New bill – Migrants accepted only with agricultural and student visa

A drastic simplification successful benefits and allowances for migrants, the instauration of innovative grooming and labour integration programs for refugees, structural changes successful hosting centers, and caller flexible visas for students, highly skilled professionals, and workers from 3rd countries are expected to beryllium promoted successful the coming play by the enactment of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. The provisions of the caller measure connected ineligible migration volition beryllium presented by the competent minister, Thanos Plevris, apt astatine the adjacent Cabinet gathering truthful that they tin beryllium submitted to Parliament successful October. The cardinal purpose is the cognition of a coherent organization model for ineligible and amerciable migration.

A cardinal catalyst successful achieving this ambitious extremity is the afloat alignment of the caller provisions with the measures precocious voted for criminalizing the enactment of amerciable migrants successful Greece. Official information presently amusement that the strict argumentation successful the tract of amerciable migration is delivering results, arsenic flows amusement a important decrease, portion instrumentality figures are besides encouraging. Over the past month, the Ministry of Migration has carried retired much than 1,000 deportations, a information that is starring much and much EU countries to follow the doctrine of strict but just migration argumentation consistently applied by the Greek authorities since 2019. Under these conditions, the adjacent situation acceptable by the Prime Minister and the Migration Minister concerns strengthening ineligible migration routes and the labour integration of those entitled to and granted asylum.

Restructuring of structures
According to information, Mr. Plevris’ caller program for ineligible migration aims astatine amended utilization of exile imaginable and much effectual integration into the labour marketplace by redirecting funds from subsidy programs to grooming activities. The ambitious plan foresees splitting hosting structures into 2 main categories.

The archetypal class volition see facilities hosting exclusively applicants with a exile profile, frankincense with beardown chances of receiving asylum, portion the remainder volition location amerciable migrants awaiting deportation. Ministry sources explicate that reception work unit tin marque the archetypal screening, arsenic they person accrued acquisition and with 80–90% accuracy tin measure whether applicants conscionable asylum criteria. In hosting centers for radical with exile profiles, determination volition besides beryllium signaling of imaginable skills, knowledge, and enactment experience.

Subsequently, the program foresees that individuals granted asylum volition not unrecorded exclusively connected allowances provided by the authorities and NGOs but volition enactment successful grooming programs to get nonrecreational skills and beryllium straight integrated into employment sectors with precocious labour demand. “We are changing the doctrine of programs for those entitled to planetary extortion truthful that migrants rapidly participate the labour market. They volition beryllium fixed the opportunity, each tool, and enactment to participate the occupation marketplace that has large needs. Whoever gets asylum and stays successful Greece volition not unrecorded connected taxpayers’ money, they volition work,” Mr. Plevris stated to THEMA.

Acceleration
At the aforesaid time, the caller ministry enactment is expected to beforehand provisions to region bureaucratic obstacles blocking the renewal of residence permits. According to information, astir 290,000 migrant applications are pending astatine competent offices, astir of them residing and moving successful the state for implicit 10 years. The 3rd section of the measure focuses connected the argumentation of attracting workers from 3rd countries for a circumstantial period, arsenic the existent model has been paralyzed by bureaucratic hurdles and delays. The acceleration measures volition chiefly interest consular authorities and applicable bilateral agreements.

The cardinal purpose is to fortify Greece’s cardinal diplomatic missions successful countries that tin supply workforce, successful bid to execute the champion imaginable enactment of seasonal workers. One of the ministry’s ambitious goals is to reverse migration flows truthful that determination is simply a affirmative equilibrium of ineligible versus amerciable arrivals. “There volition beryllium peculiar provisions successful caller bilateral agreements to supply incentives to 3rd countries to fortify ineligible migration routes and astatine the aforesaid clip judge the instrumentality of amerciable migrants from Greece,” a elder ministry root said.

At the aforesaid time, a extremist enlargement of the visa model is being planned, with the instauration of caller permits (for studies, aesculapian services, precocious specialization, targeted skills) to beryllium issued done contiguous and flexible procedures. According to information, ministry officials estimation that the cognition of non-state universities successful Greece volition sharply summation applications for pupil visas. For this reason, they program to contented the applicable permits done a elemental procedure, akin to that utilized for tourer visas. These visas volition screen the full duration of studies, without the request for renewal, arsenic is presently the case.

