Over 270,000 Residence Permit Applications Still Pending in Greece
Key Points
1. Over 270,000 Residence Permit Applications Pending in Greece: The backlog impacts the economy, exacerbating existing labor shortages that these applicants are expected to fill.
2. Majority of Pending Cases in Attica: Over 75% of applications are from the Attica Directorate.
Greece is currently facing a significant backlog of residence permit applications, with thousands of requests remaining unprocessed. As of September, the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum reported a total of 273,900 pending residence permit applications, including renewals—a 12% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
About 33% (90,139) of these applications were submitted in 2023, indicating that the bulk of the delay stems from recent submissions. Additionally, 11.6% (31,947) of pending applications date back to 2022.
Among the backlog, 51,489 applications are related to employment, creating difficulties for foreign workers to enter Greece—a country grappling with labor shortages. High numbers of family reunification cases, especially those involving Greek citizens, also remain unprocessed.
Efforts to Expedite Processing in the 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, who make up 60% of new workers, along with nationals from Georgia and Pakistan, are expected to benefit the most from faster processing.
Delays in processing have economic consequences, as foreign labor is essential to Greece’s economy. For example, unharvested olives due to labor shortages have led to estimated losses of €1.5 billion.
Call for Streamlined Entry for Agricultural Workers
Greece currently faces a shortage of 180,000 agricultural workers, impacting the economy. Exporters have urged the government to simplify the recruitment process for foreign land workers. In 2023, a 30% drop in green olive production due to labor shortages resulted in nearly €27 million in losses.
As of mid-2024, Greece had received 14,000 applications for work-related residence permits, with expectations to exceed 30,000 by year's end. Over 2023 and 2024, Greece plans to grant 147,926 residence permits to non-EU workers, distributed across 13 regions to address labor shortages nationwide.