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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-07-01
CONTENTS
[01] More than 15,500 asylum seekers pre-registered in mainland Greece
[01] More than 15,500 asylum seekers pre-registered in mainland Greece
More than 15,500 people residing in open temporary accommodation centers
in mainland Greece have been pre-registered since the program was
launched on June 8 by the Greek Asylum Service, with the support of UN's
Refugee Agency, the organization's spokesperson William Spindler said
on Friday in a press conference at the Palais des Nations, in Geneva.
Those who received asylum seeker cards, which are valid for one year,
will be able to reside legally in Greece and have the right to access
services, pending the full lodging of their asylum application.
This procedure will help to identify those eligible for family
reunification or relocation to another EU country, he said. It will
also identify persons with specific needs so that they may be referred
to the appropriate organizations and receive assistance and support.
Among the 15,500 people pre-registered to date, some 680 unaccompanied
and separated children have been identified and referred to EKKA, the
specialized government entity in charge of unaccompanied and separated
children, Spindler said.
The pre-registration exercise aims to address the need to access
international protection by an estimated 49,000 refugees and migrants
currently on mainland Greece. The process is open to those who entered
Greece between 1 January 2015 and 20 March 2016 and is supported
financially by the European Commission (DG Home) and implemented with the
help of UNHCR and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). In addition,
IOM provides information about their Assisted Voluntary Return program.
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