Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

International Law requires countries to offer those fleeing persecution the chance to apply for asylum, but does not specify how they must do it. We argue that the “pre-application” process to apply for asylum in Greece violates the spirit of international law by making it incredibly difficult, purposefully, to apply for asylum, which is consistent with practices by other first-world migration receiving countries. At the same time, these practices enable the Greek state to blame the problems in applying on an underfunded bureaucracy, creating bureaucratic deniability. Specifically, in 2016, Greece’s Asylum service began to require those wishing to apply for asylum to do so during extremely restricted hours via a basic Skype line. The average wait to simply begin the registration process to apply for asylum is 81 days, during which those potential asylees must live illegally in Greece, and are subject to deportation. We argue such delaying practices enact a silent, shadow policy of the EU to discourage asylum seekers. We detail how Greece’s policies and practices fall short of the standards in international law, and propose reforms to correct the situation.