1,526<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appeals dismissed due to late submission<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>310<\/b> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">oral hearings at the appeal stage<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>10.1%<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recognition rate at second instance, with positive decisions mainly for Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Judicial review at the administrative courts<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>1,520<\/b> <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pending judicial review applications at the Administrative Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"color: #95b8a2;\"><b>30.5%<\/b><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">approval rate for judicial review applications<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-552e714 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"552e714\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;sticky&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;sticky_on&quot;:[&quot;desktop&quot;,&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;mobile&quot;],&quot;sticky_offset&quot;:0,&quot;sticky_effects_offset&quot;:0,&quot;sticky_anchor_link_offset&quot;:0}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0587990 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"0587990\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-md\" href=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05_RSA_Asylum2024_EN.pdf\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Download the note (pdf)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f15cc5b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f15cc5b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-06b1851 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"06b1851\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9245d87 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9245d87\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Below, we present a selection of key statistical data on the asylum procedure in Greece in 2024, drawn from the full content of the note.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fa6abf3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"fa6abf3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Access to the asylum procedure<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d18b12f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d18b12f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Official figures of the Greek authorities refer to <\/span><b>a total of 62,053 recorded arrivals of undocumented persons in the past year<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Of those, 7,587 arrived at the Evros land border, 39,016 via the Eastern Mediterranean on the Eastern Aegean islands, and 5,987 via the Central Mediterranean mainly on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/crete-gavdos-sixfold-increase-in-refugee-arrivals-in-2024\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crete and Gavdos<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The RIS registered a total of 65.072 people in screening procedures<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including 8,228 in Evros, 43,697 in the Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCAC) of the Eastern Aegean islands and 13,147 on the mainland. Most RIS registrations took place in CCAC Lesvos and Samos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Asylum Service and the RIS registered a total of 73,688 asylum seekers in 2024<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a steady increase compared to 64,084 in 2023 and 37,362 in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>main nationalities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of asylum seekers registered last year were as follows:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3db45d6 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"3db45d6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/22910082\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/22910082\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a681b80 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a681b80\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main countries of origin of asylum seekers include Syria and Afghanistan. The Greek government had designated T\u00fcrkiye as a \u201csafe third country\u201d (STC) for the nationals of those countries based on a national list of safe third countries. <\/span><b>Said list was <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/council-of-state-annuls-the-designation-of-turkey-as-a-safe-third-country\/\"><b>quashed<\/b><\/a><b> in March 2025 by the Plenary of the Council of State due to inadequate reasoning. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same list covered Pakistan, a country also designated as \u201csafe country of origin\u201d (SCO) in a separate national list. The latter list includes Egypt.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35a968a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"35a968a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4d4389d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4d4389d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Subsequent applications<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f2ee6d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9f2ee6d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subsequent asylum applications are lodged at the RAO and AAU of the Asylum Service. According to data supplied by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum in response to parliamentary questions, a total of 4,688 subsequent applications were lodged in 2024 following a final decision on the initial claim. This number represents a slight decrease compared to 6,326 applications in 2023. The <\/span><b>main nationalities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of people lodging subsequent applications in 2024 were as follows:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d6c217 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"6d6c217\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/22910138\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/22910138\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4814937 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4814937\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Out of a total of 4,688 subsequent asylum applications lodged last year, 1,223 were second or onward subsequent applications. Since 2022, these claims are subject to a <\/span><b>fee of 100 \u20ac per person<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> according to Greek legislation. No other EU Member State has enacted such a rule. In light of this, more than 120,000 \u20ac were paid to the Greek state in 2024 for access to the asylum process under that measure. The legality of this rule is being reviewed by the Council of State \u2013 the judgment is pending at the time of writing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Second or onward subsequent applications subject to a 100 \u20ac fee per person were mostly lodged by nationals of Pakistan (464), followed by Albania (154) and Afghanistan (133).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53adaf2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"53adaf2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9977d7a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9977d7a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">First instance procedure at the Asylum Service<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c955960 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c955960\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to official statistics, <\/span><b>44,498 personal interviews of asylum seekers were carried out in 2024. The Asylum Service issued 77,392 first instance decisions last year. 50,117 of those were decisions on the merits of asylum applications<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, assessing whether conditions for refugee status or subsidiary protection were met.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Almost <\/b><b>4<\/b><b>\/<\/b><b>5<\/b><b> of asylum applications examined on their merits by the Asylum Service were granted. The overall recognition rate at first instance reached 79%, up from 76.6% in 2023 and 62.3% in 2022.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Specifically, 39,271 decisions taken in 2024 granted refugee status and 296 granted subsidiary protection, while 10,550 were rejections on the merits.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33cfa89 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"33cfa89\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-hierarchy\" data-src=\"visualisation\/22910312\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/22910312\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"hierarchy visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4abc363 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"4abc363\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/22910339\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/22910339\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bb36c67 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bb36c67\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognition rates remained extremely high for the main countries of origin of people seeking protection in Greece: over 99% for Syria, Afghanistan, Palestine and Yemen; 98% for Sudan; and over 80% for Iraq and Somalia. Official data therefore still confirm that <\/span><b>the overwhelming majority of people applying for asylum in the country are refugees and are entitled to protection in Greece.