Greece has positioned itself at the forefront of Europe’s increasingly restrictive immigration policies by enacting what officials describe as the continent’s toughest criminal penalties for rejected asylum seekers, introducing prison terms of up to five years for those who refuse to leave the country.
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The law, passed by Parliament in the early hours of last Wednesday morning, represents an escalation in Europe’s efforts to deter undocumented migration through punitive measures rather than traditional deportation procedures alone.
“The Greek state does not accept you,” Migration Minister Thanos Plevris declared in closing remarks as the bill passed, addressing migrants who might fall under the new legislation. “You only have one choice: to go back. You’re not welcome.”
Conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pushed the legislation following a summer surge in migrant arrivals to Crete from Libya, with more than 2,000 migrants landing on the island in the first week of July alone. Arrivals for the first half of 2025 were three times higher than the same period in 2024.
The new law requires rejected asylum seekers to leave Greece within 14 days or face imprisonment of two to five years, along with steep fines and expedited deportations. This represents a significant reduction from the previous 25-day voluntary departure period.
Plevris told state radio earlier this month that migrants who left voluntarily would receive a €2,000 “bonus,” while those who remain face financial penalties tripled to €10,000 (about $11,700) for illegal entry and up to €30,000 for re-entry after rejection.
The legislation also extends detention periods for migrants arriving without legal documentation from 18 months to 24 months and permits the use of electronic ankle monitors during the 14-day departure window. Additionally, the law abolishes the right of undocumented migrants to apply for residence after seven years in the country.
Greece’s response to the summer migration spike included a three-month suspension of asylum applications announced by Mitsotakis on July 9, when he declared he was sending a message to human smugglers that “the passage to Greece is closed.” Since the suspension, arrivals to Crete declined swiftly, with fewer than 500 migrants arriving in the first 27 days of August.
According to Frontex, the European Union‘s border agency, Crete became increasingly popular with smugglers as other sea routes became more difficult due to stricter border controls and coast guard monitoring.
During parliamentary debate, Plevris distinguished between different categories of migrants, saying, “There are those who are downtrodden, and then there are some who are spoiled, who think that Europe owes them.” He pointed out that genuine refugees would still be granted asylum while warning of consequences for those who refuse voluntary returns.
The minister framed the law primarily as a deterrent, telling Parliament that migrants “should know they fooled you when they were telling you Greece would be friendly” to those rejected for asylum. “If they know that they will be detained and monitored and that their stay will never become legalised,” he argued, fewer people would attempt the journey to Greece.
Plevris claimed Greece would be the first European country to impose such criminal penalties on rejected asylum seekers, though some other countries, including Germany, can imprison those living without valid paperwork for up to a year or impose fines.
The legislation comes amid a broader European crackdown on undocumented migration, with countries increasingly turning migrants away at entry points, facilitating deportations, and rolling back protections.
There is no official data on how many migrants overstay after rejection, though official figures show more than a quarter of asylum applications to Greece were rejected during the first seven months of this year.
Despite the political focus on migration, actual numbers remain well below peak levels. Total migrant arrivals by sea in Greece during the first eight months of 2025 were below 25,000 people, slightly lower than the previous year and far below the 850,000 who arrived in the peak year of 2015.
“The trend seems to be to carry out stricter policies toward refugees and migrants arriving by sea,” said Flavio Di Giacomo, spokesman for the Mediterranean office of the U.N. migration agency. “But as a matter of fact, we do not see any kind of emergency in terms of numbers of people trying to enter Europe.”
Like in the United States, illegal immigration has become one of Europe’s most contentious political issues, despite the overall decline in absolute numbers of undocumented migrants arriving. Greece’s new law signals how far some European governments are willing to go in using criminal justice systems as immigration enforcement tools.
Greece’s approach builds on already harsh migration policies. A 2023 New York Times investigation revealed that the Greek Coast Guard had rounded up asylum seekers and returned them to sea.
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