Asylum seekers-refugees
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Presidential Decree 668/18.5.2005 foresees free health care for asylum seekers and refugees who are not insured and cannot cover the related expenses. Free medical treatment includes free treatment at public hospitals and free acess to medication from public hospitals. To ensure access to free health care, asylum seekers should possess the special asylum seekers card, and refugees should possess the special id card for political refugees. The same applies (according to P.D. 266/1999) for aliens whose stay in Greece has been permitted on humanitarian grounds and has not yet expired.
In Greece the Ministry of Public Order holds jurisdiction over reviewing and granting asylum, deciding and executing administrative deportations, and providing data on citizenships to the Ministry of Interior. Arriving in Greece, an asylum seeker should immediately submit an asylum request at any police office. A large number of people who enter in Greece illegaly are however arrested at the borders and are being held at administrative detention centers for a period of up to three months. There are two basic types of administrative detention centers in Greece:
-close type centers for "illegitimate" immigrants who are under administrative arrest -open type centers for asylum seekers (people who submit an asylum request while under arrest in close type detention centers usually cannot be transferred to open type detention centers, but, on the contrary, remain under arrest in close type detention centers).
Reports on the containment conditions in some of the detention centers describe very poor conditions of hygiene and inadequate access to health care services.
Report of the European Parliament Committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs - Delegation to Greece on their visit to Greece (in Samos island and Athens, Brussels, 2 July 2007 , MSF denounce humanitarian crisis in Mytilini's Migrants' Detention Center
During the enquiry period, the asylum seeker cannot be deported to his country of origin or any other country. Asylum seekers have access to free medical care and medication, the same as Greek citizens. Furthermore, they are allowed to work legally and children have the right to attend school.
If an asylum seeker is granted refugee status he/she receives a “refugee identity card” and a five years’ residence permit. With the refugee identity card, one can have free access to the public health care system. If an asylum request is rejected, which is the case for more than 99% of asylum requests in Greece, the asylum seeker has the right to submit an appeal (in most cases within 30 days from the date of a negative verdict). In submitting appeal, parting/deportation is being suspended. If the application is rejected twice, then the applicant is ordered to leave the country.
After the application’s rejection, Greek authorities may provide the person with one year’s residence permit on humanitarian grounds. However, this type of residence permit is granted rarely.
Some statistical data regarding asylum requests are presented below:
-Percentage of granted asylum requests (recognising refugee status) for 2004 – 0.3%
-Percentage of granted asylum requests (recognising refugee status)for 2006 – 0.6%
-Percentage of granting protection for 2006 (refugee status and other forms of protection) – 1.2%
-Estimated number of appeals in suspense from previous years: 11000
Source: Report of the European Parliament Committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs - Delegation to Greece on their visit to Greece (in Samos island and Athens, Brussels, 2 July 2007
Legal context for asulum seekers/refugees
Bibliography on asylum seekers and refugees
