The country’s Migration Minister, Thanos Plevris, sounded the alarm this week, revealing that Greek authorities believe around 550,000 migrants are in Libya alone awaiting the opportunity to break into the continent.
Mr Plevris said his country was working alongside Libya and the EU’s Frontex border force to prevent the boats from setting sail across the Mediterranean.
He told Greek media outlet Voria: “Those who are not entitled to asylum will be detained.
“Now, when it is likely that someone will not get asylum, they are not placed in a freedom status but in a detention status, so that with the rejection of asylum, they can be returned.”
The minister declared “there is no reason for Greece to open its borders and accept people”, adding that the country will “operate within the legal framework, but will also reach its limits in order to protect the borders”.
Since 2015, Greece has been a major gateway for over 1.2 million illegal migrants flooding into Europe – with many going on to make their way into Britain.
Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has implemented a host of policies in recent years aimed at tackling the country’s migrant crisis.
Athens erected a 25-mile wall along its coastline to block migrants flooding in from Turkey.
Th Greek Government has made it a specific criminal offence to enter the country illegally, with penalties of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to €10,000 (£8,655).
The law also applies to migrants who have overstayed their visas or refuse to leave Greece once their asylum claims are rejected.
Once applications are turned down, migrants can be ankle-monitored and are given two weeks to leave the country or face up to five years in prison.
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After the legislation was implemented last year, Mr Plevris said: “We are accountable to Greek citizens, and Greek citizens want to be protected.
“The message is clear [for migrants]: if your asylum request is rejected, you have two choices.
“Either you go to jail or return to your homeland. The Greek state does not accept you… You are not welcome.”
Almost 940,000 prospective migrants are believed to have been living in Libya at the end of 2025, according to the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration.
The majority live in the cities of Tripoli and Benghazi, with most believed to be from Chad, Egypt, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan.
The warning from Greece comes as Britain’s own crisis hit a damning milestone, with the number of illegal migrants breaking into the country via small boat since 2018 now surpassing 200,000.
The grim tally was reached on Friday morning after a group of 70 migrants were taken to the Border Force processing centre at Dover.
The group had been on a dinghy that launched from a beach near Dunkirk just before 7.30am.
