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GREECE
1. INVOLUNTARY RETURN
1.1 POLICY
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GREECE
Greece is experiencing growing migratory pressures and has been transformed in recent years
from an emigration to an immigration country.
This trend first appeared in the early 80s, with a gradually increasing inflow of immigrants, both
regular and irregular. The geographic position of the country and its extensive land and sea
borders offer easy access to migrants attempting to enter the country in irregular ways.
To address this, an Immigration (Foreigners) Law was passed in 1991 mainly to provide the
legal basis for decrees to discourage the irregular entry of foreigners to Greece. According to the
Law, foreigners could not enter the country without a work permit that provides the basis for
issuance of a residence permit. Under the Law of 1991 (No. 1975/1991), a special police force
was created for the efficient control of the border (Law No. 2458/1996 amended the Law of 1991).
The asylum-related provisions of this Law, in particular, established a general asylum framework
to allow the Greek state to regulate significant, practical details through Presidential
Decrees. A number of such decrees constitute the main body of current Greek refugee law. These
are Presidential Decree 61/99 issued by the Ministry of Public Order and Presidential Decrees
189/98 and 266/99 issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Insurances.
The numbers of irregular immigrants continued to rise during the 1990s. This prompted a public
debate about migration that led the Greek authorities to reform the legal framework. In 1997, the
Greek state adopted legal measures to regularize irregular migrants and expel those not admissible
through the regularization programme. Relevant legislation was enacted in November 1997,
through Presidential Decrees 358 and 359, allowing irregular immigrants to apply for legal
status. Despite massive expulsions, and the creation of the special police force for stricter border
controls, irregular migrants continued entering Greece.
To address this, a second regularization process was enacted in 2001, regulated by the new
Immigration Law No. 2910/2001, and consequently amended by Laws No. 3013/2002 and 3202/
2003. Law No. 2910 and its amendments attempt to reorganize and update the legal status of
migration in Greece, addressing issues related to the entrance and settlement, including integration,
of new immigrants, while at the same time containing articles applicable to those already
resident in Greece. This development can be seen in the light of efforts by the European Union to
harmonize its immigration policy.