EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Annual Policy Report Final Report. (English version)

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK Annual Policy Report 2011 Final Report (English version) March 2012

2 Executive Summary GREECE ANNUAL POLICY REPORT 2011 This Report presents the developments that took place in Greece in 2011 in the fields of both legal and illegal immigration and asylum. Migration and asylum in Greece constitute topical issues, which attract a lot of attention on national, European and international level. Greece, taking into consideration its European and international commitments, plans, reforms and adjusts its migration and asylum policy in order to address problems and challenges posed to it because of the large mixed flows, and to safeguard and enhance social cohesion through the integration of third-country nationals, who reside legally in the country either as economic migrants or beneficiaries of international protection. On the basis of the above pillars the most significant developments that occurred in 2011 were the following: The enactment of Law 3907/2011 on the Establishment of Asylum Service and First Reception Service, transposition into Greek legislation of the provisions of Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, and other provisions. The enactment of Law 4018/2011 regarding, inter alia, the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002, as amended by Regulation 380/2008 EC, and the gradual transformation of Aliens and Immigration Services in each of the seven Decentralized Authorities of the country to one-stop shop services. The adoption of the Action Plan for the City Centre of Athens by the Cabinet of Ministers in May 2011, which placed emphasis on illegal migration issues. The adoption of the Integrated Program for Border Management and Combating Illegal Immigration presented to the Cabinet by the Minister of Citizen Protection, the basic features of which are: a) the enhancement of border control through the deployment of additional human resources, means of modern technology and construction of a fence on the land border between Greece and Turkey, b) the improvement of the asylum procedure as it stands now rendering it more effective and prompt and in the immediate future through the operation of the new Asylum Service, established in 2011 c) the establishment of the First Reception Service, which, when fully operational, will facilitate the screening procedures and detention conditions, d) the enhancement of return procedures and assisted voluntary return via IOM. The support and assistance provided to Greece by FRONTEX in combating illegal immigration mainly in the Evros Region. The drafting of the National Strategy for Third-Country Nationals Integration by the Ministry of Interior, which will be placed under public consultation in the beginning of

3 The reduction by the Ministry of Labour, for some types of residence permits, of the number of days that a third-country national must have been enrolled in social security in order to be able to renew his / her permit given that a significant number of third-country nationals face the risk of not being able to fulfill the relevant requirements of the Law and renew their residence permits, due to the rising unemployment and thus becoming illegal. The establishment, by the Ministry of Labour, of ergosimo, as a new form of social security for domestic workers, who are remunerated by the hour or per day for services, such as household cleaning, as part of the efforts to combat illegal employment ( undeclared work ). As it is well known, Greece is one of the main entry points of illegal migrants to Europe. Illegal migration constitutes one of the greatest challenges and problems Greece needs to address. According to article 80 of the Lisbon Treaty, the policies of the EU on [Border Checks, Asylum and Immigration] and their implementation shall be governed by the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility, including its financial implications, between the Member States. Whenever necessary, the Union acts adopted pursuant to this Chapter shall contain appropriate measures to give effect to this principle. Thus, illegal migration to Greece needs to be seen as a European problem, and not solely as a Greek one, and should be addressed according to the aforementioned principles; principles that need to become reality in practice though changes of the EU policy in migration and asylum. In particular, there is a general agreement among main stakeholders in Greece on the need to recast the Dublin II Regulation to the direction of temporary suspension of transfers at the request of the overburdened member state and the abolition / modification of the first illegal entry criterion. Moreover, based on the fact that high mixed flows of third-country nationals attempt to enter the EU through the Greek borders due to the country s geographical position, there is a growing discussion on the need to establish a binding system of proportional reallocation of both beneficiaries of international protection and vulnerable groups (independently of whether a protection status has been granted to them), on the basis of specific criteria (financial situation and population of member states). Such actions of internal solidarity (reallocation programme), are considered to be a prerequisite for the establishment and sustainability of a Common European Asylum System and a necessary accompaniment of external solidarity actions (European Programme for Refugees Resettlement). 3

