On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Greece LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Greece country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Greece COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by Greece.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which Greece is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
Since 1968 Greece has been both a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to its 1967 Protocol. Greece, however, has not yet accepted the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. As a country in the European Union (EU), Greece is also part of the Common European Asylum System (CAES) which includes a legal framework that applies common standards for the treatment of all asylum seekers and applications across all EU-member states.
In accordance with the CEAS, the country through which you are entering the EU is responsible for the assessment of your asylum application and protection. The EU-led approach to asylum law in Greece is reflected in the recent International Protection Act (IPA), which entered into force on 1 January 2020. The IPA gives priority registration and examination to applicants who arrived in Greece in or after 2020. Under national and international protections, asylum seekers can legally live in Greece until the asylum service has made a final decision on their case.
Legal aid organisations
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Address 1: Oikopolis Social Center, Ptolemaion 29a, 5th Floor, Thessaloniki 546 30, Greece
Address 2: Imagine Center, Rodokoanaki 29, Chios 821 00, Greece
Email: cases@advocatesabroad.org
Advocates Abroad is a non-profit organization of field-based and remote volunteer attorneys, interpreters, and asylum experts who provide essential and free legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers. Remote legal aid and psychosocial services teams provide legal aid hotlines in several languages and 24/7 online assistance. The Remote Advocate attorneys are qualified and based globally across the world including the United States, Europe, Syria, Türkiye, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine.
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Address 1: Emmonouil Mpenaki 69A, Athina 10681, Greece
Address 2: Mitropolitou Polikarpou 1, Chios 82100, Greece
Address 3: Pyli, Kos 85300, Greece
Tel: +30 210 3803067
Email: athens@equal-rights.org
Equal Rights Beyond Borders delivers free legal support for asylum seekers and refugees. With offices in Athens and Chios and Kos, they are comprised of a team of international human rights lawyers who focus on casework and litigation in front of Greek, German, and European courts. Litigation often includes the fight against undignified living conditions in island camps, unlawful detention, and illegal deportations with a special focus on family reunification cases.
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Address: Ermou 311 Mytilini, Lesvos 81100, Greece
Email: info@fenixaid.org
Fenix Humanitarian Legal Aid (Fenix) works directly in the Mavrovouni Camp and other accommodations to provide legal representation, information, protection and case management, family reunification assistance and impact litigation cases. Fenix’s clients are often among the most vulnerable on the island, emphasizing the support of individuals with severe physical and mental health conditions, unrecognized unaccompanied minors, survivors of domestic violence, FGM, or other sexual and gender-based violence, and survivors of torture or other forms of violence. If you are in need of legal representation or assistance, please fill out a self-referral form, available here.
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Address: Knidou 10, Athina 104 40, Greece
Tel: +306 951 850 560Tel
Tel (Farsi): +306 996 289 041
Tel (Arabic): +306 996 289 081
Email: info@goodwillcaravan
Goodwill Caravan is a non-profit Humanitarian Charity that covers refugee protection projects such as emergency aid distributions, shelter for the most vulnerable, and legal and medical support for refugees in Greece and the UK. Goodwill Caravan offers humanitarian legal aid in the form of detention release cases, family reunification, asylum case support, and accompaniment bus service to legal services.
Address 1: Solomou 25, Athina 106 82, Greece
Tel: +30 210 3800990-1
Fax: +30 210 3803774
Address 2: Danaidon 9, Thessaloniki 546 26, Greece
Tel: +30 231 0260045 or +30 2311 821677
Fax: +30 2314011225
Email: gcr1@gcr.gr
Contact person: Spyros-Vlad Oikonomou (s.oikonomou@gcr.gr)
The GRC is a local NGO that has been active in the field of asylum and human rights isn 1989. It offers free legal and social advice and services to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in need of international protection with a particular focus on unaccompanied minors, victims of torture or other forms of violence, and other vulnerable groups. GCR’s lawyers support beneficiaries at all stages of the asylum procedure, both before Greek and International Courts.
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Address: 47C, P. Kountourioti Street, 2nd Floor, Mytilene Lesvos
Tel: +30 2251055488
Tel (Arabic): +30 6944134335
Tel (Farsi): +30 6944134160
Tel (French): +30 6942248387
Email: greece@hias.org
The primary goal of HIAS’s work in Greece is twofold: The provision of high quality legal support and the provision of pyschosocial support. HIAS has a particular focus on the most vulnerable, such as children and survivors of torture or gender-based violence. HIAS’s legal support is free and provides individual representation by staff attorneys, as well as strategic litigation and various wraparound services from non-legal service providers.
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Address: Vathy, 83100 Samos
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The Human Rights Legal Project (HRLP) is a legal aid organisation working in Greece to challenge systemic human rights violations against displaced people and to seek accountability for state criminality along the border of the EU.
