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In the 12 months from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025 \u2014 before the latest tightening of the legal framework \u2014 irregular arrivals stood at 61,123<\/strong>. In the following year, from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2026, they fell to 41,998<\/strong>. That is almost 20,000 fewer people<\/strong>, or a drop of about 35%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The government presents those numbers as evidence that two measures adopted in the summer of 2025 are working: a temporary restriction on asylum applications from North Africa and legislation built around the doctrine of \u201cdetention or deportation.\u201d<\/strong> The stated aim was simple: fewer illegal entries, faster removals of people with no right to stay.<\/p>\n On returns, the ministry\u2019s snapshot for the first seven months of 2026 shows an overall increase of about 20%<\/strong>. Forced deportations rose faster, by about 35%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Earlier 2026 briefings from the same ministry give a sense of the mix:<\/p>\n Officials also point to lower occupancy in reception centres. Across two large sites with combined capacity of more than 6,000 places, occupancy was described as below 1,000 \u2014 a historically low load, they say.<\/p>\n Greece currently operates 33 open and closed facilities. New arrivals are not required to remain on the first island they reach \u2013 they are sorted and moved according to profile and the stage of their asylum case.<\/p>\n The national drop hides a geographic shift. Pressure on the eastern Aegean has eased. The live problem is the Libya\u2013Crete<\/strong> corridor.<\/p>\n A temporary reception site is already running in Agia, Chania. Another in Heraklion is close to opening. Mainland centres have been used to take pressure off the island.<\/p>\n Minister Thanos Plevris has said other Aegean islands will not be overloaded and that any transfers will be limited and matched by capacity elsewhere.<\/p>\n Recent examples cited by the ministry: 417 people moved to Samos and Lesvos in a short period; more than 4,000 relocated from those islands to the mainland since the start of the year; and a transfer of 205 people to Samos timed with 229 scheduled departures from there.<\/p>\n Plevris is not treating the 12-month drop as the end of the file. He has been discussing return centres in Africa<\/strong>, with a working horizon in the second half of 2027<\/strong>, when Greece holds the EU presidency. He met Danish counterpart Morten B\u00f8dskov in Athens.<\/p>\n Ministers from Greece, Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands \u2014 all in talks with African states \u2014 are due in Copenhagen on 4 September.<\/p>\n The official line is that there is \u201cno room for complacency.\u201d The Libya route remains open, and arrivals to Crete keep the issue politically live even as the national total falls.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Mother\u2019s quick CPR saves 12-year-old daughter after sudden brain haemorrhage<\/strong>.<\/p>\nReturns are up, especially forced ones<\/h3>\n
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The Aegean eased. Crete did not.<\/h3>\n
Next step: return hubs and European partners<\/h3>\n