Author
According to Article 29 Asylum Code beneficiaries of international protection should enjoy the same rights as Greek citizens and receive the necessary social assistance, according to the terms applicable to Greek citizens. Furthermore, according to Article 31 Asylum Code, beneficiaries of international protection have access to accommodation under the conditions and limitations applicable to third-country nationals residing legally in the country.
However, administrative and bureaucratic barriers, gaps in state-led actions aimed at addressing the particular housing challenges faced by beneficiaries of international protection, non-effective implementation of the law, and the impact of the economic crisis, coupled with the severe limitations of (social) housing policies, prevent international protection holders from enjoying their rights.
The measure in Article 109(1) Asylum Code on the immediate termination of the material reception conditions of Article 1(h) Asylum Code to residents in the accommodation facilities of Article 8(4) of L. 4375/2016, under the Reception and Identification Service, who are recognised as beneficiaries of international protection, as well as the thirty (30) day period from the notification of the decision on their departure from these accommodation facilities, continues to entail an immediate and serious risk of exposing thousands of beneficiaries to conditions of material deprivation and destitution, without access to basic means of subsistence and without the necessary legal documents to start their integration, in violation of their fundamental rights.[1]
According to the European Commission, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and in particular Articles 1 and 4 on human dignity and inhuman and degrading treatment, applies equally to asylum seekers, rejected asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection temporarily residing in camps. The need to ensure basic means of subsistence, such as the provision of food, applies to all persons in need, in particular vulnerable persons such as the sick, pregnant women and women who recently gave birth. It is thus concluded that food must be guaranteed for all persons residing in camps, irrespective of their legal status.[2] Similarly, the Greek Ombudsperson has expressed its concerns on this matter twice in 2024.[3]
To date, legislative provisions for the amendment of Article 109 Asylum Code and the extension of the period for the reception of material conditions regarding beneficiaries of international protection have not taken place. Nor has a Joint Ministerial Decision been issued pursuant to Article 109(1) Asylum Code to determine the categories of beneficiaries of international protection for whom an extension of the provision of material reception conditions and the length of stay in the facilities is permitted.[4]
For beneficiaries of international protection, the HELIOS programme – which since 2019 has been the only nationwide integration programme – and its continuation HELIOS+, which is funded under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), includes a component on housing, aimed at supporting beneficiaries in accessing accommodation in apartments rented in their name. Under this component, the programme provides an initial, one-off instalment aimed at supporting beneficiaries’ transition into a new home, which ranges from 470€ for an individual and up to 1,500€ for a family of 6 or more, alongside a monthly contribution to rent costs (rental subsidy), that ranges from 230€ for an individual and up to 800€ for a family of 6 or more, which can be provided for up to a maximum of 12 months. If beneficiaries are willing to relocate outside of major urban centers, such as Athens, they are eligible for an additional 4 months of rental subsidy.[5]
BIPs wishing to enrol to the HELIOS + programme need to fulfil the following criteria:[6]
- They must have been officially issued a decision granting international protection status (refugee status or subsidiary protection status) by the Greek Asylum Service, or they must be beneficiaries of temporary protection in Greece based on the Executive Decision (EU) 2022/382 of the Council of the European Union, or they must have been relocated to Greece through family reunification procedures with a refugee, according to relevant legislation, or they must have been granted a residence permit of equal duration in Greece as family members of a beneficiary of international protection, according to relevant legislation.
- They must be proven to be unemployed at the time of registration.
- They must enroll within twenty-four (24) months from the date of notification of the decision granting international protection status, the decision granting a Residence Permit of equal duration or a Residence Permit due to family reunification, or from the date of initial issuance of a Temporary Protection Residence Permit.