Unlike most legal aid organisations working in migration in Greece, HRLP do not assist individuals in their asylum claims. They provide holistic legal support to empower the displaced community to access the justice system and realise their human rights. Their diverse casework includes unlawful detention, pushbacks, denial of access to healthcare, and public authority violence.
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Address: Sapfous 2, Mitilene, 81100 Lesvos, Greece
Office Tel: +30 2251040665
General Legal Support WhatsApp: +30 694 019 8997
Litigation Support Tel: +30 694 961 8650
Email: info@legalcentrelesvos.org
Since 2016, the Legal Centre Lesvos has provided free and individual legal information and assistance to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees who arrived by sea to Lesvos. The Legal Centre supports the right to peace, defends the right to asylum and the expansion of its definition, opposes the EU-Türkiye deal, and supports the pro-refugee movement in its assistance of human rights and a human-oriented approach.
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Address: Dim. Petrou 0 Samos, Sámos, Greece
Tel: +30 697 766 8614
WhatsApp: +306987594375
Email: samos@avocatssansfrontieres-france.org
Samos Legal Centre opened in January 2019 and has been providing independent legal support to the asylum seekers under geographical restriction on Samos since then. With a team of Greek, international, and community member volunteers, Samos Legal Centres works in collaboration with local actors and partners to ensure access to justice and that the right to seek asylum is protected everywhere.
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Address: The Impact Hub, 28 Karaiskaki, Athina 105 54, Greece
Tel: +306940662583
Email: coordinator@refugeelegalsupport.org
RLS is a team of asylum lawyers who provide legal advice and support to migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. In Greece, RLS works with beneficiaries to deliver asylum claim legal assistance, and family reunification efforts in the UK and EU. RLS additionally runs the Athens Legal Clinic which provides representation throughout the asylum process, emergency interview preparation, specialist support for people who have fled Afghanistan, and family reunification advice for those seeking to reunite with family members in the UK and EU. Finally, RLS runs the Legal Centre Lesvos that focuses on providing legal support via casework and representation, collaboration with other legal aid organizations, and acts as an expert link for people wishing to reunite with family in the UK and EU.
Please note that the above address does not offer assistance, so if you require legal assistance in Athens (for either Asylum Interview Preparation or family reunification) please contact RLS first on the above telephone or email.
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Address: Karaiskaki 28, Athina 105 54, Greece
Tel: 0030 210 3210146 or 0030 69 7 4188920
Email: greece.casework@safepassage.org.uk
Safe Passage Greece provides legal support to refugee children who wish to join a family member elsewhere in the EU or UK. They additionally provide social support to refugee children in Greece while they help children with reunification claims. Safe Passage Greece works in collaboration with Safe Passage France and UK in order to guide refugee children through the EU’s Dublin III family reunification mechanism and UK-specific immigration laws. To apply for help or contact Safe Passage Greece, you can fill out a form here.
Organisations providing other support to refugees
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Address 1: 52 Kapodistriou Street, Athina 10432, Greece
Tel: +30 210 52 47879
Fax: +30 210 52 47 990
Email: caritashellas@caritas.gr
Caritas Hellas (Caritas Greece) provides a range of programmes including social services, food and clothes distribution, education, counselling and psychological support. Caritas Hellas also has a prison-visiting programme that offers ethical support and facilitates links with families.
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Tel: +47 482 97 381
Email: post@drapenihavet.no
A Drop in the Ocean works with refugees and migrants in Lesvos, Samos, Northern Greece and Athens to provide community and capacity building, integration and informal training, and trainings in IT skills, data, interview preparation and CV writing. Drop in the Ocean is present in several camps including the Moria and Nea Kavala refugee camps, as well as previously in the Skaramagas refugee camp.
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Address: 2 Dimitriou Petrou, Samos 83100, Greece
Email: communications@samosvolunteers.org
Samos Volunteers has been working with the refugee population on Samos since 2016, providing psychosocial support, informal education, and clothes to those living in the nearby camps and shelters. Samos Volunteers also runs the Alpha Centre, which is based in Vathy town and has evolved into a community space for all to gather. Next to the Alpha Centre, Samos Volunteers runs a free shop that provides a dignified means to shop for new clothes and shoes.
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Address 1: 2 Dimitriou Petrou, Samos 83100, Greece
Tel: +33 679 342 652
Email: info@yogasportwithrefugees.org
Yoga and Sport with Refugees carries out projects in Athens, Lesvos and Ioannina, with gym and stadium spaces that include a range of free physical activities such as bodybuilding, Muay Thai, Kung fu, yoga, Parkour, football, and fitness classes exclusive to women. The majority of coaches come from refugee backgrounds, and the delivery of services is rooted in creating a safe space to foster one’s mental and physical health.
Greece LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Greece.
Greece COI
Find Greece Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated August 2024
