AENEAS
“Estimate of the illegal immigrant population in
Greece”
April 2008
Athens
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
This research has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union
and the project partners. The contents of this research are the sole responsibility of
the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO) and can under no circumstances be
regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
Publisher: Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO)
Address: 46 Haritos str., Athens - Greece
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Hellenic Ministry of Interior.
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between
Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
RESEARCH TEAM
Theodoros P. Lianos
Kostas Kanellopoulos
Maria Gregou
Eda Gemi
Panagiota Papakonstantinou
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between
Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Bibliography Review …………………………………………1
Chapter 2
Estimate of the Illegal Immigrant Population
based on the Number of Foreign Students - Bibliography
review ....................................................................................... 8
Chapter 3
Estimate of the Illegal Immigrant Population
based on arrest and Deportation Data……………………..…16
Chapter 4
Estimate of the Illegal Immigrant Population
based on the Estimates of Immigrant Associations……….… 25
Chapter 5
Estimate of the Illegal Immigrant Population
based on the Estimates of Local Authorities……………..…. 36
Chapter 6
Estimate of the Illegal Immigrant Population
based on the data from the NSSG and ΗΜοΙ ………………..58
Chapter 7
Estimate of the Illegal Immigrant Population based on the
Estimates of the Hellenic Police Force ………………………95
Chapter 8
Summary and Conclusions………………………………….101
Annex
Findings on the repatriation of illegal Albania
immigrants in Greece……………………………………….105
Bibliography
………………………………………………………………109
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Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
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CHAPTER ONE
BIBLIOGRAPHY REVIEW
I.
The economic bibliography on immigration is indeed enormous. One could
reasonably claim that this bibliography began with the two comprehensive articles of
Ravenstein, written in 1885 and 1889 respectively. However, despite the large
population movement to the USA at the beginning of the twentieth century,
immigration bibliography has not developed considerably. It is worth noting that no
reference is made to the term “immigration” in A. Marshall’s book “Principles of
Economics”, which was originally published in 1890 and saw its sixth impression in
year 1938. The only relevant reference made was that by J.R. Hicks (1932), who
noted that “the differences in the purely financial advantages, and mainly the
differences in salaries, are the main causes of immigration”, while reference was also
made in some significant articles of Makower, Marschak and Robinson (1938, 1940),
Duncan (1940) and in one article of Stouffer (1940).
The limited research and therefore poor bibliography of that period could be
due to lack of sufficient statistical data, which would be easily accessible to
researchers at low cost. Moreover, it is possible that immigration was not yet
acknowledged as a permanent phenomenon or basically, that it was not yet noticed
that population movements had a radical and significant impact on both the countries
of origin and destination.
The great development in economic bibliography on immigration began with
the article of Sjaastad in 1962, i.e. at a time of massive population movements to the
USA, Canada and Australia and also from the European South to the North. The
success of the Sjaastad paper and its broad acceptance by the entire community of
economists lies in that it analyzes immigration as an economically rational behavior
within the scope of the investment theory. Since then, the bibliography on
immigration in North America and Europe has seen great development among the
economists and other social scientists.
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II.
Contrary to the bibliography on general immigration, the bibliography on
illegal immigration has mainly developed after 1992 as a result of the extensive
population movements to Europe after the fall of the Soviet Union and of the regimes
of existing socialism. There are, of course, studies on illegal immigration which were
published before that, such as the papers of Chiswick (1986) and Ethier (1986) in
USA. A part of this rapidly-developing bibliography on illegal immigration refers to
the immigrant populations and estimation methods thereof.
There are currently three bibliography reviews on the estimation of illegal
immigrant populations and the relevant estimation methods. The first one, in terms of
chronological priority, was the paper of Tapinos (1999), which is based on a previous
study of Delaunay and Tapinos (1998). These studies stress the complexity of the
phenomenon of illegal immigration and identify such illegality in three different
levels: Illegal entry, illegal stay and illegal employment. Moreover, they present an
almost exhaustive typology of the methods applied to date in estimating illegal
immigration populations.
These methods are classified a direct and indirect
methods. Direct estimates, as implied by the term, are those based on data deriving
from statistics from the administrative Authorities, e.g. entry permit denials, illegal
immigrant arrests, legalization schemes, as well as from statistical sampling. Indirect
estimates are those deriving from comparison of various data or from secondary
sources, e.g. immigrant criminology data, school admissions etc.
Tapinos and
Delaunay have come to two conclusions, which are worth mentioning: With regard to
the illegal immigrant population estimation method, they stress the need to apply
scientific methods, as they consider them to be more reliable. As to the development
of this phenomenon in time, they express the view that illegal immigration is not a
temporary phenomenon; that it is inevitable and that it is expected to increase due to
the ever-increasing globalization, the continuing national combats and the changes
that are taking place in the countries currently in a transitional phase. The view that
illegal immigration has become a permanent phenomenon is also supported by other
researchers, e.g. Papademetriou (2006), who stresses that it would be best to examine
how to deal with illegal immigration to the common benefit, rather than seeking ways
to prevent it.
The second bibliography review, in chronological order, is that of Jandl
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(2004). This paper examines the methods applied for the estimation of the illegal
immigrant population in various European countries and stresses the distinction
between the illegal immigration population, i.e. the immigrant populations staying
and being employed illegally, and the inflow of illegal immigrants. In estimating the
illegal immigrant population, Jandl refers to the following methods applied by other
researchers:
(a)
The “residue methods”, where the number of illegal immigrants derives as a
residue from the comparison of census data or data from other records;
(b)
The “multiplier methods”, where the estimate is based on a fixed ratio
between a measurable variable and the number of illegal immigrants, e.g. the
legal / illegal immigrants ratio.
(c)
The sampling methods, where a group of experts or persons associated with
the matter, e.g. entrepreneurs who are employing immigrants, is interviewed
and the answers are totalized under the appropriate multiplier.
(d)
Arrest / re-arrest methods, where the number of immigrants re-arrested is
estimated and, according to the number of arrest, the results are readjusted to
match the total. This is the method applied by ichthyologists to identify fish
populations, e.g. in lakes.
(e)
Estimation of illegal immigrant populations based on data deriving from
legalization schemes.
(f)
Estimate of the immigrant populations employed illegally, based on the
proportion between the immigrants illegally employed in specific enterprises
and the ratio of these enterprises and economy as a whole.
In measuring the inflow of illegal immigrants, Jandl quotes as an estimation
method the border arrests. Assuming that the ratio of illegal entry attempts and arrests
is known and invariable, then the number of illegal entries derives from the number of
arrests. Of course, the number of illegal entries is not identified with the size of the
illegal immigrant population currently in the country.
The third bibliography review (also in 2004) is the paper of Prinkerton,
McLaughlan and Salt (2004). This paper presents in thorough detail several studies
that were carried to estimate illegal immigrant populations. It also presents the studies
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already presented in the paper of Delaunay and Tapinos as well as some more recent
studies that were carried out for the USA, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, Netherlands
and the South-African Association. Furthermore, it contains a comprehensive
summary of the information sources used in various studies and of the estimation
methods applied.
Within the scope of this brief reference to bibliography, it is advisable to refer
to the increasing interest in illegal entries, the mechanisms of the illegal networks
which organize and carry out illegal movements, the cost of such movements and
their consequences1. This trend is indicative of the interest and the concern caused by
illegal immigration in the Western and Southern Europe.
III.
There is now extensive bibliography2 on modern immigration to Greece,
which covers a broad range of the problems3 relating to the inflow of large numbers of
illegal immigrants after 1990, part of whom have become legal. However, limited
efforts are made to estimate the illegal immigrant populations existing in the country
in every time period.
The only safe estimates available as to the number of immigrants are those
deriving from the three legalization schemes and the 2001 census. According to these
data, 371,641 immigrants took part in the legalization scheme of year 1998, by
applying for a “white card”, i.e. temporary stay permit. During the 2001 census,
672,191 immigrants were staying in Greece (both legalized in the 1998 legalization
scheme and illegal), 66,000 of whom came from the EU and Cyprus. 367,860 illegal
immigrants took part in the legalization scheme of year 2001, but only 217,000
qualified for a stay and employment permit. In the third legalization scheme of year
2005, there were 145,000 applications, far below those of the two previous schemes.4
1
Among the recent studies in this field are the following:. Koser, K. (2005),. Jandl, (2007), Futo, P.
and T. Tass (2001), Futo, P., M. Jandl and L. Karsakova (2007), Papadopoulou, Asp. (2004)
Antonopoulos, G. and J. Winterdyc, (2006).
2
The most important part of this bibliography is found in the following studies Th. Lianos (2003), Th.
Lianos and Th. Benos (2004), St Zografaki,s A. Kodis and Th. Mitrakos 92007), Ira EmkePoulopoulou (2007)
3
Cf. the minutes of the conventions of the Immigration Policy Institute in 2006 (under publication,
titled ?????????)
4
For debates and comments on the legalization schems, cf. Cavounides, J. (2002). Cavounidis, J.
(2007) and Fakiolas, R. (2003).
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Evidently, the number of applications in the legalization schemes provides a
minimum estimate of number of illegal immigrants, whereas following a census, a
minimum estimate of the total immigrant population. A census is essential not only
because a certain number of immigrants were not recorded, but also because the
census is carried out in March, when many immigrants are entering the country for the
upcoming season of high tourism and agricultural works, i.e. May to September.
As a result of the three legalization schemes carried out, a total of 604,215
valid stay and employment permits were granted to immigrants in Greece in 2005 and
695,979 permits in 2006. However, these data do not provide an estimate of the illegal
immigrant population, given that the total immigrant population remains unknown.
Three efforts were made to estimate the illegal immigrant population, all in
different time periods. The first effort was the one made by Lianos, Sarris and
Katselis (2006) and was carried out in 1995. This study was based on the a series of
questionnaires, which were answered by 213 agricultural, 47 construction and 40
industrial enterprises established in the four districts of Macedonia. From the findings
of this research and based on certain systematic assumptions, the total population of
illegal immigrants in Greece in 1995 was estimated at 471,000. It is only reasonable
to assume that the some of the employed immigrants are accompanies by nonemployed family members; therefore, within the scope of the estimation method
applied, the above estimate must be considered as a minimum.
Given that no
legalization scheme was carried out prior to 1995, the above estimate refers to illegal
immigrants.
A most recent study is that of Kanellopoulos, Gregou and Petralias (2006).
The authors of this study have used all available statistical data sources, i.e. the 2001
Census, all three legalization schemes, the number of arrests and deportations of
illegal immigrants, the number of entry denials and denials of asylum, the Labor
Force Surveys and the data of the persons insured with the National Social Security
Organization (“IKA”), the Agricultural Insurance Organization (“OGA”) and the
Insurance Fund for Craftsmen and Small Traders (“TEBE”). Based on these data and
certain assumptions, they reached the conclusions that the total population of illegal
immigrants in year 2004 was approx. 300,000.
Another estimate of the illegal immigrant population is also contained in the
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abovementioned study of Zografakis, Kodis and Mitrakos. This study uses data from
the 2001 Census, the legalization schemes and the Statistical Service and leads to
three different estimates of the population of illegal immigrants in year 2004.
According to the first estimate, this population was somewhere between 295,000 and
335,000. According to the second estimate, it was 227,000 and according to the third,
it was ranged from 272,000 to 312,000. Regardless of how close to reality these
estimates really are, this study’s drawback is that it is based on the NSSG assumption
that the immigrant population (both illegal and legal) in 2004 was somewhere
between 890,000 and 930,000 and in 2001 it was 775,000 – 815,000. However, these
population estimates are rather unreliable, as they include the population of illegal
immigrants, which remains unknown. Moreover, the authors’ assumption that during
period 2004-2006 80,000 illegal immigrants crossed the borders is arbitrary, given
that it is not backed by any official or other information.
IV.
Following this brief review of bibliography, we are lead to four conclusions,
which should be noted:
First, illegal immigration to the countries of the EU is not a temporary
phenomenon, nor is it expected to end any time soon. On the contrary, it appears that
it has gained the character of a permanent phenomenon of population movements.
Second, combating illegal immigration is difficult, especially in countries
which are not sufficiently prepared in administrative terms, and whose national
borders are exposed.
Third, estimating the population of illegal immigrants in a country is an
extremely difficult task, given that the immigrants who are not holders of valid stay
permits make all possible efforts to remain unidentified, although they do leave
“marks”.
