With the government having proceeded with a series of measures on migration, an official gazette has been issued, co-signed by the ministries of Migration and Health. It contains the decision and provisions for determining the age verification procedure for asylum seekers. As noted, the age verification of third-country nationals or stateless persons, in cases where doubt arises regarding their minority status, is carried out as described in the following paragraphs.
If an employee of the Reception and Identification Service or the Asylum Service or any competent authority for the protection of minors, such as the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, or an operator of accommodation facilities for unaccompanied minors or an operator of safe areas and safe zones in Reception and Identification Service facilities, has doubts about the minority status of a third-country national or stateless person, at any stage of the reception and international protection procedures, they must immediately inform in writing and with justification the Director of the Reception and Identification Center, the Closed Controlled Facility or the Controlled Temporary Accommodation Facility for Asylum Seekers, where the specific person is hosted, or in any other case, the Director of the Reception and Identification Service or the Director of the Asylum Service, if the doubt arises for the first time during the stage of the personal interview of the international protection applicant, who is obligated by their decision to order the referral of this person to an age determination procedure. The body that orders the referral functions as coordinator of the procedure.
Doubt, it is noted in the official gazette, regarding a person’s minority status arises when the assessment of the aforementioned persons or authorities or bodies is
inconsistent with the claims of the third-country national or stateless person regarding their age, particularly when recounting their personal history
regarding significant chronological events in their life or their place of origin or previous residence. Doubt may arise at any
stage of reception and identification procedures, registration or examination of the international protection request and does not include cases where the person is obviously a minor according to the third paragraph of paragraph 4 of article 84 of Law 4939/2022.
Migration: How migrant age verification will be determined
Age verification of the person is performed once and on the same day using a combination of all three scientific methods as follows:
a) Medical assessment of physical development of macroscopic characteristics, such as height, weight, voice and hair growth, following clinical examination and medical history taking based on reference values or somatometric data, for which written expert opinion is issued immediately,
b) psychosocial assessment by a psychologist or social worker, during which the cognitive, behavioral and psychological development and maturity of the individual is investigated. The age assessment of the applicant is recorded in a relevant report issued immediately,
c) X-ray of the left wrist and hand extremity to determine the bone age of the applicant, which based on international literature and practice
can lead to a reliable conclusion regarding the age verification of the person.
Read the official gazette here
