Greece has offered legal-aid lawyers a cash bonus for each asylum seeker they persuade to drop their claim and return home, as arrivals across the Mediterranean rise.
The measure was set out in a joint decision by the Greek Government’s migration, finance and justice ministries and published in the official gazette this week.
Under the scheme, lawyers providing free guidance to applicants would receive a standard fee of €160 (plus VAT) for each session, whether held individually or in groups.
They would receive an extra €250 for every migrant who, after being advised, opts for voluntary departure and completes the return to their country of origin.
The bonus is tied to an actual return rather than a mere declaration of intent, and is paid only if the applicant leaves within two months of receiving guidance.
The free service applies once an asylum claim has been lodged but before it is examined, and only to those who do not already have private representation.
Lawyers will be drawn from a dedicated register maintained by the Athens Bar Association and may not later represent the same applicants privately.
Applicants from countries with an asylum recognition rate below 20 per cent will also be told about the criminal penalties for illegal entry and residence, alongside voluntary return programmes.
The Greek Government has said most recent arrivals are economic migrants, chiefly from Egypt and Bangladesh, rather than people fleeing persecution.
Athens estimates that more than 15,000 people have entered the country irregularly this year, most crossing from Libya to the southern island of Crete in small boats.
The initiative forms part of a tougher approach set out by Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris, who has framed the policy as “prison or return” for those refused protection.
A migration law passed in September 2025 introduced prison terms of two to five years and a minimum €5,000 fine for those who remain illegally, and cut the voluntary departure window from 25 to 14 days.
Greek media have reported that hundreds of people have already used the framework to avoid jail, most of whom have since left.
The changes also stripped non-governmental organisations of their previous role in advising applicants, handing that task to certified lawyers.
Plevris has said Greece’s model aligns with the European Union’s new Return Regulation, adding that other member states have shown interest in adopting it.