Fourth, the population of illegal immigrants may be varying rapidly, given
that new immigrants are crossing the borders every day, others are leaving the country
and moving to other countries or returning home, especially in neighboring or nearby
countries, others manage to obtain valid stay permits in various ways, while others,
who used to be legal, elect not to have their permits renewed and to stay in the
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country illegally. Hence, the estimates of illegal immigrant populations are only valid
for the specific time period they refer to.
Out of the four conclusions drawn from the existing bibliography, only the
first one, i.e. that illegal immigration appears to be turning into a permanent
phenomenon, could be questioned. In every period of time there may be movements
(of different sizes) of illegal immigrant populations to specific parts of the world;
what matters though, is whether these movements will be established on a global scale
and on a permanent basis. Whether there will be constant and significant movements
of illegal immigrant populations in all parts of the world dependsd on many
economic, demographic etc. factors, which are difficult to predict or to accurately
identify. On the contrary, one could claim that it is possible that these movements will
be somehow balanced and that illegal immigration will be limited or even cease in
large parts of the world. In general, the question whether illegal immigration is a
temporary or permanent phenomenon could not be addressed outside a clear analysis
framework.
In any case, it is useful to note that illegal immigration is not merely the result
of the immigrants’ desire to immigrate and of the risk they take by doing so either on
their own or through illegal and costly immigration networks, but it is also the result
of the tolerance – or even willingness – of the citizens and the employers (of both the
small and the large scale) of the destination countries to employe illegal immigrants.
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CHAPTER TWO
ESTIMATE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS
BASED ON THE NUMBER OF FOREIGN STUDENTS
I.
An indirect method to estimate the number of foreigners staying in the country
without holding a valid stay permit, derives from the statistical data on foreign
students admitted to the Greek schools, from Nursery School to High School. The
Greek Law allows for the admission of foreign students at the Greek schools,
regardless of whether they are legal or illegal immigrants. All that is required from a
foreign student to be admitted in a Greek school (Nursery School, Primary School,
High School or in Technical Vocational Training Centers (“TEE”), is an officially
translated birth certificate or a certificate of successful graduation from the previous
class. Hence, the children of illegal immigrants can be admitted to the Greek schools
if they wish to.
The students attending these educational levels are over 5 years of age and, by
inference, under 19. Thus, the number of foreign students can be compared with the
number of foreigners of that age, who are holders of valid stay permits and stay in the
country legitimately. If the number of holders of valid permits exceeds the number of
students of this age, then we reach the conclusion that there are foreign immigrants of
school age who elected not to attend a Greek school, e.g. persons over 15 years of age
who prefer to work. If, however, the number of foreign students exceeds the number
of legal immigrants of that age, then there obviously families of illegal immigrants
whose children are attending the Greek schools, as this is permitted by the Greek
Law.
According to the data of the Institute for the Education of the Expatriates and
Inter-cultural Education (IEEIE) for academic year 2004-2005, the number of
foreigners in every educational level, according to Table 1 below, is as follows:
Nursery Schools
9503
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Primary Schools
High Schools
59334
29170
Senior High Schools and Technical Vocational Training Centers
113463
Table 1
Foreign Students in all educational levels, 2004-2005
Educ. level
Foreign students
Total students
%
Nursery
9503
138304
6.9
Schools
59334
68550
9.3
Primary
29170
333989
8.7
Schools
15456
338189
4.6
113463
1449032
7.8
High Schools
Senior
High
Schools
and
TVTC
Total
Source: IEEIE
According to the NSSG data for year 2005, the number of foreigners staying
legitimately in the country
was, according to Table 2 below, as follows:
Age
5-9 years
37358
«
10-14 «
33351
«
15-19 «
20226
The 15-19 age group includes persons aged 19, who do not fall under any student
category; therefore, it should be reduced by one fifth (because it refers to a five-year
group of ages); hence, 20,226 should become 16,181. Thus, the total of persons aged
5-18 is approximately 86,890.
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Table 2
Number of Immigrants on a valid stay permit, 2005
Country of
Total
Age
origin
5-9
10-14
15-19
Total
604215
37358
33351
20226
Europe
543904
36210
32376
19709
Asia
48202
836
783
421
Africa
9378
285
160
65
America
2507
22
28
27
Oceania
219
4
2
4
Albania
448152
34310
30128
17456
Bulgaria
33469
619
967
1170
Romania
17546
452
318
249
Ukraine
13249
168
276
233
Source: NSSG
Following the above, it derives that the total of foreign students in academic
year 2004-2005 was 113,463 whereas the total of immigrants of that age holding a
valid stay permit was 86,890. A comparison between these two figures reveals that
there were 26,573 foreign students without a stay permit.
It is only rational to assume that these students were staying in Greece with
their families. It also rational to assume that the rate of children aged 5-18 over the
total immigrant population is invariable, for both legal and illegal immigrants. For the
total population, this rate is:
Population
Population aged 5-18
= 604,215 = 6.95
86,890
It should be noted that this rate varies significantly depending on the
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immigrants’ country of origin.
For example, for the total immigrant population
coming from Asia, the rate of their total population over the population of persons
aged 15-18 is 24.6, whereas for the population of immigrants from Africa, this rate is
18.9. Furthermore, for Albania it is 5.7, for Bulgaria 13.3. and for Ukraine 21.0. In
other words, there are big differences in the synthesis of immigrant families,
depending on their countries of origin.
Based on the total population / population of persons aged 15-18 ratio, which
for the total immigrant population is 6.95, we can calculate the number of immigrants
without a stay permit. From the total of these students (26,573), it derives that the
total of illegal immigrants is 184,783 (=26,573 Χ 6.95).
It becomes quite clear that the above estimate provides a threshold, which is
the minimum estimate that could be produced under this method. Certainly, there are
persons who drop out of school, mainly after the fifteenth year of age, i.e. after High
School, and enter the job market.
This could be largely happening among the
immigrants and perhaps this partly explains the big reduction of foreign students in
High School and Senior High School, as shown in Table 1. Hence, the estimate of
184,783 illegal immigrants is merely an understatement. One could further say that it
is rational to assume that the illegal immigrants are hesitant to take their younger
children with them; therefore, the rate of total population over the population of
immigrants aged 5-18 is higher than that applying to legal immigrants. In this case,
the 6.95 multiplier is actually higher and so is the number of illegal immigrants. This
is the reason that the above estimate is an understatement of the real population.
II.
The reliability of this method of estimating the illegal immigrant populations
based on the number of foreign students attending the Greek schools could be tested
by applying it to the data deriving from the 2001 census and to the foreign students of
that same year. The immigrants’ recording made by the 2001 Census made no
distinction between legal and illegal immigrants. The total number of foreigners
stood at 761,813 and it is certain that this is an understatement of the actual figure,
given that part of the number of immigrants (mainly illegal immigrants) would avoid
or neglect to register. The number of foreigners aged 5-19, according to the census,
was as follows:
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Age
5-9 years
42763
«
10-14 «
45823
«
15-19 «_____59626__
Total
148,212
By reducing the total number of persons aged 15-19 by one fifth (i.e. by 11925
persons), - so that this number refers to ages 15-18 -, the total number of persons aged
5 - 18 is 136,287 .
Table 3 shows that the total number of foreign students attending all
educational levels in year 2002-2003 was 38,241. The difference of 38,046 (136,28798,241) reflects the foreigners aged 5-18, who are not students.
In other words, the number of foreigners aged 5 – 18 exceeds that of the
foreign students (by 38,046).
This result is absolutely rational taking into
consideration that there is leakage in all educational levels, for various reasons, and
mainly because part of this population, especially the older persons, is entering the job
market. The result of this estimations enhances the view that the method applied to
estimate the illegal immigrant population is reliable.
Table 3
Foreign Students in all educational levels, 2002-2003
Educ. level
Foreign students
Total
Rate
Students
Of foreigners
Nursery Schools
9503
138304
6.9
Primary Schools
54570
633235
8.6
High Schools
22693
328309
6.9
Senior High
11475
360616
3.2
98241
1460464
6.7
Schools and TVTC
Total
Source: IEEIE
III.
The three data sources used above, i.e. the 2001 Census data, the data on legal
immigrants of 2005 and the IEEIE data can be combined so as to estimate the
immigrant population that stayed in the country in 2005 without a stay permit. This
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estimate derives as follows: According to the 2001 Census, the total number of
foreigners aged 5-18 was approximately 136,287. According to the IEEIE data for
2002, the total number of foreign students was 98,241. This means that each student
corresponds to 1,387 persons aged 5-18. Despite the fact that the data derived from
the Census and from the IEEIE refer to two time periods that are one year apart, we
believe that these data could be compared and combined.
We can now apply the above ration, i.e. 1,387 to the 2005 data. According to
this ratio, the 113,463 foreign students in 2005 correspond to 157,373 (=113,463 x
1,387) foreigners aged 5-18. Now we can calculate the total population of foreigners
corresponding to the population of foreigners aged 5-18 by applying the following
ratio: Total Foreigner Population / Foreigner Population aged 5-18.
According to the Census data, this ratio is
761813
= 5,59 .
136287
Assuming that no significant changes have taken place from 2001 to 2005 in
the age pyramid of the immigrant population, the 5.59 ratio can be applied to estimate
the total population of foreigners I 2005. Based to the foreigner population aged 5-18
in year 2005, which is estimated at 157,373 , the total foreigner population in that year
was 879,715 (= 157,373 x 5.59).
According to the NSSG data, the total population of foreigners staying in the
country on a valid stay permit was 604,215 (cf. Table 2). The difference between the
estimated total population (879,715) and the total foreigner population on stay permit
(604,215) is 275,500. This difference is an estimate of the illegal immigrant
population that were at that time staying in Greece without a valid stay permit. This
estimate should be considered as the maximum illegal immigrant population
(according to this estimation method0 given that it is based on the 2001 Census.
IV
Hence, according to the above estimates, the illegal immigrant population in
2005 ranged between 184,783 and 275,500. It is worth noting that these estimates
were based on census data (2001 Census, Foreign Student population according to the
IEEIE, number of stay permits issued by the Hellenic Ministry of Interior); hence,
there are no significant doubts as the accuracy of these data.
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As already pointed out, there are many reasons that the illegal immigrant
population is constantly varying. However, the exact immigration inflow or ouflow
causing such variation still remains unknown. Therefore, the above estimate should be
deemed as an estimate of the size of the illegal immigrant population, rather than as a
precise numeric calculation thereof.
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CHAPTER THREE
ESTIMATE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS
BASED ON ARREST AND DEPORTATION DATA
I.
One source of information, which could lead to estimates of the illegal
immigrant population in Greece, is the General Secretariat of Public Order (Ministry
of Interior), which collects information and keeps data records on the arrests and
deportation of immigrants.
These data show the number of immigrants arrested during period 2001-2007
per country of origin and place of arrest, i.e. at the land borders, at the sea borders or
in the mainland. Furthermore, these data reflect the number of immigrants arrested
for deportation and the number of immigrants deported during period 2001 – 2007.
The difference in the number of immigrants “arrested” and those “arrested for
deportation” is due to the fact that many of those arrested manage to avoid deportation
in various ways, e.g. by applying for asylum or by leaving the country voluntarily or
for family reasons, health reasons etc. The above information is presented in the
tables that follow.
ΙΙ.
Table one shows the number of illegal immigrants arrested during period 2001
– 2007, per country of origin. This number varies according to the time period amd
the country of origin. In general, the fluctuation in these numbers could be due to
factors related to the countries of origin, or to the national police and port authorities’
efforts which may be intensified or limited from time to time or to special conditions.
For example, the extremely large number of Albanian immigrants arrested in 2001
could be due to the fact that they tried to enter the country with the expectation to be
legalized under the second legalization scheme which would be carried out during that
year. It should be noted that the numbers of arrested immigrants from specific
countries, such is Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Somalia and Georgia have increased
significantly during the last couple of years (2006 and 2007). As it appears from the
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annual total numbers, the number of immigrants arrested was considerably reduced in
2002 – 2004 while it increased considerably in 2005 – 2007.
Table 1
Illegal Immigrants Arrested by the Police and Port Authorities
2001 – 2007
Country
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
By
30.9.07
53424
2007
By
estimation
71232
Albania
1739
3682
3578
3163
5213
5746
57
7
9
7
2
6
Iraq
8379
8455
1402
988
1064
8157
8829
11772
Afghanistan
2358
2234
1391
1802
1771
5260
7303
9737
Iran
2313
1383
736
440
586
Pakistan
1843
918
1560
2080
Romania
5025
517
Bulgaria
1469
Moldavia
732
FYROM
Bangladesh
1824
498
664
1708
1028
1371
2618
2329
3105
687
1019
3350
775
951
195
1791
1262
1889
1553
1649
1657
1112
722
1088
711
993
2424
471
Georgia
527
796
Somalia
934
Palestine
785
738
799
2847
3518
4691
83553
111404
India
Total
728
2195
5823
5103
4498
6635
9523
98
0
1
7
1
9
Source: General Secretariat of Public Order
Note: This Table shows the countries of origin of the most illegal immigrants per
year. However, the total includes all illegal immigrants from all countries. Therefore,
the each column total is larger than the aggregate of the illegal immigrants from the
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countries appearing in the table. For year 2007, there are available data for the first
nine months, while there is one additional column where numbers are increased by
one third so as to reflect the annual figures.
III.
Table 2 contains the same data as Table 1, only per place of arrest, i.e. at the
land or sea borders or in the mainland. As it appears, there has been an increase in the
number of arrests after 2004 in all three columns. Most arrests (58%) take place at the
land borders, while only 10% takes place at the sea borders and merely 3% in the
mainland. It is worth noting that these estimates are inter-related both as to the place
and the time of the arrest. It is possible that the same person be arrested twice during
the same year, while trying to cross the borders illegally, or that they be arrested in
two different years. Moreover, it is possible that the same person be arrested at the
borders, not be deported for various reasons and then be arrested in the mainland. The
precise number of these cases remains unknown; thus, it is also unknown if the
399,391 arrests made during period 2002 – 2007 refer to different persons or if they
also include any persons arrested more than once.
Hence, once could rationally infer that the phenomenon of successive illegal
entries in the country by the same persons and successive arrests of these persons
applies mainly to the Albanian immigrants, given that Albania is a neighboring
country, rather thatn to immigrants from other countries.
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Table 2
Illegal immigrants arrested at the Borders and in the Mainland
2002 – 2007
Year
Land
Sea borders
Mainland
Total
borders
2001
-
-
-
-
2002
38051
4331
15848
58230
2003
28358
4098
18575
51031
2004
23221
5926
15840
44987
2005
37867
4974
23510
66351
2005
53556
9049
32634
95239
2007(1.1-30.9)
51376
11773
20404
83553
2007
68501
15697
20205
111404
Total (9 months)
232429
40151
126811
399391
Rate
58%
10%
32%
Source: General Secretariat of Public Order
Note: The totals include the data of period 1.1. – 30.9 for year 2007. The total number
of immigrants arrested at the land borders is lower than that of Albanian immigrants
as set out in Table 1. This is due to two reasons. The number of Albanian immigrants
arrested includes (a) those arrested in the mainland and (b), those arrested at the sea
borders.
IV.
Table 3 shows the number of immigrants arrested for deportation and the
number of immigrants deported during period 2001 – 2007. The rate of immigrants
deported is 45.2% for that period, but presents a downward trend. This is partly due
to legal and administrative difficulties, but mainly to the denial of certain countries
(e.g. Turkey) to take back any arrested immigrants coming from their territories. It
should be noted that any immigrants arrested for deportation who have not yet been
deported, are released upon lapse of a specific period of time. It is obvious that failure
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by the authorities to deport the immigrants arrested is a major reason that the illegal
immigrant population is increasing. As shown in Table 3 below, a large number
(117,036) of immigrants arrested for deportation during period 2001 – 2007, were
eventually not deported. However, this doesn’t mean that they are still in Greece, as
some of them may have left the country voluntarily.
V.
The data on immigrant arrests at the borders are considered by some
researchers (e.g. Tuto and Tass, 2001) as the most direct and evident basis to assess
the illegal immigration currents. This estimation method is based on the reasonable
assumption that there are illegal immigrants who are never arrested as well as on the
less reasonable assumption that there is a relatively fixed ratio between the number of
immigrants arrested and those never arrested. The ratio between the number of illegal
immigrants arrested and those crossing the borders illegally depends on various
factors, such as the efficiency of border control authorities, the human smuggling
networks’ organization level, their cooperation with corrupted officials at the border
control authorities etc.
According to one assessment, the total number of illegal immigrants
successfully crossing the borders is 2 to 4 times higher that that of border arrests
(Widgren, 1993). This assessment refers to 1993 and it is quite possible that this ratio
has decreased significantly since then, given the more efficient border control and the
experience gained throughout these years by the border control authorities.
A recent study (Heckmann, F. and T. Wunderlich, 2000) assumes that the ratio
between arrests and successful border crossing attempts is 1 to 2. In other words, if
three immigrants try to cross the borders of a European country illegally, two will
succeed and one will be arrested.
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Table 3
Immigrants Arrested for Deportation and Immigrants Deported
2001 – 2007
Year
Immigrants
Immigrants
Arrested for
Deported
Rate
Difference
Deportation
2001
20734
13242
63.9%
7492
2002
29598
11778
39.8%
17820
2003
29527
14222
48.2%
15305
2004
29769
15168
51.0%
14601
2005
40599
20461
50.4%
20138
2006
43159
17650
48.9%
25509
2007 (9
38540
12369
32.1%
26171
231926
104890
45.2%
117036
months)
Total
Source: General Secretariat of Public Order
Applying these ratios to Greece could lead to an over-estimate of the number
of illegal immigrants currently staying in the country, for the following reasons: First,
as already mentioned, the number of total arrests may include the persons arrested
more than once in the same year or in different years. This applies mainly to illegal
immigrants from Albania, who form a large part of the total illegal immigrants in
Greece (cf. table 1). Second, it is generally known that the illegal immigration from
Albania to Greece is frequently followed by the movement of the same persons from
Greece back to Albania. Third, the land border control forces have been reinforced
and have become more experienced, so that crossing the Greek-Albanian borders is no
longer considered an easy task. Fourth, the number of prospective immigrants from
Albania has been reduced following the immigration of hundreds of thousands of
Albanians to Greece, Italy and other countries.
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In order to estimate the number of illegal immigrants staying in Greece, we
will apply the following ratios of border arrests over illegal entries. With regard to the
Albanian immigrants, we assume that the ratio is one to one, or, alternatively, one
point five to one point five, whereas for immigrants from other countries this ratio is
assumed to be one to two. For period 2002-2007, and on the assumption that for the
Albanian immigrants this ratio is one to one, we are lead to the following estimate:
Estimate A
1.
Number of Albanian immigrants arrested
Less the ratio of immigrants arrested in the mainland
285083
285083 x 0,32 =91227
Number of Albanian immigrants arrested at the borders
193856
Number of Albanian immigrants who crossed the Greek borders illegally
2.
Number of arrested immigrants from other countries
44075
Number of those immigrants who crossed the Greek borders illegally 44075 x 2 =
88150
3.
Total (193856 + 88150)
282006
4.
Less the total of immigrants deported during the same time period
-
104890
177116
5.
Plus the total of immigrants denied
legalization in 2001
+ 150860
327976
6.
Less the total of immigrants granted a stay permit
during the 2005 legalization
7.
Number of illegal immigrants in Greece
- 145000
182976
Following the alternative assumption that the ratio of immigrants arrested to the illegal
immigrants who crossed the Greek-Albanian borders is one to one point five, the number
of illegal immigrants is estimated as follows:
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Estimate B
1.
Number of Albanian immigrants arrested
Less the ratio of immigrants arrested in the mainland
285053
285083 x 0,32 =91227
Number of Albanian immigrants arrested at the borders
193856
Number of those immigrants who crossed the Greek borders illegally 193856 x
1,5 = 290784
2.
Number of arrested immigrants from other countries
Number of those who crossed the Greek borders illegally
44075
44075 x 2 =
3.
Total (290784 + 88150)
4.
Less the total of immigrants deported during the same time period
88150
378934
-
104890
274044
5.
Plus the total of immigrants denied
legalization in 2001
+ 150860
424904
6.
Less the total of immigrants granted a stay permit
during the 2005 legalization
7.
Number of illegal immigrants in Greece
- 145000
279904
The difference between these two estimates is insignificant and it is due to the fact that
the number of arrests made at the Greek-Albanian borders is high; therefore a slight
variation of the ratio of arrests over illegal entries, e.g. from 1:1 to 1:1.5 which is the case
here, would cause a significant shift in the relevant figures.
The two estimates set out above are based on the assumption that the immigrants
who were denied legalization in 2001 have stayed in Greece illegally until 2007; thus,
they are added to the total population of illegal immigrants. The number of immigrants
granted a stay permit during the 2005 legalization has been deducted from the total.
Interestingly, these two figures are almost equal, i.e. 150.8 thousand applications were
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denied in 2001 and 145 thousand were accepted in 2005.
It is worth noting that, under the estimation method at hand, the above
calculations of the number of immigrants staying illegally in Greece must be rounded
down, because it is well-known that many of those entering the country illegally are
moving to other countries. However, the extent of these movements remains
unknown; therefore, the readjustment of figures is rather difficult. In any case, it is
only rational to assume that these movements mainly refer to immigrants for whom
Greece is in their way to other European countries. It is hard to assume that the
immigrants from Albania or Bulgaria are crossing the Greek borders illegally in order
to move to other European countries. Hence, the above estimates should be only
slightly readjusted, perhaps by a few tenths of thousands. Assuming that only one
quarter of the illegal immigrants coming from countries other than Albania moves to
other countries, the above estimates are readjusted as follows:
Estimate A: 182976 – 22038 = 160938
Estimate B: 279904 – 22078 = 257866
ΙV.
In conclusion, from the arrest and deportation data of the General Secretariat of
Public Order and based on reasonable assumptions, the number of illegal immigrants
staying in Greece in 2007 is estimated somewhere between 161,000 – 258,000.
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CHAPTER FOUR
ESTIMATE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS
BASED ON THE ESTIMATES OF IMMIGRANT ASSOCIATIONS
I.
In estimating the number of immigrants staying illegally in our country, we
can apply the so-called “Delphi method”, i.e. to seek the views of various persons
presumed to have sufficient knowledge on the matter. In our opinion, these persons
include, among others, the directors of immigrant associations, e.g. the Chairman or
the Directors of association. The persons in charge of immigrant associations have
daily contact with other immigrants on various issues and it is only rational to assume
that they might have a clear picture of the number of illegal immigrants or of the ratio
between illegal and legal immigrants either in their association or in whole.
Without doubt, the Delphi method entails the risk of subjectivity, poor
judgement or partiality of the persons interviewed. It is possible that the chairman of
an association may inflate or reduce what he reckons a precise number of the illegal
immigrants, if he/she thinks that this could be beneficial to them. Moreover, it is not
certain that his/her opinion matches the reality. Therefore, the Delphi method is not
considered to be scientific and it definitely lacks the gravity that characterizes the
methods which are based on statistical data drawn in a scientific manner. Despite its
drawbacks though, the Delphi method could be useful in the sense that it provides
information, provided of course, that there are no obvious reasons to doubt the
validity of such information.
An example that clearly indicates the usefulness of the Delphi method, is the
following: Let’s assume that a traveller is at a train station without having any clue as
to what time the next train will be. Any time of arrival is as possible as any other time.
For the traveller, who is totally ignorant, the train’s time of arrival is subject to the
uniform distribution of probabilities. In this case, the traveller would be in a better
position if he could ask the residents of the nearby village what time the next train is.
Even if the residents were not aware of the official itinerary, they could still provide
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useful information based on the hoot of the trains that they have heard or the smoke
that they have seen going up the horizon. Even if the residents’ observations are not
accurate in terms of time or if they don’t have a very good memory, their information
would be still be useful to a certain extent. In this sense, the Delphi method could be
useful.
II.
In order to collect information from the Directors of immigrant associations,
we have interviewed the representatives of forty associations, one radio station and
one newspaper, who were asked the following questions:
How many members are registered in your association?
How many members are legal immigrants?
How many members are staying in the country illegally?
Which, in your opinion, is the total number of immigrants in Greece?
