Any foreigner or stateless person can apply for asylum in Greece.
You can apply for international protection if you are afraid to return to your country of origin or previous residence, if you think you are in danger of suffering harm due to your race, religion, nationality, political opinions or because you belong to a particular social group.
You can also apply for asylum if you are fleeing war, torture, and/or inhumane treatment.
Note that after the entry into force of the EU-Turkey deal on the 18th of March 2016, different procedures apply to asylum seekers who arrived before and after the 20th of March 2016.
#1 If you arrived to Greece before the 20th of March 2016:
- If you have not yet pre-registered your asylum claim at the Greek Asylum Service (GAS), you can still do so by phoning GAS through Skype according to a schedule based on the language you speak;
- If you already registered in June and July 2016, you will be called for full registration at GAS. You can check when your appointment is scheduled by checking the lists available at official hosting sites or using https://search.rescueapp.org/.
#2 If you arrived to Greece after the 20th of March 2016:
- You can express your intention to claim asylum in Greece by declaring it to the Police or to the authorities at the Reception and Identification Service where you are hosted. The Greek Asylum Service will be notified;
- You must always inform the authorities if you are a minor or vulnerable;
- However, Greek authorities will first examine the possibility of returning you to Turkey under the EU-Turkey deal, but you may appeal against the decision of returning you to Turkey;
- If Greek authorities decide your claim can be examined, you will remain in Greece until a final decision on your asylum claim is taken and you will go through the ‘regular’ asylum process.
For more information about asylum procedures in Greece please visit http://asylo.gov.gr/en/?page_id=72
Photo: CAFOD
