158 beneficiaries were readmitted from Germany to Greece, 1456 while during 2025, the relevant number of readmissions from Germany stood at 413,1457 more than doubling in a period of 3 years. Overall, during 2025, a total of 3,710 readmission requests, corresponding to a total of 5,437 beneficiaries of international protection (BIPs), were sent to the Hellenic Police, primarily by authorities in Switzerland and Germany, the majority of which were accepted. A total of 725 BIPs were returned to Greece during the same period,1458 despite ongoing and increasing barriers with regards to BIPs access to social rights, including healthcare and social welfare, which have triggered interventions by the ECtHR 1459 and the European Commission, with the latter deciding to refer Greece to the CJEU (INFR(2022)2044) in November 2025 on account of discriminatory treatment vis-à-vis access to social welfare. This contrasts with European states’ efforts to return BIPs to Greece on grounds that they can enjoy the rights attached to their status, which notwithstanding discriminatory barriers to accessing social rights, also overlooks the following challenges and gaps: (a) no information is provided to recognised refugees upon their return to Greece, and (b) no state-run integration support is available to them. 1460 Upon arrival at Athens International Airport, returnees – beneficiaries of international protection – are provided only with a police note (υπηρεσιακό σημειωμα) written in Greek, directing them to the Asylum Service. They have no information on how to renew or re-issue their residence permits (ADETs) and their travel documents. As explained above, they do not have access to any social right in practice (social welfare, employment, health care, housing1461), since, in the majority of cases, they do not hold valid identification documents.1462 According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands: ‘[f]inding shelter through HELIOS is more problematic for returning beneficiaries of international protection than it is for beneficiaries of international protection who enter HELIOS from the asylum reception system. This is because application to the HELIOS programme must be made from the asylum shelter location within twelve months after the first right of residence is granted. As a result, most returning beneficiaries of international protection no longer meet the entry requirements for HELIOS.’1463 Although the requirement to reside in facilities of the Greek reception system upon notification of the status recognition decision, as a condition to be eligible to enrol to the programme seems to have been removed under Helios+, the requirement to apply for accessing the programme within a maximum of 2 years from the notification of said decision,1464 can still act as a significant barrier for returnees, who can frequently find themselves outside Greece for longer periods of time. Overall, addressing onwards movement of refugees within the EU and ensuring that, when legally required, returns of BIPs to Greece are in compliance with fundamental rights, necessitates ensuring an 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1463 1464 RSA and Stiftung Pro Asyl, Beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, Access to documents and socioeconomic rights, March 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3Vy9DYJ, p.4., footnote 4. See RSA, Recognised refugee statistics in Greece in 2025, March 2026, available at: https://tinyurl.com/435psr2v, pp.1-2. Ibid See RSA, No support for refugees returned to Greece, 20 March 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/mhdzpdfz. RSA, No support for refugees returned to Greece, 20 March 2025, available here. Since, in practice, they are unable to even rent a house legally without valid residence permits and travel documents. See also, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Report on the fact-finding mission concerning beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, 3 September 2024, p. 62, received by GCR on 13.01.2025 by the Dutch Embassy in Greece. RSA and Stiftung Pro Asyl, Beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, Access to documents and socioeconomic rights, March 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3Vy9DYJ, p. 4 & 11. Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Report on the fact-finding mission concerning beneficiaries of international protection in Greece, 3 September 2024, p. 62, received by GCR on 13.01.2025 by the Dutch Embassy in Greece IOM, Helios+ Project Regulation Handbook, October 2025, available at: https://greece.iom.int/helios, p.3. 284