How many of those are legal immigrants in your opinion?
How many of those are staying in the country illegally (numerically or as a
percentage of the total) in your opinion?
What type of occupation do legal immigrants normally have?
What type of occupation do illegal immigrants normally have?
The answers as to the number of immigrants, both legal and illegal, are
presented in Table 1, which quotes the names of the association, the capacity under
which the interviewee was acting, the number of members of the association and the
city where the latter is seated and such person’s estimate as to the number of
immigrants currently in Greece. Three persons interviewed refused to provide any
information as to the number of members of their associations and two obviously
failed to understand the question concerning the total number of immigrants in
Greece, and thus provided an answer as to the number of immigrants coming from
their country of origin (these were the representatives of the immigrant associations of
Bangladesh and Moldavia, who gave an estimate of 20,000 and 30,000 – 40,000
respectively). These answers were not included in calculating the rates set out in
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tables 2 and 3 below.
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TABLE 1
Estimates of the representatives of Immigrant Associations
Total Members
Association
1
Seat
The Albanian Immigrants’
Total
Legal
Illegal
Imm.
Imm.
Number of Immigrants (in thousands)
%
Total
Legal
Illegal Imm.
%
Imm.
Athens
300
300
-
-
1200
1000
200
17
Athens
47
47
-
-
500
400
100
20
Athens
120
120
-
-
1000
650
350
35
Athens
30
25
5
17
650
550
100
15
Athens
58
58
-
-
850
600
250
29
Athens
53
53
-
-
700
450
250
29
Athens
50
41
9
18
800
600
200
25
Athens
500
500
-
-
800
680
120
15
Thessaloniki
300
280
20
7
700
500
200
29
Thessaloniki
170
170
-
-
900
700
200
22
Society
(Chairman)
2
The Artistic Society of
Lushnja (Chairman)
3
The Artistic Society of
Borshi (Chairman)
4
The Liter Art Authors’
Society
(Chairman)
5
The Cultural Society of
Koritsa (Chairman)
6
The Drita Immigrant
Authors’
Association (Chairman)
7
The Albanian Immigrants’
Cultural Corner (Chairman)
8
The Thessaloniki Albanian
Association
(Chairman)
9
The Immigrant Women
Association
Of Northern Greece
(Chairman)
10
The Thessaloniki Albanian
Association
“Mother Tereza”
(Chairman)
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Total Members
Association
11
Seat
The Iliria Albanian Society
Total
Legal
Illegal
Imm.
Imm.
Number of Immigrants (in thousands)
%
Total
Legal
Illegal Imm.
%
Imm.
Thessaloniki
800
800
-
-
600
400
200
33
Volos
100
90
10
10
600
400
200
33
Volos
35
25
10
29
1000
600
400
40
Larissa
500
500
-
-
850
650
200
24
Larissa
1600
1600
-
-
1000
900
100
10
Trikala
150
150
-
-
700
600
100
14
Kavala
106
106
-
-
800
700
100
13
Patras
10
10
-
-
640
400
240
37
Heraklio
1040
1040
-
-
700-750
680-720
20
2,5
Lasithi
560
54523
15
2,8
700-800
550-600
150-200
25
Athens
300
270
30
10
850
500
350
41
Athens
23
120
0
0
1000
600
400
40
Athens
150
120
30
20
700
500
200
29
Athens
30
30
0
0
800
500
300
37
(Chairman)
12
The Intellects’ Society of
Magnesia (Chairman)
13
The Albanian Women’s
Society (Chairman)
14
“Alberia” Society
(Chairman)
15
The “Flora” Immigrants
Association (Chairman)
16
The Albanians Association
(Chairman)
17
The Albanian Immigrants
Association
Of Kavala
(Chairman)
18
The Albanian s Association
(Member of the BoD)
19
“Friendship” Association
(Chairman)
20
“Skenderbej” Albanian
Association of Lasithi
(Chairman)
21
The Artistic Society of
“Lunxheria”(Chairman)
22
“Puneton” Society
(Chairman)
23
“Athens” Albanian
Immigrants’
Association
(Chairman)
24
“Laberia” Albanian
Association (Chairman)
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Total Members
Association
Seat
The Albanian Immigrants’
25
Society (Chairman)
26
“Athens Newspaper”
Total
Legal
Illegal
Imm.
Imm.
Number of Immigrants (in thousands)
%
Total
Legal
Illegal Imm.
%
Imm.
Athens
600
600
0
0
850
650
200
24
Athens
12
12
0
0
850
650
200
24
Athens
10
10
0
0
1000
700
300
30
Tripoli
600
600
0
0
1000
800
200
20
Rethimno
250
250
0
0
600
400
200
33
Chania
1500
1500
0
0
700
500
200
28
1000
500
500
50
(Editor)
27
Athens International Radio
(Director)
28
The Albanian Employees’
Association of Tripoli
(Chairman)
29
The Forum of Albanian
Immigrants in Rethimno
(Chairman)
30
The Albanian Immigrants’
Association of Chania
(Chairman)
31
“Socrates” Hellenic-
Athens
Refused to make an estimate
Albanian Friendship
Association
(Vice-chairman)
32
“Lunxheris” Albanian
Athens
300
250
50
17
700
450
250
36
Athens
102
102
0
0
800
550
250
31
Athens
150
150
0
0
700-800
700
100
13
Athens
2000
2000
0
0
1000
600
400
40
Cultural
Society
(Chairman)
33
“Progress” HellenicAlbanian Association
(Chairman)
34
“Bashkim” Albanian
Immigrants’
Association
(Chairman)
35
The Nigerian Community
In Greece (Chairman)
200+200
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Total Members
Association
36
Seat
The Community of
Total
Athens
Legal
Illegal
Imm.
Imm.
Number of Immigrants (in thousands)
%
Total
Legal
Illegal Imm.
%
Imm.
No reply
20
12
8
40
30-40
25
15
37
1000
720
280
28
Bangladesh
(Chairman)
37
The Hellenic-Moldavian
Athens
500
500
0
0
Assocation (Chairman)
38
The Immigrant Women’s
Athens
No reply
Association
(Chairman)
39
The Albanian Immigrants’
Athens
138
138
0
0
900
600
300
33
Athens
52
52
0
0
1000
1000
50
5
Youth
Association
(Chairman)
40
The Sudan Community
In Greece (Chairman)
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As shown in Table 1, the persons asked represented immigrant associations
which are seated in Athens, as well as in other Greek cities, e.g. Thessaloniki, Volos,
Patras, Rethimno, Chania, Trikala, Larissa, Kavala etc. The size of these associations
varies considerably. Some of them count only a few members, e.g. ten, twelve or
thirty, while others may even reach five hundred, eight hundred, one thousand or two
thousand members. This is mainly related to the type of the association, e.g. authors
association, artistic associations with few members or Albanian associations with
numerous members. Most associations are Albanian immigrants’ associations;
however, there are associations of immigrants from Nigeria, Moldavia, Bangladesh
and Sudan. The table further includes the answers given by the editor of an Albanian
newspaper and the director of a ratio station.
The frequency rates of the answers giving an estimate of the population of
illegal and legal immigrants in Greece are presented in table 2 and Chart 1. The
majority of the persons asked (59%) estimated this population somewhere between
700,000 and 850,000. However, there is a significant rate (24.3%) that estimates such
population at 1,000,000. The average deriving from these estimates, as shown in
Table 2, is 819,000.
The frequency rates of the answers providing an estimate of the total number
of illegal immigrants staying in Greece are presented in Table 3 and Chart 2. The
majority of the persons interviewed (59.4%) estimated the illegal immigrants
population between 200,000 and 300,000.
A small rate reckons that illegal
immigrants are less than 200,000, while an even smaller rate (10.8%) estimates this
number somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000. The average deriving from these
estimates, as shown in Table 3, is 226,000.
Interestingly, the distribution of the replies as to the population of illegal
immigrants presents significant concentration and, therefore, a slight fluctuation, as
indicated in Chart 2, compared to the distribution of the replies as to the total
immigrant population, which presents great variance.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that certain estimates are wrong. For example,
there were some estimates that the legal immigrants population is one million, nine
hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand, while we know that although this
population may vary in time, it has never reached those levels. Although wrong, these
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31
estimates are included in the tables, because the purpose of the survey is to collect
estimates rather than to verify them or to collect accurate statistical data.
According to Table 1, the estimates provided by the representatives of various
associations is that there are 819,000 immigrants currently in Greece, 226,000 of
whom are illegal immigrants.
Table 2
Estimate of the Total Immigrant Population currently Staying in Greece
Number of
Replies
Frequency
rate
Immigrants
500
1
2.7
550
-
-
600
3
8.1
650
2
5.4
700
6
16.2
750
3
8.1
800
5
13.5
850
5
13.5
900
2
5.4
950
-
-
1000
9
24.3
1100
-
-
1200
1
2.7
Total
37
100
Source: Table 1
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32
30
25
%
20
15
10
5
50
0
55
0
60
0
65
0
70
0
75
0
80
0
85
0
90
0
95
0
10
00
11
00
12
00
0
Chart 1
Table 3
Estimate of the Illegal Immigrants Population currently Staying
in Greece
Number of Illegal Immigrants
Replies
Frequency
rate
<100
1
2.7
100
7
18.9
150
1
2.7
200
13
35.1
250
5
13.5
300
4
10.8
350
2
5.4
400
3
8.1
450
-
-
500
1
2.7
Total
37
100
Source: Table 1
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33
40
35
30
%
25
20
15
10
5
0
50
100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Chart 2
III.
The representatives of immigrant associations were also asked which
economic sectors are the immigrants engaging in. Almost the entirety of the persons
asked replied that the legal immigrants are mainly occupied in the construction
business and in agricultural occupations, while some of them mentioned the
occupation of “salesmen”, “free-lancers” and “unskilled workers”. With regard to
women immigrants, almost the entirety of the replies were “domestic duties”.
With regard to illegal immigrants, the were reported as occupied in seasonal
and agricultural occupations and in the constructions, whereas women as domestic
workers and house cleaners. It should be noted that the “seasonal occupation” was
only mentioned with regard to male immigrants. This could mean something about
the phenomenon of illegal immigration in our country. In particular, it is possible that
this term was used to identify the nature of illegal immigration, in the sense that it also
has a seasonal character, i.e. that immigrants are crossing our borders to engage in
seasonal jobs (agricultural or tourism occupations) and that they leave the country at
the end of these seasons. Indeed, one answer reported that out of 200,000 illegal
immigrants, 100,000 “come and go, and the remaining are staying in the country
illegally”. If this is case, immigrants do not have strong motive to obtain stay and
work permits, particularly if this is costly both in terms of money and time.
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Moreover, it should be noted that several of the persons interviewed, remarked
that part of the foreigners staying illegally in the country are family members (e.g.
parents) of legal immigrants.
In other words, some illegal immigrants are not
economic immigrants in the normal sense of that term, and their population is
associated with that of legal immigrants.
IV.
To sum up, the representatives of thirty eight immigrant associations, one
radio station and one newspapers were requested to make an estimate of the total
population of immigrants and of the population of illegal immigrants in Greece.
According to their answers, the total immigrant population is estimated on average at
819,000, while that of illegal immigrants is estimated, by the same persons, at
226,000.
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35
CHAPTER FIVE
ESTIMATE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS
BASED ON THE ESTIMATES OF THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES
I.
In order to assess the number of immigrants staying illegally in Greece, we
also requested, additionally to the application of other methods, the opinion of the
Local Authorities, i.e. of the mayors and presidents of the communities. In our
opinion, the local officials have daily contact with the immigrants by office, and they
deal with issues relating to immigration; therefore, they could be reasonably expected
to have a clear picture of the number of illegal immigrants or of the ratio between
legal and illegal immigrants in the geographical area of their Municipalities.
The assumption that local officials, mayors and presidents of the communities
could make a good estimate of the illegal immigrant population is even more founded
with respect to smaller municipalities. The president of a municipality of 2,000
residents could have a clearer picture compared to that of a municipality counting fifty
thousand or two hundred thousand residents. Therefore, the estimates presented below
derive from relatively small municipalities.
Based on the above assumption, the municipalities and communities selected
were those of 1,000 – 10,000 residents, according to the 2001 Census. There are 718
municipalities and communities in the country with a population of that size. A
sample of 359 municipalities and communities was eventually selected, choosing
every second name appearing on the list. The number of the communities is by far
smaller than that of the municipalities (seven communities and 352 municipalities).
