Lawyers hired by the government to advise asylum-seekers gratis on the process and their rights and obligations will receive a cash bonus if certain nationalities among the people they talk to give up and return to their home countries, under a ministerial decision made public Thursday.
According to government officials, the country has seen a surge in arrivals of people who are economic migrants rather than genuine asylum-seekers, as they come from countries such as Egypt and Bangladesh whose nationals are not usually granted protected status.
The joint decision by the ministries of migration, finance and justice sets out rules and regulations for free legal services to asylum-seekers, following Parliament’s approval of a new asylum law.
It allows for free legal guidance, following a request by migrants seeking protected status in Greece, once they have tabled their asylum application and before it is examined at a first degree. Applicants who already have a lawyer of their own will not have access to the free services.
Those who do will be briefed on the asylum process, their rights and obligations, deadlines and guarantees and means of appeal. But they will not be provided with specialised legal advice, helped to fill in their applications or prepared for their asylum interviews.