4 1. INTRODUCTION: PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY FOLLOWED The aim of this Report is to present the developments that took place in Greece in 2011 in the fields of both legal and illegal immigration and asylum. Given that: a) migration and asylum in Greece have attracted a lot of attention the past few years, mostly because of the large migration flows, disproportionate to some extent, and the entailed challenges posed, and b) the economic crisis Greece faces renders its determination to address the problems and deficiencies related to migration and asylum more difficult to materialise, the Greek NCP decided that the presentation of developments presented hereto would not be limited exclusively to significant ones, i.e. events, initiatives, measures, legislation that were discussed in parliament and were widely reported in the media. The adoption of a rather comprehensive presentation approach was chosen on the basis of the fact that the issues of migration and asylum have become so pressing and prevalent that any measure or initiative, irrespective of whether it was widely reported on, contributes to the implementation of holistic approaches and solutions, which aim at the safeguard of social cohesion and compliance with European and international obligations. 1.1 Methodology In the present Report important information and developments which were collected and reported from various sources were analyzed. Emphasis was placed on legislative reviews and changes in the administrative practice. Laws, presidential decrees, ministerial decisions, circulars are presented in detail. For the drafting of the Report information was collected from the websites of the following institutions: Ministry of the Interior- General Secretariat of Population and Social Cohesion ( as well as General Secretariat for Gender Equality ( Ministry of Citizen Protection/Hellenic Police( and respectively), Ministry of Labour and Social Security ( Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity ( Ministry of Education, Life-long Learning and Religious Affairs ( and Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights ( Moreover, other institutions websites were also consulted: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees-Office in Greece ( European Court of Human Rights ( European Committee for the Prevention of Torture ( Office of the Greek Ombudsman ( Greek National Commission for Human Rights ( various NGOs, such as the Hellenic League for Human Rights ( the Greek Council for Refugees ( etc. 4

5 In addition, given that not all necessary information concerning practices, measures, initiatives and statistics was available on-line and that in some cases the need for clarifications arose, the author of the Report also came in contact with public servants of the Ministries involved in migration and asylum, serving in key positions (Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Citizen Protection, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice). The people contacted corresponded more than satisfactorily to the requests of the author for additional information, data or clarifications. Moreover, a thorough search was conducted on newspapers archives and on the two main legal data bases: NOMOS and data base of the Athens Bar Association ( in search of relevant jurisprudence. 2. GENERAL STRUCTURE OF POLITICAL AND LEGAL SYSTEM IN GREECE 2.1 General structure of the political system and institutional context Migration and asylum in Greece constitute topical issues, which attract a lot of attention on national, European and international level. Greece, taking into consideration its European and international commitments, plans, reforms and adjusts it migration and asylum policy in order to address problems and challenges posed to it because of the large mixed flows, and safeguard and enhance social cohesion through the integration of third-country nationals, who reside legally in the country either as economic migrants or beneficiaries of international protection. With regard to migration and asylum, the main Ministries and institutions involved are the following: a) The Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for migration policy in Greece and social integration of third-country nationals via its General Secretariat of Population and Social Cohesion, as well as for the issue of certain types of residence permits and citizenship legislative framework and procedures. 1 b) The Ministry of Citizen Protection, which is responsible for border control (Hellenic Police and Hellenic Coast Guard), the management of illegal migrants, the asylum procedure. 2 c) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for issuing, renewing and revoking Schengen and national visas, as well as for the conclusion of readmission agreements. 3 d) The Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which is responsible for the estimation of labour market needs, the registration of requests for guest foreign labour workforce, setting certain requirements for the renewal of residence permits (e.g

6 social security requirements), and the implementation of labour legislation through inspections, by the Labour Inspectorate. 4 e) The Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity, which is responsible for the reception conditions of asylum seekers. 5 f) The Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, which is responsible via its Public Prosecutors for the legal guardianship of unaccompanied minors. 6 g) The 7 Decentralized Authorities of Greece (former Regions), which are responsible for the issue and renewal of certain types of residence permits. 7 h) The Inter-Ministerial Committee for Migration Policy (article 3 of Law 3386/2005), which convenes twice a year to discuss migration questions, to issue guidelines and recommendations. i) The Inter-Party Parliamentary Committee for the Study of Migration, which concluded its activities on j) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Office in Greece), which cooperates with the competent Authorities, NGOs and other institutions for the protection of refugees in Greece, and is involved in various steps of the asylum procedure. 9 k) The Office of the Greek Ombudsman, which through the investigation of individual complaints filed by third-country nationals for cases of mal-administration and its interventions, aims to the correct implementation of the legislation in force and its improvement through amending proposals. 10 l) The Greek National Commission for Human Rights, an advisory body to the Government on issues pertaining to human rights, which addresses recommendations to the Government for migration and asylum questions General structure of the legal system As mentioned above the two main actors involved in the area of migration and asylum, are the Ministries of Interior and Citizen Protection. The main legislation regulating migration (legal and illegal) is Law 3386/ on the entry, residence x Epitropes/CommiteeDetailView?CommitteeId=617ebc6d-adbf-4bc4-a84e- 227dee59c180&period=2de07ede-2bb2-41d7-b80c-aca6a72fa97c 9 See infra OG A 212/

