REPORTS
Lack of access, and/or significant obstacles to access to the asylum procedure due to the use of Skype
Asylum is a fundamental right, and signatory states are obliged to grant asylum to those persons who meet the criteria of the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The right to asylum is enshrined in both European and national law. In accordance with Article 6, paragraph 2, European Directive 2013/32/EU, “Member States shall ensure that a person who has made an application for international protection has an effective opportunity to lodge it as soon as possible.” According to national law, specifically Article 65, paragraph 1 of law 4636/2019, if the full registration of the application for international protection is not possible, the authorities may proceed, no later than 3 working days from the submission of the application, to simply recording the minimum necessary elements of the application, completing the full registration not more than fifteen (15) working days later.
In Greece, in practice, access to the asylum procedure for people who are on the mainland and who have not been officially recognized as “vulnerable cases,” requires prior communication with the Asylum Service via Skype at specified days and times per week, depending on the mother tongue of the person concerned. Through the use of Skype, the Asylum Service conducts a simple registration and sets a date for the full registration of the application for international protection and the issuance of an Asylum Card, when the applicant is obliged to present themselves at their local Asylum Office. Access to the asylum procedure through Skype, which under certain conditions could be practical and significantly facilitate effective and timely access to asylum, has in practice met with negative results, often creating long delays in access to the procedure, or even leading to a complete lack of access in some cases. In the experience of professionals in the field and would-be asylum seekers, the effort to connect to the Asylum Service via Skype often takes even more than 1 year or 14 months. As a result, people remain in the country for extended periods of time without legal documents and without access to support and services that asylum seekers are legally entitled to (e.g. housing, financial assistance, medical care, access to work etc.).
Furthermore, as persons without legal documents, they are in constant danger of being placed in administrative detention or even returned to a country where their lives are in danger. The problems experienced in accessing asylum via Skype can also expose people to an increased risk of exploitation, as desperation leads them to look for dangerous ways to ensure their survival.
“Effective” and “timely” access to the asylum procedure is an indisputable obligation of the state under both European and national law. The enormous difficulties encountered, at least until the end of 2021, in accessing the asylum process via Skype, especially when no alternative methods of access were provided by the authorities, have often constituted a violation of the fundamental right to asylum itself. Unfortunately, the long-term impact on people’s physical and mental health has been devastating.
The use of Skype in the asylum process has created a significant gap in the state’s fundamental obligation to provide temporary legal protection to those wishing to apply for international protection as well as the reception conditions that each asylum seeker is entitled to, despite the urgent need for security and support. The creation of a hostile and indifferent asylum system that effectively forces people to live for long periods of time in dangerous and precarious conditions clearly reflects the Government’s tough deterrent strategy.
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