Key Findings
Favourable
Rights associated with long term residence
Unfavourable
Eligibility for family reunion
Labour market integration measures
Critically unfavourable (0% score)
Security of nationality
Electoral rights, consultative bodies and implementation policies for political participation
Change since 2004
More favourable eligibility for and rights associated with long-term residence
Less favourable Conditions for long-term residence
More favourable Definitions and concepts and fields of application of anti-discrimination law
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Overview
Greece, a new country of immigration, does not systematically collect data on its third-country nationals or flows of irregular migrants. Estimates suggest that, bucking the EU-wide trend, the numbers of asylum-seekers continue to rise. Flows of other non-EU migrants, especially Albanians, are also rising. Notably, legally-resident third-country nationals (hereafter ‘migrants') have higher employment rates than nationals. Policy debates have centered on the need for an efficient migration management and residence permit system, migrant integration policies, and introducing a further regularisation. Questions have been raised over whether integration efforts on paper are matched by implementation. None of the six areas of integration policy measured by MIPEX is favourable for promoting integration in Greece. At their best, Greek policies score halfway to best practice on access to the labour market, family reunion, long-term residence and anti-discrimination. Greece's labour market access ranks fourth worst of all 28 MIPEX countries; political participation policies third worst; and access to nationality second worst.
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Integration Policy Timeline
01/10/2005
Greek ombudsman recommended prohibiting the expulsion of third-country national minors, most of whom are unaccompanied or born in Greece
31/03/2006
Greek Ombudsman's first report as Equality Body identified anti-discrimination shortcomings as mainly linked to lack of independence and operational capacity
06/04/2006
European Commission sent warning requesting facilities for agencies representing victims and end of restrictions on pecuniary compensations
31/07/2006
Late transposition of EC Directive on long-term residents
23.02.2007
Law n.3536/2007 established National Commission for Immigrants' Integration, but without immigrant representatives
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Migrant Profile
Footnotes
1 Eurostat (non EU-27, 01.01.2006)
2 OECD, SOPEMI, 2007 (all non-nationals and foreign-born nationals)
3 Eurostat (non EU-27, 01.01.2006)
4 Urban Audit (non EU-15)
5 OECD, SOPEMI, 2007
6 2005 Greek National Statistical Service estimation. The census 2001 indicates a much higher number:
717319, also due to the later EU enlargement
7 OECD, SOPEMI, 2007 (based largely on standardised residence and work-permit data)
8 MPG, Migration News Sheet, April 2006
9 OECD, Education at a Glance, 2006 (non EU-25)
10 European Labour Force Survey (2006q2)
11 European Labour Force Survey (2006q2)
12 OECD, SOPEMI, 2005
13 OECD, SOPEMI, 2005
