The 2023 AIDA (Asylum Information Database) Annual Report for Greece has been published with information on the main changes that took place in the national asylum system during 2023 and early 2024. The Report inter alia includes recent developments regarding the asylum procedure, reception conditions, administrative detention of asylum seekers and the content of international protection.

Amongst the main issues observed during the reporting period:

• An increase in arrivals (159%) and and in the number of dead and missing persons (799), which more than doubled compared to 2022 (343), largely on account of the devastating Pylos shipwreck, which adds up to what the EU Ombudsman has noted as a “recent history of concerns about the Greek authorities’ compliance with fundamental rights obligations”
• The vast majority of those arriving in Greece seeking protection continue to be from countries experiencing protracted situations of violence and persecution. Almost one in four people arriving in Greece by sea were minors (24%).
• The recognition rate of international protection at first instance stood at 76,7%, marking an increase compared to 2022 (62.3%).
• A significant number of applicants continued receiving negative decisions on account of Türkiye’s designation as a “safe third country” by Greece, despite the fact that readmissions to Türkiye have been suspended for more than 4 years, inter alia resulting in an ongoing risk of destitution and detention for rejected applicants in Greece.
• Pushback practices continued being reported in 2023 as well, prompting UN bodies to once more call on Greece "to ensure a transparent and impartial investigation into allegations of violations of the principles of non-refoulement and non-discrimination".
• Access to the asylum procedure in the mainland remained extremely problematic during the year.
• The majority of applications are rejected at second instance. Only 8.6% of appeals examined on the merits in 2023 resulted in granting refugee status.
• On the islands, vulnerable applicants continue going through the asylum procedure without first having their vulnerability assessment completed.
• Serious deficiencies continued to be recorded in relation to reception conditions in the newly established Closed Controlled Centres on the islands. A number of interim measures granted by the ECtHR in 2023 further confirm the system’s inadequacy.
• Illegal use of detention of applicants continued to be observed, in violation of relevant national Court decisions, while no psychiatrist was available in any of Greece’s Pre-Removal Detention Centres at the end of the year.
• Delays, at times exceeding even a year, in the renewal of the residence permits of beneficiaries of international protection in Greece continue to be an issue of concern, resulting in beneficiaries’ not having access to legal rights.
• Multiple obstacles continue hindering beneficiaries’ enjoyment of the right to family reunification in Greece (GCR has filled 3 relevant applications before the ECtHR).
• Beneficiaries of international protection continued to be systematically exposed to the risk of homeless and severe material deprivation, with a number of Court decisions in other EU member states ruling that the return of beneficiaries to Greece would amount to a violation of the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights).

Read the overview of the main changes in 2023 here.

For the full AIDA report for 2023 see here.

For the comments provided by the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum to the 2023 AIDA country report on Greece see here.