Greece: Over 270,000 Residence Permit Applications Await Processing

Key Points

• There are currently over 270,000 pending residence permit applications in Greece, significantly affecting the labor market amid ongoing shortages.
• The majority, over 75%, of these applications are concentrated in the Attica Directorate.

Greece is grappling with a significant backlog of residence permit applications, leaving many requests unresolved. Official data from the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum indicates that as of September, there were 273,900 pending applications, including renewals. This figure marks a 12% increase compared to the same period in 2023, as reported by Schengen.News.

Of these pending applications, approximately 90,139—or nearly 33%—were submitted in 2023, highlighting that the bottleneck largely stems from recent applications. An additional 11.6%, or around 31,947 applications, date back to 2022.

Among these, 51,489 are employment-related permits, posing a challenge for Greece amidst labor shortages. There is also a substantial number of family reunification requests, particularly involving Greek citizens.

Efforts to Expedite Processing in Attica Directorate

Since the start of the year, the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum has intensified efforts to accelerate processing times, particularly in the Attica Directorate. Albanians stand to benefit significantly from these measures, comprising 60% of the incoming workforce, along with nationals from Georgia and Pakistan.

The prolonged processing delays are detrimental to the Greek economy, given the reliance on foreign labor to meet market demands. The unharvested olives alone, due to labor shortages, have resulted in estimated economic losses of €1.5 billion.

Agricultural Sector Calls for Easier Entry Requirements

There is an acute shortage of 180,000 agricultural workers in Greece, prompting exporters to urge the government to simplify the entry process for foreign laborers. In 2023, the production of green olives fell by 30% due to insufficient labor, leading to nearly €27 million in agricultural losses.

By mid-2024, Greece had received 14,000 work residence permit applications, with expectations to exceed 30,000. For 2023 and 2024, around 147,926 residence permits are set to be issued to non-EU workers, distributed across 13 regions to address widespread labor shortages.