“This specific incident demonstrates the battle we must wage against killer smugglers,” emphasized Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris from the parliamentary podium, speaking about the tragedy in Chios.
“I want to inform you about yesterday’s tragic incident as I have been briefed by the coast guard and the competent minister. Unfortunately yesterday, and we express our sorrow for the deaths that occurred, a boat spotted by the coast guard attempted to ram our vessel, struck the coast guard boat and caused an accident resulting in fatalities and injuries. I want to express my grief for the incident and congratulate the women and men of the coast guard who saved people from the sea and for the fact that they guard our borders,” the minister said.
“This specific event demonstrates the battle we must wage against killer migrant smugglers and today’s bill has specific provisions that toughen penalties for these murderers who are solely responsible for what is happening.”
Legal migration bill enters parliament plenary session
The bill on legal migration titled “Promotion of Legal Migration Policies” is being introduced today in the parliament plenary session, which according to the Migration Ministry serves the goal of a modern migration policy that promotes development, strengthens social cohesion, protects legality and ensures the rule of law.
Meanwhile, an amendment was tabled that opens the way for creating temporary facilities under the auspices of the Migration Ministry in Crete. As Minister Plevris clarified during yesterday’s parliamentary debate: “Currently, to establish a facility requires a Presidential Decree, but since issuing a Presidential Decree is a process that causes delays, the establishment of facilities, in exceptional cases, will be possible through ministerial decision.” According to the minister, these are two temporary sites in Heraklion and Chania. “There it will be possible to carry out initial accommodation procedures, separate individuals, and those with refugee profiles will follow asylum procedures and transfer processes. Those with non-refugee profiles, under the provisions of the new law to be implemented from September, will be directed to detention centers so that when their asylum is rejected, their return procedure will also follow,” Minister Plevris emphasized.
The amendment also establishes the possibility of providing compensation not only to municipalities affected by migration but also to regions, based on migration pressures they face.
Legal migration: What the bill includes
The bill intervenes at all stages of the licensing process, reducing bureaucracy and accelerating service for third-country nationals legally residing in Greece by introducing automatic renewal for “safe” permit categories such as dependent employment with the sole reservation being public order and security reasons, and establishes a minimum two-year duration for every residence permit.
At the same time, it strengthens procedures for recruiting workers from third countries, simplifies stages and provides flexibility in changing employers while establishing minimum age limits and integrating Temporary Employment Agencies as potential employers. Meanwhile, it establishes a fast track procedure for workers in large public projects and strategic investments.
Regarding international cooperation, the legal migration bill promotes bilateral interstate agreements with countries of origin, emphasizing cooperation on returns of illegal residents and combating illegal migration.
Additionally, it seeks to attract highly skilled human resources by introducing new national visa categories such as Tech visa and Talent visa while regulating professor visits and accelerating consular procedures in selected cases, and increases residence permit duration for highly skilled workers through the Blue Card.
Residence permits will be valid for the entire duration of studies while simultaneously providing part-time employment rights and the possibility of staying after graduation to seek employment with faster visa issuance within international cooperation frameworks.
Furthermore, according to the Migration and Asylum Ministry, the bill utilizes beneficiaries of international protection legally residing in the country by promoting vocational training programs in sectors with shortages such as construction, agricultural production and tourism, reduces dependence on benefits and strengthens labor market integration.
Simultaneously, it imposes strict sanctions for illegal migrant trafficking at all levels, punishes assistance to illegal migrants by legal migrants, provides for loss of legal status for those who assist them in any way and even life imprisonment for traffickers while establishing conditional release for foreigners serving misdemeanor prison sentences under the condition of immediate deportation.
Regarding NGOs, the new bill regulates their operational framework aiming to enhance transparency, simplifies the registration procedure in the ministry registry and toughens sanctions for members involved in trafficking. Specifically, it provides for multi-year imprisonment and NGO removal from the registry and cancellation of privileged program contracts while contract conclusion will be exclusively through competitive procedures.
At the same time, the bill provides for establishing a Migration Policy Coordination Committee for effective measure implementation and institutes conditional release with immediate deportation for migrants serving misdemeanor prison sentences.