Each presidents of the municipalities and the communities selected was sent a small
questionnaire, consisting of six simple questions, and a pre-paid reply envelope. They
had previously received a letter from the General Secretary of the Hellenic Ministry of
Interior, explaining the purpose of this survey and requesting their assistance.
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The questions contained in the questionnaire were the following:
1.
How many legal immigrants leave in your Municipality?
2.
How many illegal immigrants leave in your Municipality?
3.
The rate of illegal immigrants to total immigrants is approximately
(percentage) …
4.
In which sectors are the illegal immigrants mainly occupied (e.g.
constructions, agricultural works, fishery, restaurants, hotels, industries etc.)
5.
The illegal immigrants mainly originate from (country) …………
6.
Out of the total number of illegal immigrants, the rate of female immigrants is
…%.
Out of the 359 questionnaires sent, 198 completed answers were received by
16.1.2007, i.e. within sixty eight days from their dispatch. These answers are
presented in Table 1 below, which also quotes the name of the municipality or
community, the number of illegal and legal immigrants leaving there, the rate of
illegal immigrants, the rate of illegal female immigrants, the country of origin and the
occupation of illegal immigrants. These data are presented precisely as provided by
the interviewees. Given that the rate of immigrants, as reported in the answers,
reflects the rate of illegal immigrants over either the total immigrant population or the
legal immigrant population, two columns were added in Table 1: Where the number
zero appears in Table 1, it means that this was the answer given by the persons asked;
where there is a blank, it means that the person asked noted a hyphen (-) or failed to
give any answer or that they stated that they did not know the number of illegal
immigrants etc.
III.
According to Table 1, the following conclusions are drawn: The total
population of illegal immigrants leaving at the municipalities and the communities set
out in the Table, is 65,247. The total population of illegal immigrants is estimated at
15,853. The rate of female illegal immigrants is generally low, and in most cases
lower than 25%. However, in certain cases, the rate of female immigrants is rather
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high, e.g. in Filothei – Attica (95%), in Hydra (60%), in Kameiro – Rhodes (60%), in
Vassilika – Thessaloniki (60%), in the municipality of Exombourgo – Tinos (60%), in
the municipality of Kantano – Chania (50%), in Pikermi – Attica (50%) etc. The
illegal immigrants mainly come from Albania and rarely from other countries, such as
Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldavia, Romania, Egypt, Pakistan etc. The illegal immigrants
are primarily occupied in agricultural or domestic activities. Some of them are
occupied in hotels, restaurants, fishery and stock raising.
It is worth noting that, except for the part of illegal immigrants for whom there
are no other data available for comparison, the above data generally agree with those
collected from other sources. The new element deriving from Table 1 is the number of
illegal immigrants and their rate of the legal immigrant population.
The total
population of illegal immigrants in the municipalities and the communities set out in
the table, according to the estimates of the Local Authorities, is 15,853, while the total
population of legal immigrants is 65,247. The ratio of illegal immigrants to legal
immigrants is
15853
= 0, 243 . That means that for every thousand legal immigrants,
65247
there are 243 illegal immigrants in the same areas.
Some municipalities stated ignorance as to the illegal immigrant population or
stated that there is no such population leaving there. We consider that impossible and
these answers only imply ignorance. Hence, in identifying the ratio of illegal
immigrants to legal immigrants, it is essential to deduct the legal immigrant
population from the total population of these municipalities. The total legal immigrant
population in these areas in 5,388; thus, the total legal immigrant population at the
municipalities that gave full information is
59859 (= 65247-5388). Hence, the ratio of illegal immigrant population to legal
immigrant population is formed as follows:
Illegal immigrants = 15,853 = 0.265
Legal immigrants
59,895
Namely, for every thousand legal immigrants in Greece, there are 265 illegal
immigrants.
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IV.
Based on the above rates, it is possible to make an estimate of the total illegal
immigrant population in Greece, provided that we know the legal immigrant
population. Given that in every period some permits expire, from which some are
renewed while other aren’t, that some legal immigrants return home and that some
immigrants on valid stay permits do not seek to renew them, it is impossible to know
the exact number of legal immigrants leaving in the country in any given time period.
Nonetheless, from the data collected after the third legalization scheme (2005), we
could reasonably assume that the legal immigrant population ranges from 600,000 to
700,000.
Based on the illegal / legal immigrants ratio, which, according to the above, is
0.265, the illegal immigrant population is Greece is estimated somewhere between
159,000 and 185,500 .
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39
TABLE 1
Legal and Illegal Immigrants: Country of Origin and Sector of Occupation per Municipality or Community
DISTRICT
MUNICIPALITY
LEGAL
IMM.
ILLEGAL IMM.
ILLEGAL IMM. %
ETOLOAKARNANIA
FEMALE IMM. COUNTRY
%
OCCUPATION
ANTIRIO
38
44
53.0%
30.0%
BULGARIA /
ROMANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ETOLOAKARNANIA
ETOLOAKARNANIA
PANETOLIKO
THERMOS
47
80
0
50
0.0%
65.0%
15.0%
ALBANIA
ETOLOAKARNANIA
ALYZIA
72
10
12%
0%
ALBANIA
ETOLOAKARNANIA
ETOLOAKARNANIA
ETOLOAKARNANIA
ETOLOAKARNANIA
ETOLOAKARNANIA
Total
ARGOLIDA
PARAKABILIA
AGELOKASTRO
MAKRINIA
INAHOS
30
120
250
98
735
5
30
60
15
214
20%
20%
15%
2%
17%
8%
20%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
AGRIC.
AGRIC.
AGRIC.
ASINI
1000
200
16.6%
20%
ALBANIA
ARGOLIDA
NEA TIRINTHA
100
300
75%
20%
ALBANIA
ARGOLIDA
EPIDAVROS
800
300
27%
40%
ALBANIA
ARGOLIDA Total
ARKADIA
ARKADIA
LAGADIA
LEONIDIO
1900
6
190
800
0
80
0.0%
30.0%
0.0%
20.0%
ALBANIA
ARKADIA
ERAIAS
63
11
17%
30%
ALBANIA
ARKADIA
GORTINOS
49
10
16.95%
3%
ALBANIA
AGRIC. / FISH./
DOMESTIC
WORKERS /
HOTELS. RESTAURANTS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
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ILLEGAL IMM./ ILLEGAL IMM.
LEGAL IMM.
/ TOTAL IMM.
115.8%
53.7%
0,0%
62.5%
0,0%
38.5%
14%
12%
17%
25%
24%
15%
29%
14%
20%
19%
13%
23%
20%
17%
300%
75%
38%
27%
42%
30%
42%
29.6%
17%
15%
20%
16.95%
40
C
ARKADIA
ARKADIA Total
ARTA
TROPAIA
FILOTHEI
55
363
389
5
106
60
40%
ARTA
ARTA
ARTA
G. KARAISKAKI
ATHAMANIA
ARACHTHOS
20
24
537
0
6
1%
0.50%
ALBANIA / MEXICO
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ARTA Total
ATTICA
FILOTHEI
970
1650
66
150
10.0%
95.0%
GEORGIA /
MOLDAVIA
DOMESTIC
WORKERS
ATTICA
ZEFIRI
1000
100
10%
2%
ALBANIA
ATTICA
PALEA FOKEA
400
500
55%
40
ALBANIA / INDIA
ATTICA
PIKERMI
350
40
10.0%
50%
ALBANIA / EGYPT /
RUSSIA
DOMESTIC
WORKERS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ATTICA
HYDRA
400
200
50%
60%
ALBANIA
ATTICA
KOUVARA (Commun.)
150
10
9%
1%
ALBANIA
ATTICA
MARATHONAS
2550
1450
37%
30%
INDIA / PAKISTAN /
ALBANIA
ATTICA
ATTICA Total
AHAIA
AHAIA
AFIDNA (Commun.)
TRITEA
PARALIA
279
6779
27
200
AHAIA
MOVRI
490
15.4%
30.0%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
DOMESTIC./
RESTAUR./
HOTELS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /
RESTAURANTS
2450
85
5
30%
30%
ALBANIA
2%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / CARE of
ELDERLY
PERSONS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
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9%
29%
15.4%
8%
23%
13.4%
0%
0%
1%
1%
7%
9.1%
6%
8.3%
10%
9%
125%
56%
11%
10%
50%
33%
7%
6%
57%
36%
36%
27%
43%
30%
41
AHAIA
LARISSOS
920
150
AHAIA Total
VIOTIA
VIOTIA
1637
422
700
240
ALIARTOS
PLATEES
500
60%
30%
ALBANIA
VIOTIA
TANAGRA
1600
150
9%
10%
ALBANIA
VIOTIA
DERVENOHORIA
250
10
4%
1%
ALBANIA
VENTZIO
DESKATI
HASIA
2972
205
400
170
660
10
15
5
GREVENA Total
DODECANESE
DODECANESE
ATAVIROS
KAMEIROS
775
41
250
30
0
100
40.0%
40.0%
ALBANIA
DODECANESE
LEROS
150
20
13.3%
60.0%
ALBANIA
DODECANESE
SOUTHERN RHODES
466
132
22.0%
5.0%
ALBANIA
DODECANESE
DIKAIO
700
140
20%
60%
ALBANIA
392
20
0
20
5
15%
20%
BULGARIA
ALBANIA
LIHADA (Commun.)
1607
500
138
4
642
20
0.5%
0.5%
ALBANIA
AMARYNTHIA
600
60
10
2
VIOTIA Total
GREVENA
GREVENA
GREVENA
DODECANESE Total
EVROS
EVROS
EVROS
EVROS Total
EVOIA
EVOIA
TRIGONO
FERA
KIPRINOS
6%
5,0%
4%
3%
5%
0,0%
0
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / STOCK
RAISING
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
AGRIC.
AGR. / STOCK
RAISING
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /HOTELS
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA / PAKISTAN AGRIC./DOMESTI
/ BULGARIA
C
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16%
14%
15%
13%
71%
42%
9%
9%
22%
4,9%
4%
3%
18%
4.7%
4%
3%
4%
0%
40.0%
4%
0.0%
29%
13%
12%
28%
22%
20%
17%
24%
14%
0%
3%
25%
20%
0.0%
12,7%
0%
3%
20%
10%
9%
42
EVOIA
ARTEMISIO
150
50
30%
45%
ALBANIA
EVOIA
AVLONA
205
200
49.38%
20%
ALBANIA / INDIA
EVOIA
DISTIA
500
70
15%
25%
ALBANIA
EVOIA
MARMARIO
250
80
25%
30%
ALBANIA
465
ASPROPOTAMOS
DOMNISTA
AGRAFA
1725
8
4
20
0
6
300
40.0%
20.0%
ALBANIA
EVOIA Total
EVRITANIA
EVRITANIA
EVRITANIA
0
6
30%
8
ALBANIA
EVRITANIA
EVRITANIA Total
ZAKYNTHOS
POTAMIA
LAGANA
10
42
1000
ZAKYNTHOS
ALYKES
900
100
15.0%
5.0%
ALBANIA
ZAKYNTHOS
AREMISIA
550
100
15%
10%
ALBANIA
ZAKYNTHOS Total
ILIA
LEHAINA
2450
485
500
100
20%
35%
ALBANIA
450
550
10
ILIA
ILIA Total
HERAKLIO
ANDRAVIDA
ZAROS
550
1035
50
40.0%
BULGARIA
16.0%
20.0%
BULGARIA
HERAKLIO
HERAKLIO
N. KAZANTZAKIS
KASTELLIO
450
243
50
70
10.0%
28.8%
5.0%
20%
HERAKLIO
TYLISOS
34
7
19%
21
ALBANIA
HERAKLIO
GORGOLAINI
110
40
36%
15%
ALBANIA
AGRIC. / FISHERY
/ PHYS. LABOUR
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /HOTELS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /HOTELS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
BULGARIA / ALBANIA / ROMANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
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33%
25%
98%
49%
14%
12%
32%
24%
27%
21%
30%
23%
0%
14%
30%
0%
13%
23.1%
11%
10.0%
18%
15%
20%
21%
17%
17%
82%
53%
20%
45%
35%
16,7%
11%
29%
10,0%
22%
21%
17%
36%
27%
43
HERAKLIO
TEMENOS
230
231
30%
ALBANIA / UKRAINE / AGRIC.