7 and social integration of third-country nationals, as amended lately by Law 3875/ and Law 3907/2011. As regards asylum procedures, the following legislative instruments are applied: the Geneva Convention of 1951 on the Status of Refugees, 14 and the New York Protocol of 1967 on the Status of Refugees, 15 Regulation (EC) No 343/2003, Regulation (EC) No 1560/2003, Regulation (EC) No 2725/2000, Regulation (EC) No 407/2002, Law 1975/1991 as amended by Law 2452/1996, PD 80/2006 transposing Directive 2001/55/EC, PD 220/2007 transposing Directive 2003/9/EC, PD 96/2008 transposing Directive 2004/83/EC, and PD 167/2008 transposing Directive 2003/86/EC. 16 It needs to be noted that in November 2010, Presidential Decree No was published concerning the Establishment of a uniform procedure for granting to aliens and stateless persons the status of refugee or beneficiary of subsidiary protection in compliance with Directive 2005/85/EC on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status. The said decree amended PD 90/ on asylum procedure. The most significant changes the said decree brought to the asylum procedure are the following: a) the determining authorities in the 1 st instance are: the Secretary General of Public Order of the Ministry of Citizen Protection and the Directors of 14 decentralized Police Directorates for the applications which are deemed to be manifestly ill-founded or inadmissible; b) it sets time limits for the issuing of the decisions both at the 1 st and 2 nd instance, three and six months for the accelerated and the standard procedure respectively; c) it reinstates the 2 nd instance which had been abrogated by PD No. 81; 19 d) the applications at the 2 nd instance are examined by three-member Appeals Committees that consist of a public servant of Ministries, or Legal Entities of Public Law as chair, 20 a representative of the UNHCR and a lawyer appointed by the Minister of Citizen Protection selected from a list drafted by the Greek National Commission for Human Rights as members. The Appeals Committees may examine appeals against negative decisions taken both under PD 114 and previous Presidential Decrees, such as 90/2008, the so-called backlog cases. Another significant development was Law 3907/2011 Establishment of Asylum Service and First Reception Service, transposition into Greek legislation of the provisions of Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, and other 13 Ratification and implementation of the United Nations Convention against Organised Transnational Crime and its Protocols, and relevant provisions (OG A 158/ ). 14 Ratified by the Legislative Decree 3989/ Ratified by A.N. 389/ For more details, see Annual Policy Report 2009, (February 2010). 17 OG A 195/ Transposition of Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status (OG A 138/ ). 19 OG A 99/ Law 3938/2011 (OG A 61/ ), article 17. 7

8 provisions. 21 The said Law consists of three major chapters corresponding to the title of the Law. The fourth chapter amends some provisions of Law 3386/ Lastly, an important development was Law 4018/2011 titled Re-organization of the system for the issuance of aliens residence permits under increased security and other provisions falling under the competence of Ministry of Interior aiming at the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002 and providing for the gradual transformation of Aliens and Immigration Services in each Decentralized Authority (former Region) to one-stop shop services GENERAL DEVELOPMENTS RELEVANT TO ASYLUM AND MIGRATION 3.1 General political developments Greece throughout 2011 faced a major economic/fiscal crisis, which had also repercussions on the political scenery of the country. Thus, two reshuffles took place during On 27 June 2011, Mr. H. Kastanidis was appointed Minister of Interior. 24 Moreover, on the basis of PD 65/2011, 25 which regulated the competence of certain Ministries, the issues of migration policy and social integration of thirdcountry nationals, which had been transferred under the competence of the Ministry of Labour (on the basis of PD 96/ ) were placed anew under the competence of the Ministry of Interior. On , Mr. L. Papadimos became the new Prime Minister of Greece after the resignation of Mr. G. Papandreou and a new coalition government was formed enjoying the confidence of three parties, i.e. PASOK, New Democracy and LAOS, a political party with particularly critical views on immigration issues. Mr. A. Giannitsis was appointed Minster of Interior (PD 110/2011). 27 It is important to note that in the municipal election of November 2010, Golden Dawn (Xrysi Augi), 28 an extremist nationalistic party, received 5.29% of the votes, 29 thus becoming for the first time member of the Municipal Council of Athens. 3.2 Main policy and/or legislative debates In 2011, the discussions regarding illegal immigration, measures to address it and its consequences, especially dense concentration of illegal migrants in certain 21 Law 3907/2011 (OG A 7/ ). 22 See infra. 23 See infra for details. 24 PD 66/2011 (OG A 148/ ). 25 OG A 147/ OG A 170/ OG A 243/ evel%22:%22dhm_d%22,%22id%22:9186}} 8

