Asylum Service

Insecurity, poor infrastructure and isolation are taking a toll on the will to learn of youngsters at refugee camps, according to educators. 

The number of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece dropped 80 percent in 2020, according to an annual report by the Migration Ministry published on Tuesday.

Presenting it in Parliament, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis said the 25-page report presents data collected by all the agencies involved in handling migration, including refugee reception centers and the asylum service.

As hundreds of refugees and migrants lined up to renew their temporary residence permits outside Greece's main Asylum Service a few kilometers north of central Athens for a third day on Friday, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis announced measures to facilitate the process and ease crowding amid fears of a coronavirus spread.

The printed cards issued to asylum seekers in Greece will be replaced by electronic cards as of October 1, the Migration Ministry announced on Thursday.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson on Thursday said that she expects a revised framework for migration and asylum replacing the controversial Dublin Regulation will be ready after Easter.

Five key ministries on Monday signed a joint decision to grant a provisional social security number to all migrants who have applied for asylum in Greece, providing medical coverage and a right to work while they wait for a decision.

Greece's Migration Ministry announced Thursday it is introducing an afternoon shift for employees in the asylum service in an effort to tackle the mountain of pending applications.

According to the ministry's press release, the morning shift will be from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. and the afternoon shift from 2 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Zahra is a 10-year-old girl from Syria who arrived in Greece alone. She suffers from chronic nephropathy. Although she is currently living in a shelter for unaccompanied minors, her official registration by the Asylum Service is still pending.

The majority of migrants and refugees who have landed on the Aegean islands since the March 2016 deal signed between the European Union and Ankara will remain in Greece as conditions for their return to Turkey are considered "not safe," according to data from the country's Asylum Service.

An increasing number of Turkish nationals have been finding their way to Greece since the failed coup attempt in the neighboring country and the mass purges that followed.