Rights and Obligations

Rights of International Protection Applicants

As an international protection applicant in Greece, you have the following rights:

• You have the right to remain in Greece until the examination of your application is completed; your deportation is prohibited until the examination of your application is completed.
• You may move freely across the country, unless specific parts of the country where you are allowed to circulate are determined on the card that you were given, i.e. if geographical restrictions apply.
• You have the right to be informed in a language that you understand regarding the status of your application, the deadlines of the different stages of the examination of your application, your right for appeal (second instance) and the decisions on your applications.
• You have the right to an interpreter free of charge during your interview and at all stages of your application (first and second appeal).
• You have the right to voluntarily return to your home country.
• You have the right to communicate with the United Nations Refugee Agency or any other certified organization that offers legal, medical and psychological aid.
• You have the right to be accommodated with your family.
• Provided you do not work and your financial means can not cover your daily needs, you have the right to benefits. Further, you may request to be accommodated to Hosting Facilities or other accommodation facilities (private housing or hotels). Your request will be accepted if there are available positions.
• You have the right to work under the conditions set by the Greek law, after the lapse of six (6) months from the date of submission of the application for international protection, and provided you have an International Protection Applicant Card.
• As an employee, you have the same rights and obligations, regarding social security, as any Greek citizen.
• In order to have access to medical, pharmaceutical and hospital care, you may obtain a Temporary Insurance and Health Care Number for Aliens.
• Your children have access to public education, free of charge.
• If you are an adult you have the right to access secondary education.
• You have access to vocational training.
• If you are a disabled person with a disability percentage of 67% or more, you have the right to receive a disability allowance, provided that your stay in an Accommodation Center is not possible.

Obligations of applicants for international protection

As an international protection applicant in Greece, you have the following obligations:

• The international protection applicant’s card is a temporary permit that entails specific rights and obligations and is not equivalent to a permit of residence. You must always have your card with you.
• You may not travel outside Greece –with the exception of special circumstances, when serious humanitarian reasons arise dictating your presence in another country, such as provably serious health reasons. You will need to submit an application to the Asylum Service for a travel document to be issued. If you leave the country without informing the Asylum Service, the examination of your application will be discontinued.
• You must remain in Greece until the examination of your application is completed.
• You may not transfer your family from your country of origin to Greece.
• You must cooperate with the Greek Authorities regarding any issue relevant to your application and the verification of your identity information.
• You must appear before the Receiving Authorities in person and without delay, whenever called by the competent authorities.
• You must hand in your travel document and provide any other documents in your possession that are relevant to the examination of the application, as well as to the verification of your identity, your country and place of origin, and your marital status.
• You must immediately inform the Asylum Service regarding the address of your residence and your contact information, as well as as any change in them. You may also submit an online application in order to make changes in your contact information. The Asylum Service will send documents related to your application to the address you have declared.
• You must abide by the deadlines determined to you throughout the various stages of the procedure for the examination of your application.
• You must arrange for your card to be renewed in time before it expires, or on the working day following its expiry date at the latest.
• You must disclose your true financial situation in case you are provided with benefits by the State.
• If you live in a Reception and Identification Center (RIC) or any other form of residence for applicants of international protection you must abide with the rules and regulations of the facilities.
• Your material benefits (e.g., financial aid, accommodation, etc.) will be limited or revoked in cases such as the following:
  • if you leave the accommodation premises without informing the competent authorities
  • if you do not declare a a change in your personal information or do not respond to requests for information about your application, or do not appear for your personal interview within the specified date; 
  • when, without a justified reason, you have not immediately submitted an application for international protection;
  • if you conceal financial resources and have benefited unfairly from the material conditions of reception;
  • if you violated the accommodation centers’ rules of procedure.
• Violation of the required obligation of cooperation with the competent authorities, in particular, non-communication with the authorities and non-cooperation in order to establish the evidence necessary for the examination of the application, implies obstructing the unimpeded completion of the international protection application examination procedures and therefore leads to interruption of the examination of your application.