immigration10Research Institute for European and American Studies
Newsletter on Immigration to Greece
Editor: Ioannis Kolovos

Greeks’ views towards immigrants remain negative
According to an opinion poll conducted for think-tank “Dianeosis”, 49% of Greeks view immi-grants negatively, 88.3% of Greeks consider that there are “too many” immigrants in the country, 64.4% think that immigrants contribute to increased criminality and 58% that they increase unemployment.

The relevant article (Kathimerini, 5/3/2017) can be read in full here (in Greek only)

Greek population shrunk
Low birth-rate and outward migration due to the economic crisis have resulted in the shrinking of the population of Greeks by almost 200,000 since 2011.

The relevant analysis (Efimerida ton Syntakton, 8/3/2017) can be read in full here (in Greek only)

Number of births fell by 10% in 15 years
According to the latest Eurostat data the number of births in Greece fell from 102,282 in 2001 to 91,847 in 2015.

The relevant Eurostat news-release can be read in full here (in English)

Legal immigrants to get electronic residence permits
The new permits will contain owners’ biometric data in a microchip

The relevant article (Kathimerini, 9/3/2017) can be read in full here (in Greek only)

The granting of citizenship due to birth and schooling in Greece skyrocketed!
According to the latest data citizenship due to birth and schooling in Greece was granted to 19,032 people in 2016 compared to just 305 in 2015.

The relevant article (To Vima, 12/3/2017) can be read in full here (in Greek only)

Unemployment much higher for foreign nationals
According to the latest Labor Force Survey (4th quarter of 2016) the unemployment rate of foreign nationals was much higher compared to the Greeks (30.2% compared to 23.1% re-spectively).

The relevant press release by the National Statistics Authority can be read here (in Greek only)

How millions in refugee funds were wasted in Greece
Some $803 million flowed into Greece from the beginning of 2015 to be spent on services for the 57,000 refugees and migrants stranded in the country. That translates to a rough cost per beneficiary of $14,000 ! One senior aid official admitted that as many as $70 out of every $100 spent had been wasted.

The relevant article (ekathimerini.com, 19/3/2017) can be read in full here (in English)

New NCSR research confirmed Greeks’ negative view of immigration
New research conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE) showed that 65% of Greeks believe that immigration has made Greece a worse place to live, 57% think that immigrants do not enrich local culture and 44.4% think that the government treats refu-gees and immigrants better that its own citizens!

The relevant article (Efimerida ton Syntakton, 21/3/2017) can be read in full here (in Greek only)

Deputy Minister for Citizen’s Protection is quite revealing regarding immigra-tion!
Deputy Minister for Citizen’s Protection Mr Nikos Toskas admitted that Syriza “open borders” mentality was “in the wrong direction” and that dealing with issues of refugees and immigrants takes up 50-60% of Police time.

The relevant article (Ethnos, 29/3/2017) can be read in full here (in Greek only)

Another ring which provided illegal immigrants with residence permits has been smashed
The ring consisted of 25 people and had “served” several hundreds of illegal immigrants

The relevant article (Kathimerini, 1/4/2017) can be read in full here (in Greek only)

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