9 cities, in particular in the city of Athens, were prevalent. In that context, an Action Plan for the City Centre of Athens was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers in May 2011, placing emphasis on illegal migration issues. Towards the same direction the announcement of the construction of a fence in the land border between Greece and Turkey instigated a lot of debates between those advocating in favour of the construction and those opposing it arguing that it would be ineffective and it would render difficult the access to asylum for those seeking international protection. 30 The deployment of Rapid Border Intervention Teams of FRONTEX in Greece, has also attracted a lot of attention. On , Law 3907/2011 was published in the Official Gazette. The said Law, as already mentioned, provides for the establishment of the new Asylum Service, which will become operational according to article 5 of the Law, within 12 months from the entry into force of the Law, the establishment of the First Reception Service and the transposition of the Return Directive. The establishment of the two Services constitutes the outcome of the work of two Committees of Experts, which were established by the Ministry of Citizen Protection in November The provisions of the Return Directive, as transposed by Law 3907/2011, apply to thirdcountry nationals staying illegally on the Greek territory. They do not apply to thirdcountry nationals who are subject to a refusal of entry in accordance with article 13 of the (EC) Regulation 562/2006, establishing the Schengen Borders Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across the borders or who are apprehended or intercepted by the competent authorities in connection with the irregular crossing by land, sea or air of the external borders, as defined in article 2 par. 2 of the Schengen Borders Code and who have not subsequently obtained an authorization or a right to stay in the country. 31 Thus, migrants who are apprehended for illegal entry at the borders fall under the legislative framework of expulsion provided for by Law 3386/2005. Moreover, Law 3907/2011 amended some provisions of Law 3386/2005, providing for the issue of residence permits for exceptional or humanitarian grounds. An event that generated heated debates and set the issue of migration in the epicenter of both media s and public s opinion attention, was the hunger strike of approximately 300 migrants in the Law Faculty of Athens University, initiated at the end of January 2011, who requested the regularization of all migrants, including of themselves, present in Greece. The migrants after a week of sit-in at the Law Faculty were moved to another private building, where they continued their hunger strike. After almost 40 days of hunger strike, the Government trying to resolve the crisis and 30 See, To Vima, Thermal Cameras on the Evros Fence, ( ), Kathimerini, Evros: The fence is Sloppy Solution say local authorities of the area, ( ), Ta Nea, They are afraid of the Fence, they enter via the river, ( ), Ethnos, 6 out of 10 in favour of the Fence, ( ). 31 They do not apply also to third-country nationals who are subject to an expulsion order, by virtue of a judicial decision, or as safety measure or an ancillary sentence or are subject to extradition proceedings in accordance with the provisions of an international convention binding the country or Articles 436 to 456 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or Law 3251/2004 European arrest warrant, amendment of Law 2928/2001 on criminal organizations and other provisions, or enjoy the Community right of free movement as defined in article 2 par. 5 of the Schengen Borders Code and PD 106/

10 prevent the loss of lives, decided that the said migrants would come under the nonremovable status of article 24 of Law 3907/2011 (Postponement of removal) for six months with the possibility of renewal every six months by police authorities. 32 Judgment 350/2011 rendered by the 4 th Section of the Council of State on has also attracted a lot of attention during the reference period. According to the said judgment, which was referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court, the provisions of Law 3838/2010 Modern Provisions Regarding Greek Citizenship and Political Participation of Aliens of Greek Origin and Migrants Residing Legally in Greece 33 concerning citizenship rights of children who are born in Greece or have attended 6 years of Greek schooling and third-country nationals voting rights in the municipal elections were in breach of the Constitution. 34 It needs to be noted that the said law had generated heated debates in Parliament and in the media. 35 In particular, the major opposition of New Democracy had strongly opposed it 36 proposing stricter conditions and stating also that when it comes to power will abrogate it, 37 while the party of LAOS set as a condition for its participation in the new government of November 2011 the abrogation of the said law, 38 a condition which was not satisfied. At the same time, the law had been welcomed by migrants associations and human rights organizations. 39 On , the Minister of Citizen Protection presented to the Cabinet the Integrated Program for Border Management and Combating Illegal Immigration. 40 The basic features of the said Program are the following: a) the enhancement of border control through the deployment of additional human resources and means of modern technology, b) the improvement of the asylum procedure as it stands now rendering it more effective and prompt and in the immediate future through the operation of the new Asylum Service, c) the future operation of the First Reception 32 See, Kathimerini, 7 th day of hunger strike for 237 migrants, ( ), Augi, Every legal window of regularization is closed by the Minister of Interior, ( ), To Vima, Hunger Blackmail, ( ), Ethnos, Appeal for the Migrants on Hunger Strike, ( ), To Vima, Kastanidis: No migrant on hunger strike will be deported. The only way-out is the non-removable status, ( ). 33 Law 3838/2010 (OG 49/ ). 34 Eleftheros Tupos, The Council of State held that the law providing for voting rights of third-country nationals is unconstitutional, ( ), Augi, The Council of State questions the law regarding migrants citizenship, ( ), Ta Nea, Judges as the nation s guardians, ( ). 35 Ta Nea, The Government is determined to proceed with the Bill, ( ), Ethnos, 77,1% of the public in favour of granting citizenship to migrant s children, ( ), Eleutherotupia, Samaras: Trojan Horse the Bill for the migrants, ( ), Kathimerini, Citizenship and National Identity, , Kathimerini, The Bill for migrants citizenship passed, See, Greek National Commission for Human Rights, Hellenic League for Human Rights, Greek Council for Refugees,