Permits for highly skilled professionals successful precocious exertion volition beryllium of precise agelong duration, portion a fast-track process volition beryllium foreseen for visas related to strategical investments (e.g., Hellenikon, pharmaceuticals, defence industry, etc.). In addition, interventions are expected successful consular authorities to accelerate the issuance of residence permits for workers. Especially for countries from which the bulk of amerciable migrants originate (e.g., Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt), it volition beryllium stipulated that the travel complaint of ineligible migration volition beryllium connected the fig of illegals they hold to judge back.

Reduction of flows and summation of departures
Meanwhile, information collected by the ministry’s competent services amusement a crisp simplification successful migration flows crossed each Aegean islands, attributed to the deterrent model created by legislative measures tightening migration argumentation and regular borderline patrols by Coast Guard officers.

Especially successful Crete, arrivals decreased by 81%, chiefly owed to the Plevris amendment suspending asylum for applicants entering from the coasts of Libya and North Africa. From 3,624 radical who entered illegally past July, the fig dropped to 689 successful August, portion successful the archetypal 10 days of September arrivals were lone 75. In Lesvos, amerciable arrivals fell by 57%, from 556 successful August 2024 to 238 this year. In Chios, from 742 amerciable migrants past twelvemonth the fig fell to 400 this year, a 46% decrease. In Samos, from 1,045 amerciable arrivals successful 2024 determination were 590 this year, down 44%. Likewise, successful the Dodecanese, the simplification of amerciable flows compared to the aforesaid play past twelvemonth reached 71% (3,059 successful 2024 versus 878 successful 2025).

It should beryllium noted that ministry officials expect successful the coming play further simplification successful flows and summation successful voluntary departures, arsenic the caller provisions criminalizing the enactment of individuals denied asylum person already travel into effect. Specifically, past Friday a circular was issued calling connected authorities to pass each hosted individuals successful facilities “about the caller legislative model and, supra all, that successful lawsuit their asylum exertion is rejected they look 24 months administrative detention and a situation condemnation from 2 to 5 years, with the lone mode to debar serving being voluntary instrumentality to their homeland.”

25,000 workers each year
According to estimates by the Ministry of Migration, the caller Plevris doctrine of reallocating funds from a payment attack to a labour grooming strategy tin instantly proviso nonrecreational sectors with 100,000–120,000 workforce. This excavation tin beryllium replenished with up to 25,000 refugees per year, positive those arriving successful Greece done caller ineligible migration routes. Based connected authoritative data, contiguous successful Greece legally reside 508,499 third-country nationals and 127,000 beneficiaries of planetary extortion (permanent and temporary).

The bulk of ineligible migrants (total 508,499) travel from Albania (268,964), followed by China (38,596), Pakistan (26,722), Georgia (19,678), and Bangladesh (16,498). From 2021 to July 2025, 1,039,787 residence licence applications were submitted (382,626 archetypal grants and 657,161 renewals). Of these, 671,656 permits were issued, 79,444 rejected, 1,156 revoked, portion 287,531 stay pending. From July 2024 to July 2025 alone, determination were 276,954 applications (115,373 archetypal and 161,581 renewals).

On the different hand, nonstop information connected the fig of illegally residing migrants is lacking. Ministry estimates suggest they bash not transcend 70,000. They basal this estimation connected the information that the Keridis amendment, which allowed illegals to legalize if they proved 3 years of residence successful the country, led astir 40,000 migrants to apply. Under the caller framework, this class of migrants has 2 options: voluntary departure oregon imprisonment.

Thanos Plevris successful THEMA
“Whoever gets asylum and stays successful Greece volition not unrecorded connected taxpayers’ money, they volition work.”

“We are changing the doctrine of programs for those entitled to planetary extortion truthful that migrants rapidly participate the labour market. They volition beryllium fixed the opportunity, each tool, and enactment to participate the occupation marketplace that has large needs. Whoever got asylum and stays successful Greece volition not unrecorded connected taxpayers’ money, they volition work.”