Author
| Name in English | Number of staff | Ministry responsible | Is there any political interference possible by the responsible Minister with the decision-making in individual cases by the determining authority? |
| Asylum Service | Not available | Ministry on Migration and Asylum | No |
The Asylum Service is responsible for examining applications for international protection and competent to take decisions at first instance.
Staffing and capacity
Asylum Service: PD 104/2012, as modified by L 4375/2016, provides for Regional Asylum Offices (RAO) to be set up in Attica, Thessaloniki, Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece, Crete, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Rhodes. It is possible to establish more than one Regional Asylum Office per region by way of Ministerial Decision for the purpose of covering the needs of the Asylum Service.[1] Further changes were introduced via P.D. 106/2020 (art. 26-31).
At the end of April 2024, GAS has had a combined staff of 965 persons (permanent and interim staff, EUAA embedded staff).[2]
| Regional Asylum Office/Units/Facility | Registrations December 2023 (first time) |
| RAO Attica | 114 |
| RAO Piraeus | 6 |
| RAO Alimos | 16 |
| AAU Amygdaleza | 167 |
| RIC Malakasa | 426 |
| AAU for Asylum Applicants under custody | 15 |
| AAU Corinth | 21 |
| RAO Thessaloniki | 29 |
| Sintiki Serres | 53 |
| AAU Safe Countries of Origin | 37 |
| RIC Diavata | 534 |
| RAO Patra | 7 |
| AAU Ioannina | 4 |
| RIC Fylakio | 535 |
| RAO Thrace | 6 |
| AAU Xanthi | 10 |
| AAU Paranesti | 16 |
| CCAC Lesvos | 1,055 |
| CCAC Samos | 1,380 |
| CCAC Chios | 194 |
| CCAC Leros | 372 |
| CCAC Kos | 1,246 |
| RAO Crete | 17 |
Source: MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports – Overview: December 2023 – International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc2stzh7, table 8b.
EUAA: In April 2016, the law introduced the possibility for the Asylum Service to be assisted by European Asylum Support Office (EASO) personnel “exceptionally” and “in cases where third-country nationals or stateless persons arrive in large numbers”, within the framework of the Fast-Track Border Procedure.[3] In June 2016, a subsequent amendment to the national legislation explicitly provided the possibility for the asylum interview within that procedure to be conducted by an EASO caseworker.[4] The IPA has maintained this option, and has inserted the possibility for fast-track border procedure and admissibility interviews to be conducted by personnel of the Hellenic Police or the Armed Forces in particularly urgent circumstances.[5] Since May 2018, Greek-speaking EASO personnel could also assist the Asylum Service in the Regular Procedure.
Greece has received operational support by the EASO/EUAA since 2011. The 2022-2024 operational plan was amended in March 2023 to take into account the changes in the operational context, notably in light of “the continued low rate of arrivals in the country compared to the period prior to the pandemic, and the increased capacity of the Greek authorities to process asylum applications, which has led EUAA and national authorities to agree on a phased exit strategy from support in the field of asylum”.[6] Additionally, on 29 April 2024 EUAA and the Ministry for Migration and Asylum signed an updated Operational Plan, focusing efforts on supporting vulnerable applicants and unaccompanied children, and on prioritizing resources for processing new arrivals and registering applications.[7]
In 2023, the EUAA deployed 558 experts in Greece,[8] most of which were temporary agency workers (532). The majority of these experts were case management reception assistants (57), site management reception assistants (52), caseworkers (51), registration assistants (43), deployed personnel on registration, administrative and information provision (32), Information management assistants (28), field support officers (27) and a series of other programme and support staff (e.g., operations assistants for unaccompanied minors, information and communication technology assistants, Dublin experts, legal officers, etc.).[9]
As of 19 December 2023, there were a total of 486 EUAA experts present in Greece, 46 of which were caseworkers, 44 case management reception assistants, 42 site management reception assistants, 35 registrations assistants and 29 deployed personnel on registration, administrative and information provision.[10]
[1] Article 1(3) L 4375/2016.
[2] Info provided by the MoMA as part of right to reply.
[3] Article 60(4)(b) L 4375/2016.
[4] Article 60(4)(b) L 4375/2016, as amended by Article 80(13) L 4399/2016.
[5] Articles 77(1) and 90(3)(b) IPA.
[6] EUAA, Operational Plan 2022-2024 agreed by the European Union Agency for Asylum and Greece, 3 March 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3RAaBD9. To be noted that, in the second half of 2023, a substantial increase in migratory flows to Greece led to an increased operational support from EUAA, under “surge support”, towards the end of the year.
[7] Information received from the MoMA based on the comments provided to the 2023 AIDA country report.
[8] Out of the 558 experts deployed in Greece in 2023, two were deployed under two different types of contracts. In addition, EUAA personnel numbers do not include deployed interpreters by the EUAA in support of asylum and reception activities.
[9] Information provided by the EUAA, 26 February 2024. In the figures above, the same persons may have been included under different profiles, if a change in profile took place in the course of 2023.
[10] Information provided by the EUAA, 26 February 2024.