11 Service, which is underway and will facilitate the screening procedures, d) the enhancement of return procedures and assisted voluntary return via IOM. As already mentioned, an important development within 2011 was Law 4018/2011 regarding the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1030/2002 and the gradual transformation of Aliens and Immigration Services in each Decentralized Authority to one-stop shop services. Moreover, the drafting of laws for the transposition of the Blue Card Directive and the Employer s Sanctions Directive have reached their final stage. 3.3 Broader developments in asylum and migration The Ministry of Interior, considering social integration of third-country nationals a top priority, concluded its Draft National Strategy, which will be placed under public consultation in the beginning of The Ministry of Labour reduced, for some types of residence permits, the number of days that a third-country national must have been enrolled in social security in order to be able to renew his / her permit; an important development, as a significant number of third-country nationals face the risk of not being able to fulfill the relevant requirements of the Law and renew their residence permits, due to the rising unemployment and thus becoming illegal. Moreover, as part of its efforts to combat illegal employment ( undeclared work ), it established ergosimo, as a new form of social security for domestic workers, who are remunerated by the hour or per day for services, such as household cleaning. The establishment of the new Asylum Service by the Ministry of Citizen Protection staffed exclusively with civilian personnel and the disengagement of the Police from the asylum procedure is a significant policy change, which has been repeatedly requested by National Human Rights Institutions and NGOs. 41 Moreover, the more active involvement of FRONTEX, not solely in the context of deployment for border control, but in other areas, such as training of Greek police officers for nationality identification, signifies the willingness of the Greek Government to receive the assistance needed to tackle the challenges and complexities illegal migration poses. Furthermore, the cooperation with EASO depicts its determination to address the systemic problems of the asylum procedure. 3.4 Institutional developments In 2011 several institutional developments took place. Firstly, Law 3907/2011 which establishes the new Asylum Service and the First Reception Service within the structure of the Ministry of Citizen Protection. According to article 1 par. 2 of the said 41 National Commission for Human Rights, Comments on the Bill by the Ministry of Citizen Protection Establishment of Asylum Service and First reception Service, adjustment of Greek legislation to the provisions of Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, and other provisions, Annual Report 2010, p. 160 seq. 11

12 Law, the Asylum Service is competent for: a) contributing to the drafting and formulating the country s policy regarding the granting of asylum or other forms of international protection and monitoring and evaluating such implementation, b) registering, examining and ruling at first instance on all applications for international protection, c) informing applicants for international protection of the examination procedure, including their rights and obligations under it, d) collecting and assessing information on the economic, social and political situation of countries of origin of aliens and for constantly monitoring developments in these countries, in cooperation with other Greek or foreign authorities competent for this purpose, especially under relevant international agreements, e) providing aliens who are applicants for international protection, as well as beneficiaries of international protection, with the stipulated legal and travel documents, f) processing the applications for family reunification of refugees, g) facilitating applicants insofar as material reception conditions are concerned, in cooperation with the other competent services, h) preparing draft legislative texts and administrative acts in matters of its competence, and i) cooperating with State institutions, independent authorities and nongovernmental organizations, European Union bodies and institutions and international organizations in order to effectively fulfill its mission. The Asylum Service is composed of the Central Service and the Regional Asylum Offices. Regional Asylum Offices are dependent on the Central Service. The Central Service plans, directs, monitors and controls the work of Regional Asylum Offices and ensures the presence of the necessary conditions for the exercise of their tasks. The Minister may also decide to establish autonomous teams within the Regional Asylum Offices, located and operating in the premises of First Reception Centers or participating in mobile or temporary First Reception Units. Article 3 provides for the establishment of an Appeals Authority; its mission is to adjudicate on appeals lodged by applicants for international protection against decisions issued by the Asylum Service. Article 6 of Law 3907/2011 establishes the First Reception Service; its mission is to effectively manage the flow of illegally entering third-country nationals in the country under conditions that respect their dignity by including them in the procedures of First Reception. According to article 7, all third-country nationals who are arrested while entering the country without legal formalities shall be subjected to First Reception procedures, which include: a) their identity and nationality verification, b) their registration, c) their medical examination and any necessary care and psycho-social support, d) providing proper information about their obligations and rights, in particular about the conditions under which they may be placed under international protection, and e) identifying those who belong to vulnerable groups so that they be placed under the proper procedure provided for. On the basis of article 8, the First Reception Service shall be composed of the Central Service as well as the First Reception Centers (FRC) and temporary or mobile First Reception Units; the latter shall constitute the Regional Services, under the authority of the Central Service. 12