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The majority of rejection decisions concern manifestly unfounded applications (5,164) rejected under the accelerated procedure, almost exclusively based on the national list of \u201csafe countries of origin\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6646a6b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6646a6b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b187a4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7b187a4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Border procedure<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0a90bc2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0a90bc2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still in 2024, Greece made <\/span><b>systematic, arbitrary use of the border procedure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to cases of people making asylum applications inside CCAC on the Eastern Aegean islands. The practice breaches the prohibition on applying this procedure to claims that are not made at the \u201cborders\u201d or in \u201ctransit zones\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moreover, we have repeatedly stressed that the border procedure may only be used for the purpose of examining the admissibility of asylum applications or where one or more grounds apply for examination of their merits under the accelerated procedure. <\/span><b>Therefore, the border procedure may not substitute the regular procedure for the purpose of in-merit assessment of applications that are not presumed to be manifestly unfounded. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The European Commission has also raised the matter with the Greek authorities.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-955057c elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"955057c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/22910561\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/22910561\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-123de11 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"123de11\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>The Asylum Service took 34,122 decisions in the border procedure in 2024; more than quadrupling the 7,662 issued in 2023.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Of those, 1,446 were manifestly unfounded rejections and 1,609 were inadmissibility decisions. Accordingly, <\/span><b>the overwhelming majority of decisions taken in the border procedure exceed the boundaries of the law and should have been channelled into the regular procedure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This includes 1,354 unfounded rejections unlawfully issued by the Asylum Service in the border procedure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>No single case was exempted from the border procedure for reasons of vulnerability and need for special procedural guarantees.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This yet again raises serious questions as to Greece\u2019s compliance with the duty to afford special procedural safeguards to those asylum seekers who require them in order to navigate the asylum process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The vast majority of decisions issued in the border procedure were positive, pointing to an extremely high recognition rate of 91.4%; by far exceeding the high overall recognition rate of 79%.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 20,695 of the total of 29,566 refugee status grants issued in the border procedure concerned nationals of Syria and Afghanistan.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-69640d2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"69640d2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f5368a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5f5368a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Second instance procedure at the Appeals Committees<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-156b0c4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"156b0c4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>12,039 appeals were lodged before the Appeals Authority against Asylum Service decisions last year, up from 10,973 in 2023.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The main countries of origin of appellants include countries listed as \u201csafe countries of origin\u201d, namely Egypt and Pakistan, as well as countries for nationals of which T\u00fcrkiye had been designated as a \u201csafe third country\u201d e.g. Syria and Somalia:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-339304f elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"339304f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/22910643\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/22910643\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"chart visualization\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c9ca7dd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c9ca7dd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>The Appeals Committees took a total of 12,909 second instance decisions throughout the past year. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6,645 of these were decisions on the merits of asylum applications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The above figures point to an overall second instance recognition rate of 10.1%, a drop from 14.8% in 2023 and 11.8% in 2022.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72dc69c elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"72dc69c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fe4032a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"fe4032a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7698a24 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7698a24\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Conclusions<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9a07468 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9a07468\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following conclusions may be drawn from the official data of the Greek authorities on the asylum process:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fact that <\/span><b>overwhelming majority of people registered by the RIS and requesting asylum in Greece are refugees and obtain protection already at first instance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> remains a key feature of the Greek asylum system.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Policies such as \u201csafe third country\u201d continue to lead to arbitrary denial of protection to thousands of refugees entitled thereto<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and to severe breaches at the stages of both designation of safe countries and dismissal of individual asylum applications as inadmissible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The border procedure continues to be arbitrarily applied to all people arriving on the Eastern Aegean islands<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, even though most asylum applications are approved. Greece must respect the boundaries of the border procedure, bearing in mind that the majority of arrivals and registrations take place in the island CCAC.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is still an increase in the number of Appeals Committee decisions quashed in judicial review, albeit with significant delay. This raises <\/span><b>concerns as to the quality of the second instance asylum procedure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Crucial issues at the level of Appeals Committees include the widespread dismissal of appeals \u2013 without examination \u2013 due to late submission or to failure to appear in person, as well as the extremely limited use of oral hearings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, we recall that data that are absolutely essential to a sound understanding of the Greek asylum procedure are only made available in response to parliamentary questions. <\/span><b>We therefore reiterate our constant demand for regular disclosure of all Ministry of Migration and Asylum statistics, with a view to providing comprehensive information on the asylum system and to substantiating its implementation.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-86e91ad e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"86e91ad\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-819b073 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"819b073\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-md\" href=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-05_RSA_Asylum2024_EN.pdf\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read more in the note here (pdf)<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u0397 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c1\u03b3\u03af\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c3\u03cd\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u0395\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03b4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":22644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,243,5,274],"tags":[336,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-22645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-briefings","8":"category-facts-and-figures","9":"category-publications","10":"category-quality-of-the-asylum-procedure","11":"tag-2025-2","12":"tag-featured"},"menu_order":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22645"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22749,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22645\/revisions\/22749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}