EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mobile Info Team (MIT) is a Greece-based organisation that provides assistance throughout all stages of the asylum procedure through online and in-person services that respond to an average of 800 enquiries per month. Refugee Legal Support (RLS) works in solidarity with people who migrate in the UK, Northern France and Greece, promoting and protecting people's rights via direct legal casework, outreach, training, production of multilingual information materials and partnerships. This report examines the impacts of policy changes in 2021 and 2022 which led to a new system for applying for asylum in mainland Greece, Crete and Rhodes, introduced in September 2022. Under the new procedure for applying for international protection, applicants who cannot prove their identity with a document issued by a Greek public authority must undergo reception and identification procedures within one of two screening facilities on the Greek mainland, located close to Athens (Malakasa) and Thessaloniki (Diavata). The screening procedure is mandatory for most people wishing to apply for asylum in Greece, and involves a police interview, medical check, vulnerability assessment and the registration of the asylum claim. During this procedure applicants’ movement is restricted to the screening facility, for an initial period of five days which may be extended up to 25 days. Between May and October 2023, MIT and RLS undertook in-depth interviews with 19 people who applied for asylum in Greece after September 2022. Interviews were conducted with people from Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Mauritania, Iran and Sudan, aged between 21 and 55. 84% of respondents were men and 21% shared their experiences of navigating the asylum procedure with at least one child. This sample included five people with vulnerabilities, including single parents, pregnant women, survivors of torture and people with serious medical conditions. The interviews were conducted in-person in Athens and over the phone. We asked questions about respondents’ access to the asylum procedure and the conditions within the screening facilities, including access to information, legal support, and provision of dignified living conditions. MIT and RLS argue that, 14 months after the establishment of two Reception and Identification Centres (RICs) for screening and registration of asylum claims on the Greek mainland, Crete and Rhodes, access to asylum continues to be highly restricted. After years of mismanagement, structural deficiencies in the Greek asylum system remain, limiting access to international protection and placing people at risk of destitution and detention. 5