13 The heads of the two Services have been appointed and the procedures for their staffing and the required infrastructure have started. Article 42 of Law 3907/2011 amended article 89 of Law 3386/2005 providing for the establishment within the Ministry of Interior of three Committees on Migration, which render an opinion regarding the existence on the part of thirdcountry nationals of particularly strong links with the country s social life, upon which the Minister of Interior decides as to whether to grand residence permit for exceptional grounds. Each of these Committees is composed of: a) an employee of the General Directorate of Immigration Policy and Social Integration, who is head of a position of responsibility, as chair, b) an officer of the Aliens Directorate of the Hellenic Police Headquarters and c) a representative of civil society proposed by the Greek National Commission for Human Rights. Moreover, in November 2011 five additional Appeals Committees, on the basis of PD 114/2010, were established to examine applications for international protection in the 2 nd instance. 42 On the basis of Law 3938/2011, 43 the European and Development Programs Management Service was established within the Ministry of Citizen Protection. This new independent Service incorporates the responsible authorities for the European External Borders and Return Funds, as well as the Departments of Community Programs of the Hellenic Police, Coast Guard and Fire Brigade. The Service is composed of four Departments: a) Department of the European External Borders Fund, b) Department of the European Return Fund, c) Department of Development Programs and Public Investments, and d) Coordination and Support Department. Its task is the management of European funded programs for operational and development activities of the Ministry and the coordination of the services responsible for the implementation of these activities. In addition, an Operational Center was established in September 2011 within the Aliens Directorate of Hellenic Police Headquarters, having as a primary mission the coordination of operational cooperation against illegal migration and assurance of situational awareness. 4. LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND INTEGRATION 4.1. Economic migration Specific context Developments within the national perspective During 2011, several developments took place regarding economic migration. Law 4018/2011 Re-organization of the system for the issuance of aliens residence 42 Ministerial Decision 5401/ (OG YODD 385/ ). 43 OG A 61/

14 permits under increased security and other provisions falling under the competence of Ministry of Interior amended also provisions of Law 3386/2005 concerning seasonal employment and fishery workers: a) Article 5 regulates the entry to Greece of third-country nationals for seasonal employment and simplifies the procedure, as it exempts migrants, seasonal workers from the obligation to apply and receive a residence permit (which requires biometric data, i.e. a photograph and two fingerprints taken flat and digitally captured); it also provides for a special visa of specific duration, the same with the employment contract and up to six months, permitting employment exclusively for that period and for a specific employer. It is noted that this provision is compatible with the current version (under negotiation) of the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and Council on the conditions of entry and residence of thirdcountry nationals for seasonal employment (COM final). It needs to be noted that Greece has concluded a bilateral agreement on seasonal employment with Albania 44 on the basis of which several Albanians enter Greece to be employed as seasonal workers, depending on requests filed by employers at the competent services of the Ministry of Labour. In 2011, on the basis of the above agreement Albanians came to Greece as seasonal workers. b) Article 6 concerns the employment of guest fishery workers and establishes a simplified procedure for entry to Greece similar to the one for seasonal employment. Moreover, par. 6 of the said article provides for the right on the part of those falling under the Agreement for the promotion of bilateral cooperation in the area of employment between the Greek Republic and the Arab Republic of Egypt, 45 to sign a contract with another employer, if the contract with the employer, who invited them, is terminated while their visa is still valid. On , the Greek Ombudsman communicated to the competent Ministers its recommendations, which were endorsed also by the Greek National Commission for Human Rights, 46 for the improvement of the legislation concerning the issue and renewal of residence permits for third-country nationals. 47 The recommendations took into account the difficulties, especially in the context of the financial crisis, third-country nationals encounter in satisfying certain requirements for the renewal of their permits, e.g., the minimum number of days that they must be employed and insufficiency of income for renewing the residence permits of family members. Thus, the Greek Ombudsman recommended, among others, the renewal of residence permits even on the basis of a part-time employment contract, the reduction of the minimum time of employment required, the increase of the percentage of purchase of social security stamps as a substitute of the required days of social 44 Law 2482/1997 (OG A 73/ ). 45 Ratified by Law 1453/1984 (OG A 16/ ). 46 See letter of the NCHR addressed to the Prime Minister and to the competent Ministers, METANASTEYSH%20final.pdf. 14