BULGARIA
HERAKLIO Total
THESSALONIKI
EFKARPIA
1117
300
408
100
0.15%
40%
ALBANIA
THESSALONIKI
VASSILIKA
1000
50
5%
60%
ALBANIA
THESSALONIKI
THESSALONIKI
EGNATIA
AXIOS
154
450
50
8%
20%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
THESSALONIKI
KALLITHEA
585
30
5%
2%
ALBANIA
THESSALONIKI
AGIOS GEORGIOS
200
10
5%
50%
ALBANIA / FYROM /
BULGARIA
THESSALONIKI
AP. PAVLOU
THESSALONIKI
KORONIA
ALBANIA
30%
30%
ALBANIA
SMALL INDUSTR.
/DOMESTIC
WORKERS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / STOCK
RAISING
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / FISHERY
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / SMALL
INDUSTRIES
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / CAFÉ - BARS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
210
30
2899
270
10
10.0%
20.0%
30%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
AGRIC.
10
60
54%
5%
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
THESSALONIKI
Total
THESPROTIA
THESPROTIA
THESPROTIA Total
IOANNINA
AHERONDAS
SAGIADA
CENTAL ZAGORI
95
500
595
110
IOANNINA
PAMVOTIDA
230
70
25%
10%
ALBANIA
IOANNINA
ANO POGONI
37
15
40%
10%
ALBANIA
IOANNINA
LAKKA SOULIOU
21
4
19%
0%
ALBANIA
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
100%
50%
37%
33%
27%
25%
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
5%
14%
13%
9%
9%
11%
10%
2%
55%
2%
35%
30%
23%
41%
29%
19%
16%
44
IOANNINA
EVRIMENA
20
6
33.3%
0%
PAKISTAN /
UKRAINE /
BULGARIA / INDIA
AGRIC./ AVICULT.
30%
23%
IOANNINA
IOANNINA
AGIOS DEMETRIOS
SELLES
84
10
6
27%
30%
ALBANIA
60%
38%
IOANNINA
EASTERN ZAGORI
19
10
45%
15%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
53%
34%
171
20
20
5%
0
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
32%
8%
8%
24%
7%
7%
NEVROPOLI AGRAFA
531
260
260
60
KARDITSA
KALLIFONIO
111
6
5,41%
16,7
ALBANIA
5%
5%
KARDITSA
KARDITSA
TAMASIO
EASTERN ARGITHEA
(Commun.)
260
2
9
0
3%
20%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
3%
3%
KARDITSA
KARDITSA Total
KASTORIA
KASTORIA
KASTORIA
MENELAIDA
0
15
3%
3%
MESOPOTAMIA
NESTORIO
IONOS DRAGOUMI
14
447
150
58
70
12
20
20%
25%
15%
10%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
21%
29%
17%
22%
KASTORIA Total
CORFU
AG. GEORGIOS
278
400
32
30
13%
5%
ALBANIA
CORFU
PAXOI
427
10%
ALBANIA
CORFU
FAIAKON
400
IOANNINA Total
KAVALA
KAVALA Total
KARDITSA
PIEREON
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / STOCK
RAISING
12%
AGRIC./DOMESTI
8%
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /
RESTAURANTS
AGRIC./DOMESTIC /HOTELS /
RESTAURANTS
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
10%
7%
0,0%
45
CORFU
CORFU Total
KEFALLONIA
MELITIEON
LIVATHOUS
85
1312
1400
30
800
36%
33%
ALBANIA
KEFALLONIA
PILAREON
180
30
20%
5%
ALBANIA
KEFALLONIA Total
KILKIS
PIKROLIMNI
1580
330
830
30
11%
4%
ALBANIA / BULGARIA AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
KILKIS
KROUSSON
300
50
15%
KILKIS
KILKIS Total
KOZANI
KOZANI
DOIRANI
ASKIOS
NEAPOLI
50
680
130
242
0
80
30
9
20%
3,61
KOZANI
TSOTILI
210
20
KOZANI
AGIA PARASKEVI
25
0
KOZANI
KOZANI
KAMVOUNIA
ELIMIAS
44
264
KOZANI
KOZANI Total
CORINTH
VERMIO
AG. THEODOROI
150
1065
750
0
59
600
CORINTH
NEMEA
900
CORINTH
SOLIGIA
CORINTH
VELOS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
2%
57%
2%
36%
53%
9%
34%
8%
17%
14%
12%
23%
3,72%
11%
19%
3,59%
10%
9%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / STOCK
RAISING
1%
1,23
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
9,50%
0,00%
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
STOCK RAISING /
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
20-30%
50%
ALBANIA
STOCK RAISING / AGRIC.
DOMESTIC WORKERS
0
0
40,0%
5,0%
ALBANIA / INDIA
90
10%
10%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / SMALL
INDUSTRIES
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
270
44
16%
11%
ALBANIA
900
140
14%
5%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / SMALL
INDUSTRIES
AGRIC.
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
6%
80.0%
5%
44.4%
10%
9%
16%
14%
16%
13%
46
CORINTH Total
CYCLADES
AMORGOS
2820
130
874
45
35%
36.0%
ALBANIA
CYCLADES
ANO SIROS
70
15-20
23%
15%
ALBANIA
CYCLADES
TINOS
1000
450
31%
25%
ALBANIA
CYCLADES
EXOMVOURGO TINOS
89
10
11%
60%
ALBANIA
505
40
200
40%
25%
40
10%
BULGARIA
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / HOTELS RESTAURANTS
AGRIC. / FISHERY
/ DOMESTIC
WORKERS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / HOTELS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /
RESTAURANTS
CYCLADES Total
LAKONIA
LAKONIA
NIATA
OITILOS
1289
100
800
LAKONIA
SKALA
760
400
31%
2%
BANGLADESH
LAKONIA
ZARAKA
34
8
23%
25%
ROMANIA
LAKONIA
VION
670
320
30%
15%
BULGARIA /
ROMANIA /
PAKISTAN
LAKONIA
LAKONIA Total
LARISSA
LARISSA
FARIDA
50
1018
2 to 5
20
10%
20%
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
POTAMIA
KATO OLYMBOS
450
2814
200
20
1.0%
10.0%
40.0%
5.0%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
LARISSA
ABELONA
600
85
14.16%
40
ALBANIA
LARISSA
PLATIKAMBOS
1150
50
4-4.5%
3%
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / SMALL
INDUSTRIES
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
LARISSA
LARISSA
KILADA
ARMENIO
250
500
15
3%
1%
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
31%
34.6%
24%
25.7%
21-29%
18-22%
45%
31%
11%
10%
39%
40%
25%
28%
29%
20%
53%
34%
24%
19%
48%
32%
11%
36%
10%
27%
100.0%
50.0%
14%
12%
4-5%
4%
3%
3%
47
LARISSA Total
LAISTHI
OROPEDIO
LAISTHI
ITANOS
91
LASITHI Total
LESVOS
EVERGETOULA
147
300
10
15
5%
0
LESVOS
PETRA
420
40
10%
4
LESVOS
MITHIMNI
52
10
0.50%
5%
LESVOS
GERAS
320
170
53%
5%
LESVOS
POLIHNITO
320
14
LESVOS Total
LEFKADA
ELLOMENO
1412
270
249
30
MIRINA
270
600
30
100
LIMNOS Total
MAGNESIA
CARLA
600
445
100
10
MAGNESIA
ZAGORA
310
100
30%
5%
ALBANIA
MANGESIA Total
MESSINIA
GARGALIANA
755
900
110
300
25%
20
ALBANIA /
MOLDAVIA
ALL
MESSINIA
PETALIDI
200
20
10%
20%
ALBANIA
MESSINIA
MESSINIA
THOURIA
FARIDA
100
450
11
50
10%
10%
20%
20%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
AGRIC.
LEFKADA Total
LIMNOS
2720
56
170
10
15.0%
40.0%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA - ROMANIA AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA
12%
14.0%
40%
40.0%
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / FISHERY
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA / UKRAINE / HOUSEH./
GEORGIA
RESTAUR./
HOTELS
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
DOMESTIC
WORKERS/
AGRIC. / FISHERY
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
6%
17.9%
6%
15.2%
7%
5%
6%
5%
10%
9%
19%
16%
53%
35%
4%
4%
18%
11%
15%
10%
11%
16.7%
10%
14.3%
17%
2%
14%
2%
15%
33%
13%
25%
10%
9%
11%
11%
10%
10%
48
MESSINIA
MELIGALAS
380
77
MESSINIA Total
XANTHI
KOTILI (Commun.)
2030
0
458
0
XANTHI Total
PELLA
KIRROS
0
650
0
50
13.0%
PELLA
MENIIDOS
700
10
5%
PELLA Total
PIERIA
METHONI
1350
570
60
17
PIERIA
KORINOS
400
PIERIA Total
PREVEZA
PREVEZA
PREVEZA
PREVEZA
FANARI
KRANEA
ZALOGO
LOUROX
970
400
25
370
200
17
20
28
15
10
PREVEZA Total
RETHIMNI
LABI
995
194
RETHIMNI
ARKADIO
RETHIMNI
RETHIMNI
RETHIMNI Total
RODOPI
20%
5%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /
RESTAURANTS
ALBANIA
DOMESTIC
WORKERS
2.0%
ALBANIA
1%
ALBANIA
STOCK RAISING /
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
2.5-3%
3%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./ FISHERY
/ RESTAURANTS
– CAFÉS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
10%
4%
ALBANIA
5%
25%
AGRIC.
4%
1%
0%
1%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
73
6
3,0%
0,0%
ALBANIA / INDIA
1200
200
30%
15%
ALBANIA
FOINIKA
450
15
3%
33%
ALBANIA
NIKIFOROU FOKA
500
350
70%
5%
ALBANIA / INDIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / DOMESTIC
WORKERS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / SMALL
INDUSTRIES
KEHROS
2344
0
571
0
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
20%
17%
23%
18%
#DIV/0!
7.7%
#DIV/0!
7.1%
1%
1%
4%
3%
4%
3%
2%
5%
2%
5%
4%
5%
4%
5%
7%
3,1%
7%
3,0%
17%
14%
3%
3%
70%
41%
24%
20%
49
RODOPI Total
SAMOS
PITHAGORIO
0
10
1%
50
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
SAMOS
FOURNON KORSEON
6
SAMOS
AG. KIRIKOU
98
40
29%
30%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
SAMOS Total
SERRES
AMFIPOLI
704
250
50
30
11,0%
0,0%
ALBANIA
SERRES
NIGRITA
295
20
6,0%
20,0%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /
RESTAURANTS
SERRES
SERRES Total
TRIKALA
KORMISTA
PINDEON
48
593
19
50
4
17.4%
0,0%
ALBANIA
TRIKALA
ETHIKON
21
9
43.0%
0,0%
ALBANIA
TRIKALA
TRIKALA
TRIKALA Total
FTHIOTIDA
KLINOVOU
MALAKASIOU
27
34
101
18
0
0
13
0%
0%
0%
FTHIOTIDA
DAFNOUSION
300
600
70%
30%
FTHIOTIDA
LIANOKLADI
230
5
2%
0
FTHIOTIDA
MALESINA
822
160
30%
30
FTHIOTIDA
THESSALIOTIDA
220
50
22,7%
5%
FTHIOTIDA
PELASGIA
238
162
41%
40
AG. GEORGIOS
TYM/STOU
0
600
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
ALBANIA / BULGARIA AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / SMALL
INDUSTRIES
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
ALBANIA
AGRIC. / FISHERY
/ DOMESTIC
WORKERS
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
#DIV/0!
2%
#DIV/0!
