legal and social conditions for asylum seekers and refugees in ...

Nevertheless, following the amendments to the Aliens Act of December 1996, all applications
lodged at a point of entry (airport or seaport) are dealt with “by priority and through an accelerated
procedure”, as provided for in Section 25(3) of the Act.
According to this, applicants must remain in the transit zone of the port or airport for the duration
of the examination of their claim under the accelerated procedure, but for no longer than 15 days.
Airports have established so-called “surveillance areas”, which are the responsibility of the airport
authorities and which are guarded by the police, where asylum seekers are held pending the
decision. Men and women are usually separated. Food is provided and washing facilities are
made available. NGOs have access to the asylum seekers in the “surveillance areas” and may
provide assistance and counselling. In ports of entry without a “surveillance area”, the police are
responsible for providing applicants with accommodation, food and washing facilities.
A description of the criteria and rules for this procedure is provided under “Accelerated
procedure” below.
In practice, approximately 90% of all asylum seekers enter Greece illegally from Turkey and avoid
the border by crossing the Evros River or by landing secretly on one of the many Greek islands
close to the Turkish coast. Since no readmission agreement exists between Greece and Turkey,
it is impossible for these people to be formally returned to Turkey.
The Dublin Convention
If in the course of the accelerated or the normal asylum determination procedure, it appears that
another state is responsible for examining the application according to the criteria of the Dublin
Convention, the Greek authorities will send a request to take charge to this state. If the latter
accepts responsibility, the asylum seeker is provided with a travel document and transferred to
that state. Similarly, Greece will examine the asylum claim for those asylum seekers returned to
the country by other states on the basis of the Dublin Convention.
Applicants processed under the Dublin Convention are given the same social rights as other
asylum seekers.
Entry into the territory
Applications for asylum must be submitted in written or oral form to the border authorities or, if the
asylum seeker is elsewhere in the country, to any other public authority. If the claim is submitted
to a non-police authority, the latter must immediately inform the appropriate local police authority
and refer the applicant to it.
An application for asylum is considered to cover the applicant him/herself and the family
members who are with him/her and under his/her protection. Those considered as family
members are the applicant’s spouse, single children (of both or either parent) under 18 years,
children over 18 years suffering from any disability and therefore unable to apply individually, and
the applicant or his/her spouse’s dependent parents.
Asylum seeker are normally interviewed by the police immediately after submission of their claim.
An interpreter is always provided where necessary. After the interview, the asylum seeker is
issued with an asylum seeker’s card (the “pink card”). In Athens, however, due to the large
number of asylum seekers and the insufficient number of interpreters, applicants cannot be
interviewed immediately. Instead, they are provided with a “note of service” – i.e. a document
proving that they have lodged an asylum application and bearing the name, nationality and
photograph of the holder, as well as an appointment for the interview. The “note of service”, duly
signed and stamped by the police authorities, is replaced by the “pink card” when the interview
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Greece