Categories exempted from the online platform Ministry of Migration and Asylum Circular 504912/2022 only exempts unaccompanied children and persons in criminal or administrative detention from the uniform registration procedure at the RIC of Malakasa and Diavata. Asylum claims made by these categories of people continue to be lodged at the Asylum Service.25 The wording of the circular implies that all other asylum seekers are to be registered in the two RIC after booking an appointment via the online platform. In practice, however, the Greek authorities seem to exempt certain categories of people from the requirement of an online appointment via the platform prior to their entry into the RIC, though no information or criteria are publicly available thereon. Practice to date suggests that categories exempted from the platform include large groups transferred by the authorities to the RIC of Malakasa such as shipwreck survivors or persons who have arrived in mainland reception facilities (camps) on their own and remain unregistered there. Case study: Naiem* and Nooria* are refugees from Afghanistan. They arrived in Greece through the land border at the end of August 2022 with Nooria’s daughter and arrived in the Schisto camp in Attica. In October 2022, the camp arranged their organised transfer as part of a larger group of residents to the RIC of Malakasa, with a view to the lodging of their asylum applications. RIS treatment remains unclear as regards the latter case of individual asylum seekers residing in camps after arriving on their own, however. In similar cases supported by RSA, it appears that reception and identification procedures in the RIC of Malakasa are only made possible after an appointment request via the online platform and/or intervention from the applicants’ lawyers with a request to speed up registration, particularly for vulnerable persons.26 Case study: Raheel* and her children are refugees from Afghanistan. They arrived in Greece in mid-October 2022 and reached the “old” Malakasa camp on their own; the camp now forms part of the RIC of Malakasa. Raheel repeatedly approached the authorities but received no information on when the family would be registered. In late December 2022, Raheel’s lawyers urged the RIC of Malakasa to speed up registration on account of the family’s vulnerability and pressing health needs. The RIC responded in January 2023 with a registration appointment. Following completion of the process, the family was transferred to a reception facility. Case study: Habibi*, an Afghan refugee, arrived in Athens in early September 2022 and reached the “old” Malakasa camp a few days later. After several hours, she was allowed to enter and remain there until her registration. Her husband, Reza*, arrived in the camp one month later. The couple awaited their 25 26 See however, Solomon, ‘«Με εντολή άνωθεν»: Το καλά κρυμμένο μυστικό της Υπηρεσίας Ασύλου’, 12 December 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3RaMn0c. Articles 38(1) and 41(d) Asylum Code. 7 RSA REPORT │ 2023