the new registration system. As reported by RSA in February 2023, appointments at the RIC of Malakasa have been scheduled for up to 12 months in advance.⁵² Statistics published by the Greek government show that at the end of December 2022 there were over 4,000 pending asylum applications for applicants who had submitted their application more than 12 months prior to this date. While waiting for registration, people are unable to access their legal right to full material reception conditions and healthcare, which is acquired upon expression of will to apply for international protection as per Greek and EU law (Art. 1(c), 59(1), and 73(1), 4939/2022; Art. 2(c) and 9(1), 2013/32/EU; Art. 2(b) and 17(1), 2013/33/EU). The impact of lack of access to material reception conditions and healthcare is examined in chapter 4. “I didn’t apply via the platform myself because I wasn’t aware that people are able to apply for asylum through the website, there was no information around about this, I didn’t know the website or from where to get this website.” Male respondent from Algeria, 26 years “When I entered Greece I applied [for asylum] after four days through a private lawyer. I knew this lawyer through a person - he did it for others, the same thing. He didn’t do anything important, he just used the link and applied for asylum for me.” Male respondent from Iraq, 31 years An analysis of data collected by Forge for Humanity, MIT and RLS, shows that for 124 people who requested an appointment at Malakasa RIC via the online platform between July 2022 and May 2023, the average waiting time for an appointment was 83 days, while 11% of people waited for more than 5 months to attend their appointment. Applicants on whom data was collected were primarily young single men from Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria, with no recognised vulnerability. The average time elapsed between an individual’s arrival in Greece and the date of their registration appointment at a RIC was approximately 9 months. Delays in the processing of applications has been a chronic issue in the Greek asylum system for years. According to data collected by UCL and ETH Zürich in 2022 and 2023,⁵³ 11% of 1,707 people surveyed about their experience navigating the asylum procedure in Greece who arrived between 2015 and 2021, reported that they received their asylum seeker card in their second year after arrival in Greece, while 10% received it in their third year after arrival. 21