The study “Home for Good? Obstacles and opportunities for refugees and asylum seekers in Greece”, commissioned by UNHCR, was published by IPL (Immigration policy Lab), ETH Zurich and University College London (UCL) in February 2024. 

The study examines a number of challenges and opportunities encountered by refugees and asylum seekers in Greece with regard to integration. The survey population sample (3 755 adults) was drawn from a dataset of individuals eligible for cash assistance from UNHCR who arrived in Greece between 2017 and 2021.

A varied picture of the situation of refugees and asylum seekers in Greece is provided by the study, with emphasis on the need for targeted interventions to address integration challenges, psychological distress, and vulnerabilities to exploitation and violence.  Among others, the study includes the following sections:

• a demographic breakdown of the sample population by gender, nationality, religious identity, education level and household structure;
• data on psychological distress and its connection with other factors such as legal status, nationality, gender, accommodation type and family type;
• findings on the onward movement intentions of refugees and asylum seekers in Greece;
• experiences of exploitation and violence among this group since they arrived in Greece;
• examination of the multiple dimensions of integration for individuals in this group, including their economic integration, experiences in the labour market, attachment to their host country, social integration and linguistic integration;
• a brief comparative analysis of the situation of refugees from Ukraine and refugees from other countries in Greece.

The survey was conducted between April and July 2022. The vast majority of those surveyed (96%) have been in Greece for more than two years, and the most common countries of origin among them are Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 38% of respondents are women, 58% are asylum seekers and 42% are beneficiaries of international protection (BIPs) or beneficiaries of subsidiary protection (BSPs).

It was found that individuals can spend up to 2 years in Greece before they are officially recognised as refugees, and that 20% of those surveyed remained in a camp for displaced people even once they had been granted international protection. The majority of asylum seekers surveyed said they intend to move out of Greece in the next 12 months.