15 security for permit renewal, and the adoption of a more a flexible system concerning the alteration of specialisation and the equivalent type of residence permit. The Ministry of Labour, cognizant of the difficulties third-country nationals face regarding the renewal of their residence permits, taking into account the recommendations of the Greek Ombudsman, and on the basis previous announcements 48 took relevant measures. On a Joint Ministerial Decision was issued titled Setting minimum number of daily wages or minimum time of social security per year and per Social Security Institution for the renewal of residence permits of third-country nationals and conditions for access to salaried employment and independent economic activity provided by article 59 (b) of Law 3386/ This is an important development, as a significant number of third-country nationals face the risk of not being able to fulfill the relevant requirements of the Law and renew their residence permits, due to the rising unemployment (as a consequence of the current economic crisis) and thus becoming illegal. The said Ministerial Decision reduces, for some types of residence permits, the number of days that a third-country must have been enrolled in social security in order to be able to renew his / her permit. For example, in the case of third-country nationals with a residence permit of 1 year for dependent employment, the minimum days of social security were reduced from 200 days to 120 days. Moreover, a Decision of the Minister of Labour 50 established ergosimo, as a new form of social security for domestic workers, who are remunerated by the hour or per day for services, such as household cleaning, care for children, toddlers and infants, provision of all forms of assistance and care for the elderly and people with disabilities, care or nursing care for sick or bedridden people, cosmetic services (e.g. hair-dressers), gardening, minor repair work (not construction), etc. Ergosimo is issued by institutions, such as Banks, Postal Services, Social Security Services, in the form of cheque of specific monetary value, which includes the amount of remuneration and the amount of social security contributions. Every natural or legal person who makes use of the aforementioned services is obliged to provide domestic workers with ergosimo. The latter receive their remuneration for the work provided by cashing out the Ergosimo in the abovementioned institutions, while at the same time the corresponding social security contributions are withheld. This flexible and practical measure renders feasible social security even for the most informal and temporary types of employment and discourages undeclared work. In its efforts to facilitate the residence status of third-country nationals, the Secretary General of Population and Social Cohesion of the Ministry of Interior issued a Circular, 51 clarifying that third country nationals who for objective reasons do not possess a passport are not excluded from the status of long-term resident 48 To Ethnos, Measures for Illegal Immigration ( ). 49 Ministerial Decision 15055/546 (OG B 1886/ ). 50 No /343/F10034 (OG B 1586/2011). 51 Prot. No /

16 provided that they satisfy the requirements set by PD 150/ However, due to the lack of travel document they will not be able to travel within the EU. Moreover, a Joint Ministerial Decision determined the process (a fast track procedure for investment activities) and the conditions for the eligibility of thirdcountry nationals under Law 3386/2005 who move from a company established in a third country, to provide service under supply contract between a company established in a Member State of the European Union or European Economic Area and a corresponding one carrying out its activities in Greece. 53 Furthermore, a Joint Ministerial Decision 54 was issued providing for the issue of a special permit for temporary stay of third-country nationals who have filed an annulment application against administrative decisions, which a) have rejected the renewal of residence permit, b) have revoked a residence permit, c) have refused the issue of a residence permit under the provisions of Law 3386/2005, including the transitional ones or under its implementing Acts, in case the administrative courts have issued a suspension decision or a provisional order of suspension. The said measures were necessary in the framework of the Administration s obligation to comply with domestic judicial decisions, as required by the rule of law Developments from the EU perspective Greece considers that labour matching and skills recognition is a useful tool, which will maximize the benefits of economic migration for both host countries and third-country nationals themselves. Although, at the moment there are no planned measures to improve the skills recognition of third-country nationals and labour matching between Greece and third countries, Greece follows with keen interest the discussions taking place within the EU and the practices developed by other member states in this area. The management of migrant labour force (from third countries) is combined with labour market needs. To this end, the procedure of invitation of a third-country national for employment (guest workers) is provided for in article 14 of Law 3386/2005. According to the said article, the needs of labour market are covered on the basis of requests and needs in labour force by businesses and employers for specific specialties and sectors after taking into account the needs of national economy and the offer of employment by nationals and / or EU citizens and / or already legally residing third country nationals. With regard to the requests of third-country nationals by employers, there is a decrease in comparison with the previous years. Thus, there is also a respective decrease in the number of third-country nationals to be invited for employment provided for by a Joint Ministerial Decision issued annually. In particular, while in 2010 the number of requests for guest workers was , in 2011, it dropped to Transposition of Directive 2003/109/EC of the 25 th of November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long term residents (OG A 160/ ). 53 Joint Ministerial Decision 5205/2011 (OG B 434/ ). 54 Joint Ministerial Decision 22037/2011 (OG B 1629/ ). 16

