In Greece, there are the below types of accommodation according to your status:
- Camps for asylum seekers on the islands.
- In camps for asylum seekers who reside on the mainland. You cannot choose the accommodation type.
- Apartments with financial support for recognized refugees via HELIOS Program.
For more information regarding Ukrainian nationals please check "Accommodation for Ukrainians"
Camps
There are camps in mainland Greece and on its islands. Volunteer organizations have made this map of all camps in Greece. Refugee.Info can’t verify that it is up to date.
At camps, you can usually find:
- Health care
- Social services
- Education activities
- Child protection programs
- Women’s programs
- Hygiene programs
- Translation services
- Legal advice services
You can get a place in a camp only through a Reception and Identification Center referral, and you must accept the place you get, or you will lose access to accommodation.
You cannot:
- Choose which camp you go to
- Move from one camp to another on your own
- Move from the islands to the mainland on your own
- Get a place in a camp by appearing there on your own
- Stay in a camp without having an official place there (or you will likely get kicked out to make room for others)
If you are moving from the islands to the mainland, you must go on an official UNHCR transfer and appear at the camp you are assigned. Otherwise, you lose your access to accommodation.
HELIOS accommodation scheme
The HELIOS program is preparing to conclude its operations. The RI team has been in contact with the program and has received the following updates to share with you. We want to express our concerns regarding this development as it represents a significant gap in accommodating asylum seekers and refugees in Greece.
Starting November 1st until November 30th, 2023, the HELIOS project
will only provide rental subsidies to households currently benefiting from this service.
- Meanwhile, other services, such as integration courses, monitoring sessions, job counselling, and accommodation workshops, will be temporarily discontinued for all households as of November 1, 2023.
- Please note that no new enrollments or lease agreement submissions will be accepted until further notice.
- From November 1 to November 30, 2023, you can contact the HELIOS project through the HELIOS Helpline or by sending a message to iom_helios_info@iom.int for any queries.
You can also contact IOM at the following WhatsApp numbers from 9 am-3 pm Monday to Friday:
WHATSAPP NUMBER LANGUAGES
- + 30 6909868980 English - French - Ukrainian - Greek
- + 30 6906656134 Arabic
- + 30 6906956107 Sorani - Kurmanji - Turkish
- + 30 6906656125 Farsi - Pashto - Urdu - Hindi - Panjabi
Private apartments
You can rent an apartment on your own or stay in an apartment a friend rents for you without losing your rights as an asylum-seeker or refugee in Greece. If you stay in private accommodation, you lose access to cash.
To rent an apartment on your own, you must sign a house contract. To do that, you will need a tax number (AFM) and your TAXISnet codes since the whole procedure has to be completed online through the TAXISnet platform.
Learn how to get one:
A few important things to know about renting in Greece:
Renting an apartment in Greece
Photo: Refugee.info / Daphne Tolis