2%
41%
29%
7%
12%
7%
11%
7%
6%
8%
21.1%
0,0%
8%
17.4%
42.9%
30.0%
0%
13%
0%
11%
0,0%
200%
67%
2%
2%
19%
16%
22,7%
19%
68%
41%
50
FTHIOTIDA
TITHOREA
550
150
FTHIOTIDA
FTHIOTIDA Total
FLORINA
FLORINA
FLORINA Total
FOKIDA
XINIADA
75
1202
DELPHI
500
2878
32
200
232
200
0
0
45
15.0%
30.0%
ALBANIA
FOKIDA
PARNASSOS
500
35
7%
5%
ALBANIA
FOKIDA
KALLIEON
18
17
48.6%
0%
ALBANIA
FOKIDA
FOKIDA Total
HALKIDIKI
AMFISSA
425
1143
1350
97
80
3%
1%
ALBANIA
HALKIDIKI
HALKIDIKI Total
CHANIA
TORONI
2
82
500
0%
ALBANIA
PELEKANOS
115
1465
650
61.54%
40.0%
ALBANIA
CHANIA
SOUDA
300
60
20%
40
ALBANIA
CHANIA
EASTERN SELINO
50
10
20%
40%
ALBANIA
CHANIA
MITHIMNI
152
35
18%
15%
ALBANIA
CHANIA
KANTANO
90
5
4%
50%
ALBANIA
CHANIA
THERISSOU
500
100
25%
20%
ALBANIA
CHANIA
FRE
25
5
20%
60%
GEORGIA
CHANIA
KISAMOU
350
110
30%
10%
ALBANIA
KATO KLINON
PERASMA
PALLINI
21%
20%
ALBANIA
1Ο%
ALBANIA
0
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC.
27%
21%
10-20%
42%
9-17%
29%
0%
22.5%
0%
18.4%
7%
7%
94%
49%
8%
6%
8%
6%
2%
6%
76.9%
2%
5%
43.5%
20%
17%
20%
17%
23%
19%
6%
5%
20%
17%
20%
17%
31%
24%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /HOTELS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / FISHERY
AGRIC./RESTAUR
ANTS /HOTELS
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C / SMALL
INDUSTRIES
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
51
CHANIA
CHANIA Total
HIOS
HIOS Total
UNKNOWN
UNKNOWN Total
Grand Total
MITHIMNI
152
35
18-20%
15%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
KABOXORON
2269
100
860
30
30%
50%
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C /DOMESTIC
WORKERS
100
850
30
800
94%
40%
BULGARIA
AGRIC./DOMESTI
C
850
65247
800
15853
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
23%
19%
38%
30%
27%
23%
30%
94%
23%
48%
94%
24%
48%
20%
52
V.
We have already mentioned that the local officials of the small municipalities
and communities may have a clear picture of the number of illegal immigrants leaving
in their areas. However, within the scope of this attempt to estimate the illegal
immigrant population, it was considered advisable to also question the local
authorities of the capital cities of the Greek Districts. This attempt was unsuccessful,
mainly due to the reluctance or ignorance of the competent officers in answering the
relevant questions (these are the same questions that were contained in the small
questionnaires sent to the smaller municipalities and communities). Some officials
said they couldn’t answer, others that they didn't have the knowledge to answer or that
they couldn't assess the number of illegal immigrants and only a small number of the
interviewees actually responded.
The questions were asked by phone, after repeated calls to the competent
departments. Τα αποτελέσµατα των προσπαθειών αυτών παρουσιάζονται στον
Πίνακα 2. The results of this survey are presented in Table 2. As shown in this Table,
only 28 municipalities have provided information as to the total number of legal
immigrants, their occupation and their country of origin. Only twelve municipalities
have made an assessment of the number of illegal immigrants leaving within their
areas.
This table shows that according to the assessments of the competent officials
of these municipalities, the illegal immigrants are mainly from Albania, they are
primarily occupied in agriculture and in constructions, and that merely 20% of them
are female immigrants. As regards illegal immigrants, according to the relevant
assessments, their population is estimated at 9,295. In these municipalities, the
aggregate of legal immigrants is 38,821. Hence, the ratio of illegal immigrants to legal
immigrants is :
illegal immigrants = 9,295 = 0.239
legal immigrants
38,821 That means that
for every thousand legal immigrants leaving in the capital cities of the Greek Districts,
there are 239 illegal immigrants leaving in the same areas.
Assuming that the legal immigrant population in Greece ranges between
600,000 and 700,000 (as already mentioned), then according to the above percentage
(i.e. 23,9%), the population of illegal immigrants in Greece is somewhere between
143,400 and 167,300.
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements
between Albania,the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
53
VI.
By consolidating the data from the small municipalities and communities
(Table 1) with those of the capital cities of the Greek Districts (Table 2), then the total
number of legal immigrants is 98,680 and the total number of illegal immigrants is
25,148. Hence, for the total assessments made, the ratio of illegal immigrants to legal
immigrants is formed as follows: illegal immigrants = 25,148 = 0.255
legal immigrants
98,680
If the legal immigrant population in Greece is 600,00 – 700,000, then the
above rate gives us an assessment of the illegal immigrant population of 153,000 –
178,000.
VII.
In conclusion, based on the estimates of the local Authorities, the illegal
immigrant population in Greece is:
(a)
159,000 – 185,500, according to the assessments of smaller municipalities and
communities;
(b)
143,400 – 167,300, according to the assessments of the municipalities of the
capital cities;
(c)
153,000 – 178,500, taking into consideration all the assessments and
estimates.
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements
between Albania,the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
54
TABLE 2
Legal and Illegal Immigrants: Capital Cities of the Greek Districts
MUNICIPALITY
LEGAL
IMM.
Alexandroupoli
3000
Komotini
1500
ILLEGAL
IMM.
ILLEGAL
IMM. %
OCCUPATION
AGRIC./STOCK
RAISING
/DOMESTIC
COUNTRY
FEMALE
IMM. %
ILLEGAL
IMM.
LEGAL IMM.
ALBANIA
WORKERS
150
10% AGRIC./STOCK
RAISING
/DOMESTIC
ALBANIA – FORMER
SOVIET UNION
2Ο%
10%
17%
8%
20%
20%
25-30%
WORKERS
Drama
Serres
Poligiros
Veria
Florina
Kozani
Kastoria
Katerini
3000
1200
1300
100
1500
300
700
2500
3500-4000
2000 500-600
ALBANIA
AGRIC.
AGRIC.
ALBANIA
ALBANIA / GEORGIA
ALBANIA
AGRIC./STOC ALBANIA
K RAISING
/DOMESTIC
WORKERS
Trikala
Ioannina
4000
2500
Preveza
Mesologi
1500-2000
2500
500
125
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMES
TIC
AGRIC.
5% AGRIC.
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
INDIA / PAKISTAN /
ALBANIA
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13%
Karpenisi
200-250
Halkida
6000
Patras
Pirgos
4500
1500
200
Tripoli
2000-2500
500
Kalamata
Sparti
7000
2200
220
Heraklio
10000
3000
Agios Nikolaos
Ermoupoli
2500
1000
150
Rhodes
6000 2000-3000
Samos
Mitilini
1200
3000-3500
Hios
3071
1000
Total
38821
9295
2% AGRIC./DOMES
TIC
AGRIC./DOMES
TIC
AGRIC.
AGRIC./DOMES
TIC
AGRIC./DOMES
TIC
AGRIC.
10% AGRIC./DOMES
TIC
30% AGRIC./DOMES
TIC
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
ALBANIA
13%
ALBANIA
10%
20-25%
ALBANIA
ALBANIA / UKRAINE /
MOLDAVIA / BANGLADESH
ALBANIA
10%
20%
10%
10%
30%
ALBANIA / GEORGIA
10%
15%
30% DOMESTIC
ALBANIA
WORKERS/HOT
ELS
ALBANIA
AGRIC./DOMES ALBANIA / PAKISTAN
TIC
DOMESTIC
ALBANIA
10%
33-50%
35%
33%
DOMESTIC
WORKERS
WORKERS
23.9%
Note: The aggregate total of legal immigrants refers only to the municipalities which have also provided an estimate of the number of illegal
immigrants.
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CHAPTER SIX
ESTIMATE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATIONS
BASED ON THE DATA FROM THE NSSG AND HMoI
Introduction - Summary
At this point of the study, we will try to estimate the illegal immigrants
population in the country and to assess its characteristics, by making use of the
statistical data collected from official statistic resources and mainly from the NSSG
and the Hellenic Ministry of Interior. The basic idea is to identify, based on the
applicable institutional regulations, the third country nationals who comply with them
and those who don’t and to see how much these two groups differ as to their
productive features and their place in the job market.
This approach is accordant to the definition of illegal immigrants in the EU,
whereby these are any persons who don’t (or no longer) meet the requirements for
entry and stay in a national territory. Given that the third country nationals only
qualify for a stay permit provided that they obtain health insurance, those insured are
considered as illegal immigrants. This is the information provided by the Labour
Force Survey and the Family Budget Survey carried out by the NSSG, which allows
us to calculate the ratio of illegal immigrants to legal immigrants. The ratio that
derives from these Surveys is then used to raise legal immigration, as it emerges from
the number of valid stay permits, onto total immigration. However, this approach is
based on the assumption that the NSSG Surveys used provide an accurate number of
the non-EU citizens living in the country, both insured and uninsured.
Based on this approach, illegal immigration in year 2007 is estimated at
80,000 (85,000 in 2005). This estimate is clearly considered as low, most probably
because the NSSG Survey provide an under-statement of the number of non-EU
citizens living in the country. Alternatively, the number of applications during the
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2006 legalization scheme leads to the conclusion that following the legalization, there
were approx. 100,000 – 130,000 illegal immigrants. Lastly, a third estimate of illegal
immigration derives by deducting from the total population the Greek citizens, the EU
citizens and the legal immigrants. Under this method, illegal immigrants are estimated
at approx. 250,000 at the beginning of 2006. All estimates for that period indicate that
illegal immigration has been clearly limited compared to the previous years.
A comparison between the characteristics of illegal and legal immigrants
brings to light several similarities as to the countries of origin and certain personal and
productive features. On the other hand, the performance of illegal immigrants in the
job market, as measured in terms of unemployment rate, sector of employment and
profession, is far below than that of legal immigrants.
1. Estimate of illegal immigration based on unpublished data from the NSSG
Labour Force Survey
One source of information for estimating the illegal immigrant population in
Greece is the unpublished data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) of the National
Statistical Service of Greece. In particular, it is well known that the LFS is a survey
carried out on a monthly basis on a large and representative segment of the Greek
households, whereby information is collected as to the social-financial status of the
persons surveyed. The LFS questionnaire includes, among others, questions about
nationality and health insurance, which is a combination that allows us to draw
indirect information as to the number and the features of the uninsured, hence illegal,
immigrants.
Within the framework of the applicable laws, the legal immigrants are obliged
to obtain health insurance and/or social security. If a non-EU citizen reports to have
neither, then this is a clear indication that he/she is an illegal immigrant. Thus, the
number of non-EU citizens who are not insured could initially be identified with that
of illegal immigrants. Although the LFS is a quite extensive sampling survey (approx.
80,000 interviewees) and the detailed contents of the questionnaire are confidential by
law, the basic drawback of this method is that, due to the linguistic difficulties
involved and the deliberate effort of the immigrants to avoid these questions, the LFS
fails to accurately record the number of immigrants from third countries currently
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living in Greece. Although the LFS data may not be used nor have been used for any
purpose other than for statistical validation, we could rationally assume that illegal
immigrants are systematically avoiding the LFS. Likewise, although the LFS is
presenting an increasing number of foreigners (from 273,000 in 2001 to 550,000 in
2004 and 580 thousand in 2007 (Table 1)), this number remains much lower than that
recorded in the 2001 Census, which was 762.000. Hence, it is reasonable that the LFS
estimate of the illegal immigrant population is interpreted as a systematic understatement rather than as a threshold. Moreover, it would be reasonable to assume that
the ratio of uninsured third-country immigrants to those insured or the ratio of illegal
immigrants to legal immigrants, according to the LFS, is probably closer to reality.
Furthermore, this ratio makes it possible to estimate the illegal immigrant population
based on the number of legal immigrants, as same derives from other sources, and
mainly from the Hellenic Ministry of Interior. Besides, this approach obviously
allows us to study the characteristics of illegal immigrants and compare them with
those of legal immigrants.
