The departure of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants from Greece were double the total number of arrivals in the first five months of 2021, according to migration and asylum ministry figures released on Wednesday.
Specifically, 4,951 asylum seekers and illegal immigrants left either for other European countries or were sent to non-EU countries via the deportation and return mechanisms for third-country nationals.
During the same time period, 2,981 arrivals were recorded at the Aegean islands and at the Evros border, a decrease of 68% compared with arrivals in the first five months of 2020 (9,421 arrivals).
A total of 10,289 asylum seekers and illegal immigrants were being hosted on the island on May 31, 2021, 71% down in comparison with May 2020.
In terms of the permanent residence permit for investors (Golden Visa), the Chinese topped the list of recipients (71%) followed by Turks (6.2%) and Russians (5.5%).
In a statement, Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi said that an "important chapter of the National Strategy for Migration 2020-2021 is deportations and returns."
"A new draft bill prepared by the ministry will be released for public consultation within the next few days," he added.
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