New Report: Children on the Move in Greece - May - August 2025 -a joint briefing by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Save the Children.
The briefing highlights important trends and challenges:
- Arrivals to Greece in 2025 remain high, with Crete emerging as the main entry point (42% of sea arrivals; +350% compared to 2024). Children account for more than one-fifth of arrivals, with 30% unaccompanied or separated.
- On 11 July 2025, the government suspended access to asylum for people arriving by boat from North Africa to Crete, ordering returns without registering claims.
- Detention and returns under the new law: νομοσχέδιοlonger detention periods, electronic tagging, criminalization of irregular stay, abolition of exceptional grounds for issuing residence permits. Risks for children: limited access to education, violation of the principle of the best interests of the child.
- Serious deficiencies in reception and accommodation,with prolonged stays in unsuitable facilities, separation of families, and limited access to school education.
- Challenges in education and significant obstacles for unaccompanied children, as well as for those reaching adulthood.
- At the same time,growing government pressure on NGOs—including threats of audits and deregistration for pursuing legal challenges—undermines access to justice, an essential safeguard for children’s rights.
The report calls for urgent reversal of the asylum suspension, an end to child detention and evictions, safe and stable housing, guaranteed access to education, and protection of civil society as a cornerstone of children’s rights. Read the full report here
