Beyond the RIC on the mainland, CTRC such as Corinth and Ritsona also issue International Protection Applicant Cards. Camps such as RIC Malakasa or CTRC Thiva also offer spaces (containers) for remote interviews with the Asylum Service. Additional processes foreseen in Greek law such as the lodging of the asylum appeal before the CTRC Manager where the asylum seeker resides in a camp located in a different place from the Regional Asylum Office (RAO) or Autonomous Asylum Unit (AAU) which examined their case71 have not been implemented to date. Camp residents are still required to appear before the territorially competent RAO or AAU in order to lodge their asylum appeal. 72 They therefore face the repercussions of the absence of transport services to urban centres. For instance, the responsible office for cases of Afghan nationals residing in Southern Greece Camps e.g. CTRC Ritsona, Thiva or Koutsochero is RAO Piraeus – For Somali nationals, RAO Alimos. This practice jeopardises people’s access to appeals within the deadlines set by Greek law. 73 Case study: Leyla* and Walid* are refugees from Afghanistan and parents to four children. They arrived on Lesvos in August 2023 and were transferred to CTRC Ritsona one month later. On the same day, their asylum application was dismissed at first instance on the ground that Türkiye is a “safe third country” for them. Four days prior to the expiry of the twenty-day time limit to appeal against the decision, their appeal was sent to the camp via email with a request for the family to lodge it there in person. CTRC Ritsona informed the family’s lawyers via phone that it is not in a position to receive appeals submitted in person by residents and that Leyla and Walid would have to travel to RAO Piraeus upon appointment in order to lodge their appeal. Such an appointment was immediately scheduled for the next day. However, the camp informed the family’s lawyers that there was no availability of transport from Ritsona to Athens. Following further contacts with the competent services, a new appointment was set for the lodging of the appeal at RAO Piraeus after the expiry of the deadline. The Asylum Service expressly noted that the appeal was submitted in time. As for notifications of asylum decisions to camp residents, Greek law states that decisions shall be transmitted to the camp manager in order to be notified to the persons concerned. 74 In cases supported by RSA in camps such as CTRC Ritsona and CTRC Thiva, however, notifications of asylum decisions take place via email and not through the camp managers. 71 72 73 74 Article 99(1) Greek Asylum Code. According to Article 99(1) Greek Asylum Code, the appeal must be signed by the appellant themselves to be admissible. Over the past year, the Appeals Committees dismissed a total of 1,523 appeals due to late submission: Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Statistics, December 2023, available here. Article 87(4) Greek Asylum Code. RSA REPORT │ REFUGEE CAMPS IN MAINLAND GREECE | JUN 2024 26