With a Joint Ministerial Decision by the Minister of Migration and Asylum, Makis Voridis, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Gerapetritis, Turkey has been reclassified as a “safe third country” for asylum seekers from five specific nations: Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Somalia.
The new decision has been published in the National List of Safe Third Countries and comes in response to the annulment of the previous decision by the Hellenic Council of State (Symvoulio tis Epikrateias). This updated ministerial decree includes a fully detailed justification, as required by the Council of State, aiming to ensure legal compliance with existing regulations.
Immediate rejection of applications and returns
According to the new regulation, asylum applications from citizens of these five countries who have entered Greece illegally via Turkey may now be immediately rejected.
The return of these individuals to Turkey is now considered a key priority of the Greek migration policy, in accordance with the provisions of the new joint decision.
Why Turkey was re-added to the list
Turkey had been temporarily removed from the list after a ruling by the Council of State, which found the previous decision’s justification to be insufficient. However, the new Joint Ministerial Decision aims to close the legal gap and strengthen Greece’s ability to effectively manage migration flows.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://geopolitiki.com/turkey-safe-third-country-greece-asylum/&media=https://geopolitiki.com/wp-content/uploads/greek-flag-scaled.webp&description=Greece has officially reclassified Turkey as a "safe third country" for asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Somalia, following a new joint ministerial decision.){kind=link}