Out of the spotlight: The rights of foreigners and minorities are still a grey area their presentation and to consult a lawyer. The interview is conducted by one or two civil officers and a report is prepared, which is read, via the interpreter, back to the applicant at the end of the interview and signed by them. The opinions of the officer(s) are then added, the applicant and their families fingerprinted and photographed.10 Upon completion of this process the individual is issued with a document certifying that they have lodged an asylum application and that this is being examined. This document is commonly known as the “RED (or PINK) CARD”. Its holder has a right to reside in the country for a period of six months and to have the card renewed, at six-monthly intervals, until a decision about their application has been made. Holders of the “red card” can then apply for a work permit, which is granted if they are “not residing in the Temporary Residence Centre 11 for foreign asylum10 As an EU member, Greece is bound by the Convention determining the State responsible for examining applications for asylum lodged in one of the Member States of the European Communities (the Dublin Convention). This inter-governmental convention has now been replaced by the Council Regulation (EC) n° 343/2003 of 18 February 2003, the so-called “Dublin II Regulation”. In order to aid the application of this Convention, member states use the “Eurodac” and the DubliNET systems. Eurodac is a common database where fingerprints of all asylum applicants and apprehended undocumented migrants are contained. DubliNET is an electronic network of transmission channels between the national authorities dealing with asylum applications. The network became operational on 1 September 2003 in the EU Member States and in Norway and Iceland. It allows the national authorities responsible for examining asylum applications to exchange data on asylum applicants in order to determine the responsible Member State. 11 A report published in 2004 by UNHCR listed 12 such centres, also known as “Reception Centres” in the country, 10 of which were still in operation at the time of publication ( ! ," ! # ! $ Amnesty International 5 October 2005 [Reception 8 seekers” and on the basis that “job market research has established that there is no interest in the specific position by a national, an EU citizen, a recognised refugee, or a repatriate”. 12 The same work permit is available to applicants who have not been recognized as refugees under the Refugee Convention but have been granted asylum for humanitarian reasons (PD 189/1998, Article 4.1). Throughout the period of examination of the application, the applicant is not allowed to change residence without informing the authorities – in such cases the examination of their application is “interrupted” and the applicant appropriately informed. A request for the “interruption” decision to be revoked can be lodged within a period of three months. In the absence of such a request, at the end of this period, “interrupted” applications are automatically rejected. Following the issuing of the “red card” (i.e. the identification of the applicant as an “asylumseeker”), the application file is passed on to the regional Police or Aliens Authority, who provide comments on the interviewer’s recommendations and ascertain the suitability of Greece to examine the claim according to the Dublin II Regulation (i.e. that the applicant has not travelled to another EU destination prior to entering Greece). A decision on the application is made by the General Secretary of the Ministry of Public Order and on the basis of recommendations of the Ministry’s National Security Directorate. Other authorities and organizations, including UNHCR, may be invited to provide information on the case. In cases of positive decisions, the individual is issued with a refugee identification document, commonly known as “the YELLOW CARD”, on the basis Practices for Asylum-Seekers in Greece with special emphasis on Single Mothers, Unaccompanied Women, and Children separated from their Families], Tsovili and Voutira, 2004) 12 Article 4.1 of Law 1975/1991 regulating foreigners’ rights. AI Index: EUR 25/016/2005