Support the Right to Asylum for Refugees in Greece

Project Report | Oct 20, 2026
Defending Asylum Rights as Funding Falls

By Mariana Fragkou | Coordinator: Programmes, Comms & Fundraising

Standing together for protection and hope.

For people seeking protection in Greece, access to legal assistance can determine whether they are able to explain their need for safety, challenge a rejection or defend their rights while in detention. As we approach the end of 2026, the demand for this support remains substantial—and its continuity is increasingly uncertain.

Between January and September 2026, the Greek Council for Refugees received approximately 4,640 requests for assistance concerning at least 5,219 people. These requests involved access to asylum, support in detention, family reunification and assistance for recognised refugees facing the possible withdrawal of their protection status.

Behind each request is someone trying to navigate a procedure that can profoundly affect their life. Registration barriers and lengthy delays leave people waiting in uncertainty. Others need urgent help to challenge decisions or respond to proceedings that could put their right to remain in Greece at risk.

At the time of this update, GCR’s legal teams are handling 223 active cases involving at least 419 refugees and asylum seekers, with 55 cases also pending before courts. This work requires sustained attention: meeting clients, gathering evidence, preparing legal submissions and following proceedings through successive stages.

Professional interpretation makes this assistance possible. GCR’s five interpreters each bring more than ten years of experience with the organisation. They help people explain sensitive experiences, understand legal advice and participate meaningfully in their own cases. They also receive requests through our reception services and helpline, often providing the first point of contact for someone seeking help.

Our work also continues at Greece’s borders. In September, with UNHCR support, GCR resumed a dedicated legal activity responding to reports of people at risk of pushbacks, following an interruption caused by funding cuts. This involves urgent interventions with the authorities to seek access to protection and prevent unlawful removal. Meanwhile, 26 cases concerning alleged pushbacks remain pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

In our previous report, we shared landmark judgments concerning refugee families separated for years. The need for assistance continues beyond those judgments. GCR is still supporting at least 30 active family reunification cases, while 193 further requests, involving 772 refugees and family members, illustrate the scale of unmet demand.

The challenge now is maintaining this work in 2027. Without renewed funding, ongoing cases risk losing essential legal support, and our ability to respond to new requests would be severely reduced. Interpretation is particularly at risk: current secured funding covers just one interpreter position, and only until the end of April 2027.

We are asking for your help to sustain free legal assistance for people who cannot afford representation. A donation can contribute to the legal work and interpretation needed to help someone understand their options, present their case and challenge a decision affecting their safety.

Please consider supporting this appeal or sharing it with others. Your support can help keep access to justice within reach for refugees and asylum seekers in Greece.

Permalink

Jun 26, 2026
Twelve Years Apart: Justice for Refugee Families

By Mariana Fragkou | Coordinator: Programs, Comms & Fundraising

Rohingya refugee family finally reunited in Athens

For many refugees, receiving asylum is not the end of their journey. It is only the beginning of another painful wait—to be reunited with the people they love.

This month, the European Court of Human Rights delivered three landmark judgments in cases supported by the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), recognizing for the first time that Greece violated the right to family life by failing to process refugee family reunification applications effectively.

The three cases concerned refugees from Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Burundi who had all been granted refugee status in Greece. Yet for years they remained separated from their wives and young children because they were unable to provide official documents that were impossible to obtain due to war, statelessness, or the circumstances of their displacement. Rather than considering these realities or seeking alternative solutions, the authorities left their applications pending for years.

For one father, this meant waiting more than twelve years without knowing whether he would ever embrace his family again.

After years of legal work by GCR, the European Court confirmed that the authorities had failed to ensure an effective and flexible family reunification procedure and had violated the refugees' fundamental rights.

When he learned of the judgment, one of the applicants shared:

"While we were waiting, I often felt like I couldn't breathe. With this decision, I finally felt that I had found my voice."

Another said:

"For the first time in many years, I feel hopeful. I hope that one day I will see my family again."

These judgments are about much more than three individual families. They establish important legal safeguards for many other recognized refugees in Greece who face similar obstacles in reuniting with their loved ones. They also send a clear message that protection does not end with the recognition of refugee status—it includes the right to rebuild family life with dignity.

Cases like these do not happen overnight. They require years of dedicated legal work: gathering evidence, navigating complex administrative procedures, representing clients before national authorities, and ultimately bringing cases before international courts when all other avenues have failed.

At the same time, funding for refugee legal aid has continued to decline. While institutional support has been reduced, the need has not. Families continue to wait. Children remain separated from their parents. People seeking safety still face complex legal procedures without access to a lawyer.

This is why your support matters.

Every donation helps ensure that refugees are not denied justice simply because they cannot afford legal representation. It enables GCR's lawyers to continue standing beside families through long legal battles—until justice is finally achieved.

Thank you for helping turn years of uncertainty into hope.

Links:

UNHCR article on the case

Permalink

Mar 10, 2026
GCR's essential legal support

By Marianna Fragkou | Programs, Comms & Fundraising Coordinator

Family Reunification after 12 years of separation

Over the past months, the legal team of the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) has continued to provide essential legal support to asylum seekers and refugees navigating complex procedures in Greece. Through legal counseling, representation before asylum authorities and courts, and interventions to protect individuals from unlawful detention or deportation, GCR works to ensure that people seeking protection are able to access their fundamental right to asylum. In 2025 alone, hundreds of asylum seekers and refugees received legal assistance through GCR’s programs in Athens, Thessaloniki, and border regions, covering all stages of the asylum process and related procedures.

In recent months, particular attention has been required in cases involving the criminalisation of refugees accused of smuggling, especially in Crete. Many asylum seekers are prosecuted simply because they were forced to steer the boat during their journey to safety. GCR lawyers continue to provide legal defense and strategic support in such cases, highlighting the risks of wrongful convictions and the broader implications for access to protection and justice. At the same time, the organization remains closely engaged in monitoring developments at the borders, including incidents that require urgent legal intervention to safeguard access to asylum procedures, such as the recent incident in the Greek island of Chios.

Beyond individual cases, GCR’s work contributes to protecting the integrity of the asylum system and upholding fundamental rights. Legal representation, documentation of violations, and interventions before national and international bodies remain crucial tools to ensure that vulnerable people, including survivors of torture, families with children, and unaccompanied minors, are not left without protection.

As asylum procedures grow increasingly complex, continued legal support remains essential to ensure that the right to seek asylum is not only guaranteed in law but accessible in practice. With your support, GCR can continue to ensure that people seeking safety are not denied justice simply because they lack legal representation.

Links:

Permalink

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.