3.3. Access to the procedure from administrative detention Access to the asylum procedure for individuals detained for the purpose of removal remains problematic. The application of a detained person having expressed the wish to apply for asylum is registered with delay. The person remains detained between the expression of the intention to apply for asylum and the registration of the application, by virtue of a removal order. The person is deprived of any of the procedural guarantees provided to asylum applicants, despite the fact that according to Greek law, any individual who expresses the intention to lodge an application for international protection is an asylum applicant. Since the waiting period between expression of intention and registration is not counted in the duration of detention, asylum applicants may be detained for a total period exceeding the maximum detention time limit for asylum applicants. In practice, the lack of adequate information to persons in detention, the lack of free legal aid scheme and the lack of interpretation services in pre-removal detention centres and other police facilities, as recently found by the CPT, significantly hinder access to asylum for those in detention.346 The time period between the expression of intention to apply for asylum and the registration varies depending on the circumstances of each case, and in particular, the capacity of the competent authority, the availability of interpretation, and the number of people wishing to apply for asylum from detention. Τhe discontinuation of interpretation services in asylum procedures from mid-2024 onwards, as mentioned above, has inevitably led to an increase in the length of detention of administrative detainees who wished to apply for international protection. Despite the resuming of interpretation services during 2025, delays continued. C. Procedures 1. Regular procedure 1.1. General (scope, time limits) Indicators: Regular Procedure: General 1. Time limit set in law for the determining authority to make a decision on the asylum application at first instance: 6 months 2. Are detailed reasons for the rejection at first instance of an asylum application shared with the applicant in writing? Yes No 3. Backlog of pending cases at first instance as of 31 December 2025: 28,317347 4. Average length of the first instance procedure in 2025: Data on the average length of the first instance procedure is not published. According to data published by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (MoMA),348 a total of 55,381 (first time) applications for asylum were lodged before the Asylum Service in 2025, a decrease of 19.74% compared to the 69,000 (first time) applications lodged in 2024.349 346 347 348 349 CPT, Report to the Greek Government on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 20 November to 1 December 2023, 12 July 2024, CPT/Inf (2024) 21, available here, paras. 33-37. MoMA, Statistics: Consolidated Reports – Overview, December 2025 - International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://migration.gov.gr/statistika/, Table 10a. MoMA, Statistics: Consolidated Reports – Overview, December 2025 - International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://migration.gov.gr/statistika/, Table 7c. MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports - Overview: December 2024 - International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://migration.gov.gr/statistika/, table 7c. 79