registration at the RIC and Malakasa and Diavata is reached, the platform ‘shuts down’ and does not offer appointments to new requests. An automated message appears on the user’s screen, stating: “No available dates were found for the location you selected” and indicating only the request number, not the person’s details. The operation of the platform is only reinstated after competent services manually introduce new dates for available appointments.23 Case study: Shabnam*, a refugee from Afghanistan, entered Greece in early November 2022 together with her minor daughter. The family arrived in Athens and had no stable shelter. Shabnam’s efforts to request an appointment via the online platform in late November 2022 were unsuccessful, as the platform had no available appointments at the time. Following telephone contact between her lawyers and the RIC of Malakasa, she was advised to await an automated message with an appointment date once the platform would be ‘back on’. Shabnam’s lawyers eventually secured an appointment directly with the RIC, as described below. On the other hand, the online platform books appointments for several months later, reaching even up to twelve months. The following table provides an indicative list of waiting times in for initial registration appointments at the RIC of Malakasa in cases supported by RSA in the Attica region: Waiting times for initial registration appointments: RIC of Malakasa Registration language Appointment request Appointment Ehsan* Dari Aug 2022 Aug 2023 Zarifa* Dari Oct 2022 May 2023 Ayse* Turkish Oct 2022 Jan 2023 Dari Dec 2022 Jan 2023 Nizar* Arabic Jan 2023 Mar 2023 Sana* Dari Jan 2023 Mar 2023 Raheel* According to the Greek authorities, the majority of applicants who book appointments via the online platform do not show up at the RIC on their indicated appointment date. Due to this, the RIS reschedules set appointments for closer dates at regular intervals. This is done through an automated message sent to the email address used by the applicants when making the appointment request. The Ombudsman has raised with the authorities the issue of undue delays in the lodging of asylum claims in mainland RIC, recalling that asylum applications must at least be “registered” within three working days where “lodging” is not feasible. Related complaints are pending before the European Commission.24 23 24 Similar arrangements are in place for the platform for registration of subsequent asylum applications, where appointments are booked with the territorially competent RAO or AAU of the Asylum Service. Inter alia, CHAP(2022)02264, 12 August 2022. 6 RSA REPORT │ 2023