As of 30 April 2026, a total of 2,576 beneficiaries had been enrolled to the Helios + programme, the majority of which from Ukraine (31.52%), Syria (13.7%), Palestine (10.36%), Afghanistan (10.29%), and Sudan (8.93%). This represents less than 10% of persons who received international protection in Greece in 2025 alone (27,181).[7] Of those enrolled to the programme, only 53% (1,374) benefitted from the programme’s housing component (rental subsidies).[8]
The “Coverage” (Κάλυψη) housing assistance program is a program that covers beneficiaries of international protection, but it was not established to cover exclusively these beneficiaries. It is addressed to all persons legally residing in Greece. In particular:
‘[t]he beneficiaries of the program are people aged twenty-five (25) to thirty-nine (39), who are included in the beneficiary units of article 2 of the under data D13/ok.53923 /23.7.2021 joint decision of the Ministers of Finance, Education and Religion, Labor and Social Affairs, Interior, Digital Governance and State (B’ 3359). The program covers the cost of renting the residence for three (3) years. The expense may not exceed the rental amount with which the residence was allocated within the framework of the “ESTIA II” and “ESTIA 2021” programs, adjusted according to the change in the average annual general consumer price index of the Hellenic Statistical Authority for the year 2022. The program also covers costs for repairs of damages found in the properties during the lease and at the end of the lease. The cost of financing the Program is covered by the budget of the Public Employment Service.’[9]
In any case, if the beneficiaries of international protection wish to rent a house, it is stressed that “housing prices in Greece have risen sharply in recent years, partly due to purchases by foreign investors. This has significantly increased the tightness of the housing market, especially in urban areas. […] A large proportion of beneficiaries of international protection are therefore experiencing substantial difficulty in finding permanent shelter.”[10]
There is limited accommodation for homeless people in Greece and no shelters are dedicated to recognised refugees or beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. There is no provision for financial support for living costs. In Athens, for example, there are only seven public shelters for homeless people, including Greek citizens and third-country nationals lawfully on the territory. At these shelters, beneficiaries of international protection can apply for accommodation, but it is extremely difficult to be admitted given that these shelters are always overcrowded, have a long waiting list since they are constantly receiving new applications for housing and most of the time, the language barrier arises, excluding them from their admission. For example, Multi-Purpose Centre of the Centre for Reception and Solidarity of Athens Municipality (KYADA) only accepts Greek or English speakers due to a lack of interpretation services and does not admit families[11] or single women.
Furthermore, it has to be noted that, in order to be admitted to these shelters, they must first undergo medical examinations to ensure that they are free of communicable diseases. An active AMKA is required for these examinations. From 1 April 2024, recognised refugees will have to be employed in order for their AMKA to be activated.
In GCR’s experience, those in need of shelter who lack the financial resources to rent a house remain homeless or reside in abandoned houses or overcrowded apartments, which are on many occasions sublet. This was confirmed by the study of Immigration Policy Lab, ETH Zurich, and UCL, commissioned by UNHCR and published in December 2023, according to which 44% of refugees were then homeless.[12]
Return of beneficiaries of international protection to Greece
According to Article 6 of the European Returns Directive (2008/115/EC), third country nationals who have been granted international protection status in Greece can be returned back to Greece when the authorities of another EU country become aware that this person, who is applying again for asylum in their territory, already holds a residence permit in Greece.
As noted by RSA in March 2025, “[r]eturns of recognised refugees to Greece have intensified over the recent period, as European Union (EU) countries increasingly enforce return policies targeting beneficiaries of international protection. Notable examples include Germany’s push for the implementation of return schemes through pilot programmes and broader EU policy shifts”.[13] In 2023, 158 beneficiaries were readmitted from Germany to Greece,[14] while during 2025, the relevant number of readmissions from Germany stood at 413,[15] more than doubling in a period of 3 years.
Overall, during 2025, a total of 3,710 readmission requests, corresponding to a total of 5,437 beneficiaries of international protection (BIPs), were sent to the Hellenic Police, primarily by authorities in Switzerland and Germany, the majority of which were accepted. A total of 725 BIPs were returned to Greece during the same period,[16] despite ongoing and increasing barriers with regards to BIPs access to social rights, including healthcare and social welfare, which have triggered interventions by the ECtHR[17] and the European Commission, with the latter deciding to refer Greece to the CJEU (INFR(2022)2044) in November 2025 on account of discriminatory treatment vis-à-vis access to social welfare.
