The legal immigration bill titled “Promoting Legal Immigration Policies” is being introduced today in the Greek parliament plenary session. According to the Ministry of Immigration, it serves the goal of creating a modern immigration policy that promotes development, strengthens social cohesion, protects legality, and ensures the rule of law.
Additionally, an amendment was submitted that paves the way for creating temporary facilities under the Ministry of Immigration’s auspices in Crete. As Minister Plevris clarified during yesterday’s parliamentary debate: “Currently, creating a facility requires a Presidential Decree, but since issuing a Presidential Decree is a process that causes delays, establishing facilities in exceptional cases will be possible through ministerial decisions.” According to the minister, these involve two temporary locations in Heraklion and Chania. “There, initial accommodation procedures can take place, separation of individuals, and those with refugee profiles will follow asylum provision procedures and transfer. Those with non-refugee profiles, under the new law provisions to be implemented from September, will be directed to detention centers so that when their asylum is rejected, their return procedure will also follow,” Plevris emphasized.
The amendment also establishes the possibility of providing compensation not only to municipalities affected by immigration but also to regions, based on the pressures they face from immigration flows.
Legal immigration: what the bill includes
The bill intervenes at all stages of the licensing process, reducing bureaucracy and accelerating services 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.
Simultaneously, it strengthens procedures for recruiting workers from third countries, simplifies stages and provides flexibility in changing employers, while establishing a minimum age limit and integrating Temporary Employment Agencies as potential employers. It also establishes a fast-track procedure for workers in major public projects and strategic investments.
Regarding international cooperation, the legal immigration bill promotes bilateral interstate agreements with countries of origin, emphasizing cooperation on returns of illegally residing individuals and combating illegal immigration.
It also seeks to attract highly specialized and knowledgeable human resources by introducing new national visa categories such as Tech visa and Talent visa, while regulating professor visit matters 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 the right to part-time employment and possibility of staying after graduation to seek employment, with faster visa issuance within international cooperation frameworks.
Furthermore, according to the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, the bill leverages international protection beneficiaries 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 penalties 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 of 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’s registry, and tightens penalties for members involved in trafficking. Specifically, it provides for multi-year imprisonment and NGO deletion from the registry and cancellation of privileged program contracts, while contract agreements will be made exclusively through competitive procedures.
Simultaneously, the bill provides for establishing a Migration Policy Coordination Committee for effective implementation of measures and establishes conditional release with immediate deportation for migrants serving misdemeanor prison sentences.
