Migration Ministry

The Migration Ministry has opened an office offering travel documents to refugees to help them go to other European Union countries, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis said on Tuesday, following the departure of hundreds of migrants from state facilities, many of whom have been camping out in city squares.

The printed cards issued to asylum seekers in Greece will be replaced by electronic cards as of October 1, the Migration Ministry announced on Thursday.

A government bid to move thousands of refugees out of state facilities and subsidized accommodation to make room for new asylum seekers is stalling as only very few people have departed, Kathimerini understands.

The process of moving thousands of migrants out of state facilities and subsidized accommodation across the country is to begin on Monday though authorities have not determined which facilities will be affected first nor how long the process will take. 

The Migration Ministry said Friday that it had "no knowledge" of a report by an international organization castigating its policy on and handling of migration, responding to a news story published in Kathimerini, though it failed to respond to the issues raised in the document.

Greece's Migration Ministry said on Friday it had "no knowledge" of a report by an international organization castigating its policy on and handling of migration, responding to a news story published in Kathimerini.

It said the same applied to the UΝ refugee agency (UNHCR), and the International Organisation for migration (IOM).

Mismanagement and a lack of planning has resulted in an inefficient response to the migration crisis in Greece, according to a confidential report by an international organization seen by Kathimerini.

About 11,000 recognised refugees are facing an uncertain future as they will gradually have to leave their current accommodation facilities starting in June, as part of the Migration Policy Ministry's plan to replace them with asylum seekers from the islands, in a bid to decongest the local camps.

US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt on Thursday conveyed a decision by the State Department to bolster humanitarian aid to Greece in a telephone conversation with Migration Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos.

Greece's Asylum Service will start receiving new asylum applications as of May 18, the Migration Ministry announced on Friday, after having stopped for two and a half months.

To maintain social distancing, half of the staff will work from home.