17 Greece implements Directive 2005/71/EC (transposed by PD 128/ ) and Directive 2004/114/EC (transposed by PD 101/ ). However, in 2011 there were no other specific measures to facilitate access to employment in Greece of highly qualified workers, students and researchers. With regard to the Council Directive 2009/50/EC on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment, the competent Ministry of Interior has already prepared a draft law for the transposition of the Directive to the national legislation, which is in the final stage to be submitted to the Greek Parliament for voting and approval. 4.2 Family Reunification Specific context Greece implements Directive 2003/86/EC on the right to family reunification, which has transposed by PD 131/ and was supplemented by PD 167/ On the basis of the above instruments, residence permits were issued for family reunification in Developments within the national perspective In the general framework of family reunification, a Joint Ministerial Decision (23443/2011) was issued setting up the conditions for granting a residence permit to third-country nationals, who have a steady relationship, adequately proven, with a Greek or an EU citizen. 59 The said Decision is in line with the ratio of Directive 2004/38/EC and aims at safeguarding the right to family life of Greek and EU citizens. Τhe said persons, if they do not hold a valid residence permit, they need to obtain a -Regulation 539/2001- Schengen visa issued free of charge and with simplified procedure. Those third-country nationals who wish to reside in Greece for a period of time exceeding three months, they need to file an application to the General Secretariat of Population and Social Cohesion (Ministry of Interior) during the first three months of their stay provided that they satisfy the following conditions: a) hold a passport or other valid travel document, b) prove EU s citizen stable residence in Greece, c) maintain common residence with an EU or Greek citizen, d) document their steady relationship with the EU or Greek citizen, e) have full sickness insurance cover. According to par. 5 the existence of a steady relationship is presumed, if a) the persons have a registered partnership (e.g., civil pact) or a child (even adopted), b) have joint long-term legal, social or financial commitments. To prove the conditions under 5 (a) the persons concerned need to submit: a certified 55 OG A 190/ OG A 157/ OG A 143/ OG A 223/ ). 59 OG B 2225/

18 copy of the civil pact cohabitation or similar document, which under the law of the country of origin of the EU citizen testifies the registered partnership or a copy of the birth certificate of the child or copy of the documents certifying the adoption of the child. In the case under 5 (b) evidence need to be submitted that certify joint longterm legal, social or financial commitments. The residence permit is issued for one year and is renewable for another two years. Moreover, residence permit of equal duration is granted to the common children of the partners if they are under 21- and to the children of each of the partners, who escort them or come to meet them in Greece. In relation to family reunification, according to the Greek Ombudsman, there have been problems with the issue of visas by the Greek Consulates. 60 The right to family reunification is provided for by Council Directive 2003/86/EC and national legislation, according to which the body responsible for the examination of the relevant applications and decisions is the Secretary General of the Region. The Consulates are involved only in a preliminary stage, as responsible for ascertaining the relationship and rendering a relevant reasoned opinion. The positive decision of the Region is forwarded to the relevant Consulate in order to issue the visa. However, according to the Greek Ombudsman, in practice, the Consulates exceed their prescribed competence: they refuse to issue a visa either by persisting on their initial negative opinion, which was not accepted by the Region, or by conducting in retrospect, and even without any specific reasoning, an investigation regarding the existence of family relationship. The Ombudsman has noted that, in case new evidence is found after the Region has issued its decision, the Consulates have only one option: to notify the Region in order for the latter to consider withdrawing its decision. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its response 61 to the observations of the Greek Ombudsman, noted: a) The Consulates are obliged to communicate their opinion regarding the ascertainment of the family relationship to the Regions within three months of the receipt of a complete application. To that end the Consulates review documents and conduct interviews to establish whether there is a fictitious marriage or adoption, and may render a negative opinion if false or misleading information has been used, or falsified documents or other illegal means. If the threemonth period lapses the Secretary General of the Region may issue a decision without the said opinion. In countries, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh, the three-month period may not be observed due to the prevailing circumstances (e.g. no consulate in Bangladesh, inadequate cooperation with the State authorities, large number of applications, etc). b) On the basis of the determining competence of the Regions regarding family relationship, when they may not safely ascertain its existence, their decision is based either on the Consulates opinion or -in the absence of an opinion- on other information of the applicant s file not adequate with regard to the existence of family relationship-, i.e. they issue a decision without having 60 The Greek Ombudsman, Annual Report 2010, p Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Protocol No. F 1090.A(2530)/3/AS849,