Photo: Refugee.info / Daphne Tolis
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.
Camps
There are camps in mainland Greece and on its islands. Here is the list of camps in Greece.
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
Check the operational status of the HELIOS program here and see if new applications are being accepted.
According to the latest announcements, the HELIOS project and its services will gradually resume, with all HELIOS beneficiaries being contacted directly. You can contact the HELIOS helpline to receive more detailed information or to schedule a visit to one of the offices listed below and benefit from the HELIOS services:
- Alkminis 36-38, Kato Petralona, Athens
- Aristotelous 11-15, 10432, Athens
- 25is Martiou 4, Tavros, Athens
- Nikolaou Germanou 1, Thessaloniki
- Ptolemaion 29A, Thessaloniki
- Olympiados 24, Kardamitsia, Ioannina
- Andrea Papandreou 107, Amoudara, Heraklion, Crete
- Nikolaou Plastira 4, Chania, Crete
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: