Greece
Regarding social welfare in Greece, Law 4636/2019 (art. 29, 30) provides access to social welfare for beneficiaries of international protection without drawing any distinction between refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. Beneficiaries of international protection should enjoy the same rights and receive the necessary social assistance according to the terms that apply to nationals, without discrimination. Not all beneficiaries have access to social rights and welfare benefits. In practice, difficulties in access to rights stem from bureaucratic barriers, which make no provision to accommodate the inability of beneficiaries to submit certain documents for family allowance, single mother allowance, birth allowance, student allowance, disability benefits, guaranteed minimum income, and uninsured retiree benefit. If a woman is a recognised refugee or a beneficiary of subsidiary protection, she has the right by law to receive the necessary social assistance under the same conditions as Greek nationals. The 2019 National Strategy for integration includes: Policy Measure 2.1: Information and facilitation to facilitate the access of newly arrived migrants and beneficiaries of international protection to goods and services.
References
Department of Public Health Policy/University of West Attica, University of Gent, PRAKSIS, European Public Law Organization, SynEirmos (2018). Report on Good Practices (Deliverable 1.1 LION-Project). Synthesis Report. Report part of project Local Alliance for Integration "776213/LION" (AMIF-2016-AG-INTE). Athens: Department of Public Health Policy/University of West Attica, University of Gent, PRAKSIS, European Public Law Organization, SynEirmos.
http://allianceforintegration.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/D1.1-Report-on-best-practices.pdf
This report attempts to present the policy and good practices on the EU-level and the level of EU-member states with particular attention to the case of Greece, regarding the social integration of TCNs through employment, education, health care, social care and intercultural coexistence.
European Migration Network (EMN) (2014). Migrant access to social security and healthcare: Policies and practice. EMN Synthesis Report for the EMN Study 2013. Brussels: European Migration Network (EMN)/European Commission. https://emn.ie/files/p_201407070444042014_synthesis_report_migrant_access_to_social_security.pdf The purpose of this EMN 2013 study is to map the policies and administrative practices that shape third-country nationals’ access to social security, including healthcare.
Fouskas, T., Martiniello, M., Koulierakis, G., Economou, C., de Maio, A. and Mine, F. (2020). Annual Report 2019 on Migration and Asylum in Greece: National Report: Part 2 and Statistics Annex. Athens: European Public Law Organization (EPLO)/Hellenic Ministry for Migration and Asylum/European Commission/European Migration Network.
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/document/download/69914d51-b606-447b-95f3-2e4af9f982a2_en
The Annual Policy Report of 2019 aims at informing the Member-States and the European Commission on all the developments that took place in the year of 2019, in the areas of migration and asylum in Greece.
Greek Council for Refugees/Asylum Information Database (AIDA) (2021). Social welfare - Greece. Brussels: European Council on Refugees and Exiles. https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/greece/content-international-protection/social-welfare/#_ftn3
This report draws on information provided by national bodies related to asylum procedures.
Marini F. (2020). Migrants’ Access to Social Protection in Greece. In: Lafleur JM., Vintila D. (eds) Migration and Social Protection in Europe and Beyond (Volume 1). IMISCOE Research Series. Cham: Springer, 195-209.
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-030-51241-5_13.pdf
This chapter discusses key issues about the access of foreigners legally residing in Greece and Greek citizens residing abroad to the Greek social security system and highlights its impact on the development of a hybrid non-discrimination agenda during the financial crisis and the refugee crisis of 2015.
Psimmenos, I. (2007). Work culture and migrant women’s welfare marginalization. The Greek Review ofSocial Research, 124, 9-33.
https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/ekke/article/view/6790/6516
Central to this paper is the relationship between work and welfare marginalization of migrant women domestic workers. Based upon the findings of a (2005-2007) research study on Albanian and Ukrainian domestic workers’ access to social insurance, medical and children’s care (i.e., nurseries, kindergartens),the paper claims that welfare barriers are constituted around lack of resources, discriminations as well as conditions and values at work.