Greece to Resolve Visa Delays for Seasonal Agricultural Workers in Coming Months

The Greek authorities have shared that the country is working to resolve the visa issues that foreign agricultural workers have been facing when wanting to reach Greece for seasonal employment purposes.

According to the Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum, Makis Voridis, one of the main problems is visa delays. However, as he explained, these delays are not due to regional administrations but rather due to Greek consulates abroad, Schengen.News reports. 

To address the visa delays for agricultural workers, the Ministry of Migration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have started discussions with the aim of finding a solution that would facilitate the entry of this group of workers into the country. 

Minister Voridis expressed optimism that the procedures for the visa issues would be completed by the end of June. Nonetheless, he noted that problems may occur along the way as when trying to make such facilitations, the Greek authorities need to follow the commitments under Schengen.

At the same time, Minister Voridis asked everyone to contribute to this process, and while acknowledging the complexity of this issue, said that he is open to any better idea on the matter. 

The Issue of Visas a Chronic Problem for Greece 
The issue of visas for foreign nationals is an ongoing problem for Greece. Due to the visa issues, the country has in some cases not been able to implement agreements reached with other countries regarding the employment of their nationals. 

One example is the case of Egypt. Greece reached an agreement with Egypt for the employment of 5,000 agricultural workers. However, this agreement was never effectively activated mainly because of visa issues and dysfunctions related to this matter. 

While Greece is working to resolve the visa issues for agriculture workers who are needed especially during the harvest seasons, the country has extended a separate regulation that permits undocumented third-country nationals who have resided in the country for at least three years to obtain residence permits with the right to work. 

Under this scheme, around 30,000 undocumented migrants are eligible to obtain residence permits for the purposes of taking up employment. The nationalities that will benefit the most from this scheme are Albanians, Georgians, and Filipinos.

Source: https://schengenvisainfo.com/news/greece-to-resolve-visa-delays-for-seasonal-agricultural-workers-in-coming-months/