Overhaul for foreign workers

The government is planning important changes to the institutional framework for foreigners invited for cover specific labor shortages in Greece, from the way that the real needs for labor in each region is recorded to the issuance of a residence permit for foreign laborers.

The aim is to establish a framework for fast, easy and targeted transfers of workers from third countries to Greece, as despite the ever-growing needs that cannot be met by Greece's unemployed, the transfers made so far fall short not only of real needs, but also of the positions approved every two years by the Labor Ministry.

It is estimated that only one in five approved positions is filled by imported labor. After all, it usually takes 12 to 18 months for migrant workers to come to Greece. In fact, for all of the above, there are no officially data in a database, which could be the central...