This contrasts with European states’ efforts to return BIPs to Greece on grounds that they can enjoy the rights attached to their status, which notwithstanding discriminatory barriers to accessing social rights, also overlooks the following challenges and gaps: (a) no information is provided to recognised refugees upon their return to Greece, and (b) no state-run integration support is available to them.[18]
Upon arrival at Athens International Airport, returnees – beneficiaries of international protection – are provided only with a police note (υπηρεσιακό σημειωμα) written in Greek, directing them to the Asylum Service. They have no information on how to renew or re-issue their residence permits (ADETs) and their travel documents. As explained above, they do not have access to any social right in practice (social welfare, employment, health care, housing[19]), since, in the majority of cases, they do not hold valid identification documents.[20]
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands:
‘[f]inding shelter through HELIOS is more problematic for returning beneficiaries of international protection than it is for beneficiaries of international protection who enter HELIOS from the asylum reception system. This is because application to the HELIOS programme must be made from the asylum shelter location within twelve months after the first right of residence is granted. As a result, most returning beneficiaries of international protection no longer meet the entry requirements for HELIOS.’[21]
Although the requirement to reside in facilities of the Greek reception system upon notification of the status recognition decision, as a condition to be eligible to enrol to the programme seems to have been removed under Helios+, the requirement to apply for accessing the programme within a maximum of 2 years from the notification of said decision,[22] can still act as a significant barrier for returnees, who can frequently find themselves outside Greece for longer periods of time.
Overall, addressing onwards movement of refugees within the EU and ensuring that, when legally required, returns of BIPs to Greece are in compliance with fundamental rights, necessitates ensuring an environment that promotes, rather than hinders, access to legally enshrined rights in a non-discriminatory manner. It is indicative that refugees with a social security number (AMKA), a tax ID number (AFM) and those who have been able to open a bank account are more likely to want to stay in Greece compared to those who do not have access to these services, as found in a 2023 UNHCR-commissioned study.[23]
[1] Intervention by 20 civil society organizations of the national Legal Working Group to the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and the Minister of Citizen Protection, Beneficiaries of International Protection, prot. no. β/139/24.10.2024.
[2] European Commission, Letter to civil society organisations, Ares(2024)613054, 26 January 2024.
[3] Greek Ombudsperson, prot. no. 353881/30527, 19 June 2024 and prot. no. 356939/44132, 09 September 2024.
[4] Intervention by 20 civil society organizations of the national Legal Working Group to the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and the Minister of Citizen Protection, Beneficiaries of International Protection, prot. no. β/139/24.10.2024.
[5] IOM, Helios+ Project Regulation Handbook, October 2025, available at: https://greece.iom.int/helios, p.10.
[6] Ibid. pp.2-3.
[7] MoMA, Statistics: Consolidated Reports – Overview, December 2025 – International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://tinyurl.com/26ynfarp Tables 11a and 11b.
[8] IOM, Helios+ Factsheet, April 2026, available at: https://greece.iom.int/helios, pp.1, 3.
[9] Public Employment Service, “Cover” Program, available here.
[10] Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Report on the fact-finding mission concerning beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, 3 September 2024, p. 29.
[11] RSA and Stiftung Pro Asyl, Beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, Access to documents and socio-economic rights, March 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3Vy9DYJ, p. 25.
[12] ETH Zürich, ipl – immigration policy lab, UCL et al. (Author), published by ReliefWeb: Home for Good? Obstacles and Opportunities for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Greece, December 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3UCwSl7.
[13] RSA, No support for refugees returned to Greece, 20 March 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/mhdzpdfz.
[14] RSA and Stiftung Pro Asyl, Beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, Access to documents and socio-economic rights, March 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3Vy9DYJ, p.4., footnote 4.
[15] See RSA, Recognised refugee statistics in Greece in 2025, March 2026, available at: https://tinyurl.com/435psr2v, pp.1-2.
[16] Ibid
[17] See RSA, No support for refugees returned to Greece, 20 March 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/mhdzpdfz.
[18] RSA, No support for refugees returned to Greece, 20 March 2025, available here.
[19] Since, in practice, they are unable to even rent a house legally without valid residence permits and travel documents. See also, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Report on the fact-finding mission concerning beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, 3 September 2024, p. 62, received by GCR on 13.01.2025 by the Dutch Embassy in Greece.
[20] RSA and Stiftung Pro Asyl, Beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, Access to documents and socio-economic rights, March 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3Vy9DYJ, p. 4 & 11.
[21] Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Report on the fact-finding mission concerning beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, 3 September 2024, p. 62, received by GCR on 13.01.2025 by the Dutch Embassy in Greece
[22] IOM, Helios+ Project Regulation Handbook, October 2025, available at: https://greece.iom.int/helios, p.3.
[23] ETH Zürich, ipl – immigration policy lab, UCL et al. (Author), published by ReliefWeb: Home for Good? Obstacles and Opportunities for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Greece, December 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3UCwSl7, p.20.