Migration and Asylum Ministry

New applications for five-year residence permits through the Golden Visa program continue unabated, as 1,299 new applications were submitted in the first two months of this year, compared to 1,248 applications submitted in the corresponding two months last year.

The Personal Data Protection Authority has imposed a 175,000-euro fine on the Migration and Asylum Ministry for the development and installation of the Hyperion and Centaur biometric control and surveillance systems at the reception centers for asylum seekers on islands of the Aegean.

The Migration and Asylum Ministry is working on a draft law to modernize the administrative mechanism granting resident permits to legal migrants.

The Greek Migration and Asylum Minister Dimitris Kairides has decided on a six-month extension for the validity of the temporary protection regime for those displaced from Ukraine, starting Monday.

The decision by the Migration and Asylum Ministry to proceed with the gradual closure of the Lavrio refugee camp due to objective criteria, namely the unsuitability of the site to continue hosting refugees, will also satisfy Turkey, which has constantly demanded its shutdown as it considers it a "training camp" for Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.

The Migration and Asylum Ministry and the EU are co-financing the recruitment of 150 new border guards with funds from the Integrated Border Management Fund - Border Management and Visa Instrument (2021-27).

The new guards will bolster the operational capabilities of the police directorates of Rodopi and Kavala in northern Greece.

Greece on June 7 announced that applications for asylum filed by individuals in Turkey will no longer be accepted. 

"Turkey is designated a safe country for asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia," said a joint decision by the Greek Foreign Ministry as well as the Migration and Asylum Ministry.

Only 18 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will reserve the right to enter reception and identification centers (RICs) as well as accommodation facilities for migrants and refugees in Greece, the Migration and Asylum Ministry said on Wednesday.

The number of coronavirus cases worldwide reached 938,373 on April 2, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.

The virus, also known as COVID-19, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to 180 countries and regions around the globe, with over 47,273 deaths worldwide.     

More than two dozen shelters hosting asylum seekers on the Greek mainland will come under the administrative control of the Migration and Asylum Ministry as part of the effort to improve the operation of these facilities, many of which are currently operating under the authority of international organizations or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).