Greece

Date of Independence: March 25th

Capital: Athens

Population:10,288,529 (est. 2023)

Foreign-Born Population: Net Migration rate: 1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)

* Data represent citizenship; Greece does not collect data on ethnicity

Government Structure: Unitary parliamentary republic

Leader(s):

Prime Minister/ Head of government: Kyriakos Mitsotakis (since 8 July 2019)
President/Head of state: Katerina Sakellaropoulou (since 13 March 2020)

Primary Flow of Immigration: Receiving country. Located along the Eastern Mediterranean route. This route refers to the migratory route to Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, predominantly via Turkey.

Current Stance on Immigration: The current government of Greece takes an interest in handling the extent of Migration. Prime Minister Mitsotakis has repeatedly asserted the need “to protect external borders” and “to have a framework to return people who are not entitled to protection within the European Union.” His governments lived through the major flow of migrants in 2019, and was criticized for the handling of migrants. Mitsotakis has denied any allegation of migrant mishandling and has stated the following towards the accusing nations:

“ I think the obligation of those (European) countries is to understand my position, what it means to be on the border, having both a land and a sea border, and having to deal with smugglers who instrumentalize human suffering.”

General Immigration Policy state:

The Greek immigration policy is quite lenient compared to most countries in Europe and the United States. This is why many people choose Greece as a channel to the EU.
The ways through which one can enter include the following:

Political asylum
By Investment: This is due to the Golden Visa of Greece. To obtain a visa, you will need to buy a property
By Descent and Family reunion
By employment:

Recent Immigration Policy:

A Social integration program has been devised, called HELIOS (Hellenic Integration Support for Beneficiaries of International Protection). The program's goal is to help international protection recipients integrate into Greek society by promoting their independence through housing assistance, integration courses (Greek language, social skills, etc.), labor market promotion through labor counseling conferences, and raising local society awareness and social cohesion.
The Greek government is expanding the fortification of the Evros border as well through providing 50 new vessels for the Hellenic Coast Guard.

Public Opinion on Migration:

Study conducted by “More in Common”

• The study separated Greek people into the ‘closed’ opinion groups (Nationalist Opponents and Alarmed Opponents), the ‘open’ opinion groups, and the ‘mixed’ opinion group.

‘Closed’ group tends to have a narrower view of what it means to be Greek and are more hostile to migrants and refugees. The study found that 18% belong in these categories.
‘Open’ group holds a welcoming attitude towards migrants, and are especially empathetic towards refugees. The study found that 20% of the population belong in this category.
According to the study, the biggest group is the ‘middle’, which actually comprises three sub-groups: Moderate Humanitarians (28% of Population), Instinctive Pragmatists(19% of Population) and Detached Traditionalists (15% of population). These groups (further explanation below) are marked by mixed attitudes, with each group having distinctive views such as concerns about economic insecurity, the preservation of cultural and religious identity or the need for security from outside threats. Some are distinctive for not having strong views on any of these issues.

Moderate Humanitarians lean towards ‘open’ views as they have a generally positive and welcoming disposition towards migrants and refugees, but their national pride and sympathies with more authoritarian measures distinguish them from the most ‘open’ Greeks. At 92 per cent, Moderate Humanitarians are more than twice as likely as Greek Multiculturals to be proud of being Greek. They are also twice as likely to be willing to ignore human rights to stop terrorism (28 per cent vs 14 per cent).
Instinctive Pragmatists are unique in holding optimistic views about the economic consequences of globalization and they are also the most likely to believe in the economic benefits of immigration. However, they hold colder than average feelings towards immigrants, refugees and Muslims, are very concerned about terrorism, and believe that allowing refugees into the country increases security risks.
Detached Traditionalists also stand apart from the ‘open’ and ‘closed’ segments. Their religious beliefs have made them more protective of Greek heritage although they are less strident in their views. While they are the second most likely segment to want to protect Greece’s religious heritage from outside faiths and only 14 per cent believe that Muslims hold similar values to them, they are more hospitable than the ‘closed’ groups. Only 40 per cent believe that Islam and Greek society are incompatible, compared to 61 per cent of Alarmed Opponents and 81 percent of Nationalist Opponents.