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Greece toughens penalties for rejected asylum seekers, speeds up returns
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 3, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 3, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Greece's new law imposes stricter penalties on rejected asylum seekers, expediting their return. The move follows a surge in migrant arrivals.
ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece's parliament passed a law on Wednesday toughening penalties for rejected asylum seekers and speeding up returns to their home countries, hardening the country's stance on migrants after a surge in arrivals at its southern borders this year.
The Mediterranean nation was on the frontline of a 2015-2016 migration crisis when more than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa crossed into Europe.
Migrant flows have since fallen. But an upswing in arrivals from Libya through the islands of Crete and Gavdos this year prompted the government to temporarily ban processing asylum applications of migrants coming from North Africa.
The law stipulates that undocumented migrants entering Europe's southernmost point from third countries deemed safe by the EU and not entitled to asylum must return home or be detained for at least 24 months and face fines of up to 10,000 euros.
The legislation marks a further toughening on migration under the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. His administration has built a fence at Greece's northern borders and boosted sea patrols to deter migrants from crossing since it came to power in 2019.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris told parliament on Tuesday that the rights of Greeks who want to protect their country outweighed the rights of someone whose asylum was rejected and was staying in Greece illegally.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the law risked penalizing migrants in need of international protection. It suggested the introduction of fast-track asylum procedures could allow for the prompt identification of refugees and non-refugees and their respective administrative treatment.
Greece said it returned hundreds of irregular migrants after it suspended asylum requests in July and planned more flights to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Egypt to return migrants this month.
Human rights groups have accused Athens of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders. This year, the European Union border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece.
(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas and Angeliki Koutantou, Editing by William Maclean)
Undocumented migrants are individuals who enter or reside in a country without the necessary legal permissions or documentation required by immigration laws.
A migration crisis occurs when there is a sudden increase in the number of people fleeing their home countries due to conflict, persecution, or economic hardship, leading to challenges in managing their arrival and integration.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for protecting and supporting refugees and displaced persons, ensuring their rights are upheld and providing assistance for their resettlement.
Penalties for rejected asylum seekers can include detention for up to 24 months and fines of up to 10,000 euros, as stipulated by certain migration laws.
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