The data used to estimate the number of illegal immigrants and to examine
their characteristics mainly derive from the LFS carried out from the 1st quarter of
2004 until the 2nd quarter of 2007. According to the LFS findings, the country’s
population can be divided into Greek citizens, EU citizens, who are all considered to
be legal and non-EU citizens. The latter, are classified into two categories: The first
category consists of any immigrants who have valid health insurance or primary
pension insurance, whereas the second consists of those who have neither. This means
that the second category by definition refers to illegal immigrants, because in order to
qualify for a stay permit one must essentially have obtained primary insurance (for
main pension). Any immigrants granted with stay permits for other reasons, (e.g.
family reunification, education) must also have obtained health insurance. Hence, the
basic distinction in this approach is that between immigrants insured and uninsured.
-It is certain that the insured immigrants are legal while those uninsured are illegal.5
The last column in table 1 shows the development of the ratio of uninsured
immigrants (i.e. illegal immigrants) third country nationals to insured immigrants (i.e.
legal immigrants) third-country citizens. According to the LFS data on the total
5
There may be cases where an immigrant from a third country, who is married to an uninsured Greek
or EU-15 citizen, is also uninsured but stays in the country legitimately.
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population, out of approx. 500,000 third country nationals, approx. 55,000 have been
uninsured for the last three years. According to these numbers, the rate of illegal
immigrants from third countries over the legal immigrants is 10% - 13%. As it
appears in table 1, the figures examined do not present any significant variation or
inexplicable “fluctuation”, which renders the source of information quite reliable,
with systematic features. Moreover, the rate of uninsured immigrants presents a slight
deviation during the last years and a slight downward trend, despite the increasing
LFS number of third-country citizens. In particular, the rate of uninsured citizens from
third countries decreased from 14% in 2004 to 10.5% at the beginning of 2007. This
reduction is more obvious in 2006, which could be attributable to the Third
legalization scheme. In the last quarter of 2006, when the deadline for legalization
applications expired, the rate of uninsured immigrants fell below 10%.
It is worth noting that for the beginning of this decade, the LFS presents much
higher rates of uninsured citizens of third countries, which is consistent both with the
increase in the number of legal immigrants as recorded by the NSSG and with the
increased number of immigrants insured with a social security
agency (“IKA”,
“OGA”, “ΟΑΕΕ” (ΤΕΒΕ)). Moreover, the development of these figures indicates that
the successive legaliations have been successful in the sense that the number of illegal
immigrants was reduced and that they were integrated in the official job market.
The reduction in the rate of uninsured immigrants noted by the LFS is also
consistent with the recorded increase in the number of third-country citizens who are
directly insured with IKA at the respective time period. More specifically, according
to the IKA records, the number of non-EU citizens insured with IKA in 2006 was
240.7 thousand, on average, per month, against 210 thousand in 2005 and 216
thousand in 2004. The rate of non-EU citizens already amounts to almost 15% of the
Greeks insured with IKA, which is slightly higher if the EU24 citizens are to be
included.
If we deduct the population of children (under 15 years of age) and confine the
survey strictly to the population that qualifies to enter the labour force, then the illegal
immigrant population is reduced by approx. 7,000, however the rate of those
immigrants over the legal immigrants is increased by approx. 1.5% (second part of
table 1), thus reaching 12% - 15%. This difference implies that the rate of uninsured
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children of immigrants is, as expected, lower than that of the adults as the immigrants
with children have stronger motivation to obtain insurance or, they need to ensure
health insurance in order to bring their children through the institution of family
reunification.
We reach the same conclusion as to the rate of uninsured immigrants if we
confine the survey to the immigrants employed (third part of table 1). It emerges that
the uninsured immigrants employed are approx. 11% of those insured, i.e. slightly less
than the rate applicable to the entire immigrant population or to the population aged
over 15. Hence, the uninsured non-EU citizens employed represent a slightly lower
rate over those insured against the total population, which includes the immigrants
aged over 15 (approx. 11% against 14%). 6
Following the above, it becomes obvious that the number of uninsured
immigrants (therefore the number of illegal non-EU citizens) as recorded by the LFS
is understated, as it underestimates the number of immigrants living in the country.
Similarly, the LFS, like all surveys based on questionnaires, is based on the answers
provided by the interviewees, which are not always truthful. For example, with regard
to the question that is at hand here, i.e. “which social security agency are you insured
with?”, perhaps some immigrants reported that they were insured, just to appear
legitimate, although they were not insured at the date asked, especially if their permits
had expired by that time. Although we are unable to estimate the extent of such
partiality, it would be reasonable to assume that the ratio of illegal immigrants to legal
immigrants, as reported by the LFS, against the total population, is close to the reality.
Thus, we can apply this ratio not to the LFS data but rather, to those provided by the
Hellenic Ministry of Interior, which are reliably reporting the total number of
immigrants on a valid stay permit at the beginning of each year, in order to estimate
the number of illegal immigrants.
Table 2 presents the results of such application, whereby the number of illegal
immigrants during the last years is estimated at approx. 80,000, which should be
deemed an understatement.
6
This rate does not imply that it is equal to the rate of evasion of social security contributions, as many
uninsured persons may be insured for less time than their actual employment time.
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Table 1 – Population per nationality
Greek
From EU countries
15
10 new
Senior
EU
Total
EU
countri
countri
es
es
A. TOTAL POPULATION
2004a
10050274
69433
2004b
10073535
51083
2004c
10084854
55127
2004d
10098225
56077
2.005a 10091520
43078
2005b
10093560
47575
2005c
10103800
46037
2005d
10119427
45423
2.006a 10150560
43464
2006b
10162607
56111
2006c
10155961
58212
2006d
10161770
57881
2.007a 10164293
54387
2007b
10173103
55839
38021
37745
39662
38567
34919
B. POPULATION AGED OVER 15
2004a
8599788
62677
2004b
8624271
45745
2004c
8638134
49198
2004d
8654240
49962
2.005a
8651137
37794
2005b
8654075
41819
2005c
8666358
40586
2005d
8674834
41763
2.006a
8703213
40460
2006b
8713954
52362
36023
2006c
8712735
53776
35495
2006d
8720590
53706
37899
2.007a
8730594
49974
36485
2007b
8743069
49799
33462
C. IMMIGRANTS EMPLOYED
2004a
3969336
27066
2004b
4054514
19667
From third countries
Insured
Uninsur
ed
18089
20466
18219
15819
20920
422689
430573
424852
421227
446472
446474
454290
450185
443967
435811
456166
468771
474256
475231
58588
55475
56609
56056
61463
63870
58318
57452
50241
48131
46617
43918
50459
49643
13.9
12.9
13.3
13.3
13.8
14.3
12.8
12.8
11.3
11.0
10.2
9.4
10.6
10.4
16339
18280
15808
13489
16336
332489
338626
333126
329729
350860
350861
354034
355393
347880
341497
358185
367153
370946
370019
49847
48232
49481
48566
54736
55893
51897
50322
44474
42312
39549
37698
43864
43822
15.0
14.2
14.9
14.7
15.6
15.9
14.7
14.2
12.8
12.4
11.0
10.3
11.8
11.8
226236
230568
26430
25748
11.7
11.2
%
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2004c
2004d
2.005a
2005b
2005c
2005d
2.006a
2006b
2006c
2006d
2.007a
2007b
4060215
4049519
4035240
4086251
4085256
4083597
4117361
4163016
4190293
4160455
4161763
4215686
21919
22358
19813
22560
23294
23061
20344
23883
26682
24777
21810
22485
11846
12972
13586
11878
10954
12036
13710
11191
9932
11530
232069
232721
241923
241439
246991
248255
237095
240949
253832
254523
251737
255208
27442
26814
28048
31687
30010
28473
25248
24969
23418
22357
25921
26476
11.8
11.5
11.6
13.1
12.2
11.5
10.6
10.4
9.2
8.8
10.3
10.4
Source: Labour Force Survey by NSSG
Table 2
Estimate of illegal immigration based on the ratio of uninsured immigrants to insured
immigrants from third countries
Year
Citizens from third
countries on stay
permit
% of illegal citizens
from third countries
Illegal immigrants
1-01-2004
1-01-2005
1-01-2006
580,092
592,471
692,380
13.34
79
thousand
13.42
10.5
78 thousand
81 thousand
Source: First row: NSSG, second row: LFS
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2. Estimate of illegal immigration based on the unpublished data of the NSSG
Family Budget Survey.
Another source of information that could be used in assessing the number of
illegal immigrants in the country by applying the above methodology, is the latest
Family Budget Survey (FBS) which was carried out from February 2004 to January
2005, which practically refers to 2004. Although the main purpose of the FBS is to
collect information on the structure of household expenditure, it too, (like the LFS)
provides information about the nationality and the insurance status of the persons
questioned, which allows us to apply the above method in estimating the illegal
immigrant population in the country. It should be noted that carrying out a FBS
doesn’t not mean that the interviewer pays a single visit at the house of the
interviewee, which is the case in the LFS, but several visits, which provides more
reliable information on the issues examined hereunder. However, this does not
preclude the possibility that the FBS, like the LFS, leads to an underestimate of the
foreigners living in the country, either because they avoid to take part in this type of
research or because even if they do, they may not state their true insurance status,
especially if they are illegal immigrants.
The relevant estimates are presented in table 3, where it derives that the FBS
has recorded a higher number and rate of foreign citizens compared to the LFS of that
same year. According to the FBS, foreign citizens are approaching 7% of the Greeks,
the respective LFS rate being 5%. Moreover, according to the FBS, in 2004 non-EU
citizens were 683,000 and EU24 citizens amounted to 70,000. The relevant LFS
numbers are 467,000 and 58,000 respectively. Thus, one could claim that the FBS
recording of the foreign population is closer to reality, at least based on the 2001
Census. This could be due to the fact that the FBS was planned in such a manner as to
produce a more accurate picture of the country’s consumption model.
According to the FBS, the uninsured non-EU citizens are approx. 82,000 over
556,000 insured. Hence, the rate of the uninsured against the insured is 14.7%. If this
estimate was made for the persons aged over 15 or for those employed, then the rates
of the uninsured immigrants would be 15.3% and 13.7% respectively. Although these
rates follow the same classification with those deriving from the LFS, they are clearly
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higher and probably closer to reality, given the characteristics of the FBS.
The 556.2 thousand uninsured non-EU citizens reported by the 2004 FBS are
less by approx. 25,000 compared to the 580.1 thousand legal immigrants reported by
the NSSG based on administrative sources for the beginning of year 2004. Thus, if we
add the number of illegal immigrants to the NSSG number of legal immigrants,
according to the FBS rate of uninsured immigrants against those insured
(580092*14.7%) then illegal immigrants for year 2004 are estimated at 85.3 thousand.
This number is by almost 5 thousand higher compared to the relevant LFS estimate.
However, this assessment of the illegal immigrant population must be considered as
an understatement, given that the FBS is probably under-estimating it as analysed
above.
Table 3 – Population per nationality 2004
Non-EU citizens
EU citizens
10 new
EU
countries
Insured
Uninsured
%
A. TOTAL POPULATION
10204278
69429
41290
28139
556203
81953
14.7
B. POPULATION AGED OVER 15
8674603
59038
39477
19561
433561
66168
15.3
B. IMMIGRANTS EMPLOYED
3815343
29771
17298
12473
288897
39698
13.7
Greeks
Total
14 Senior
EU
countries
Source: Family Budget Survey (FBS) 2004 – 2005, NSSG Primary data processing
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3. Estimate of illegal immigration from the Third Legalization
Law 3386/2005 among others provided that any non-EU citizens whose stay
permits are expired or who have never been granted with stay permits can apply for a
new stay permit. In particular, by Art. 91 paragraph. 10 of the law certain categories
of non-EU citizens who have at some point in the past stayed in the country
legitimately but then forfeited this right, are now given the opportunity to legalize
their stay, on certain conditions. Para. 11 of the same article provides that any non-EU
citizens crossing the Greek borders illegally could obtain a temporary stay permit,
which also stands as an employment permit, for a period not exceeding one year.
It is worth noting that the non-EU citizens who applied for first legalization
had to prove that they had stayed in the country before the end of 2004. The law
makes a limitative quotation of the supporting documentation required to prove such
stay, which is a valid visa or validated entry on their passport, a valid Tax
Identification Number or registration with a social security agency prior to
31/12/2004. This documentation, as well as the determination of a specific date have
been considered as sufficient security to prevent the falsification of public documents
and to discourage phenomena such as the illegal border crossing or human smuggling.
Nevertheless, there was some scepticism as to the exclusion of other official
documentation that could prove an immigrant’s stay in the country prior to
31/12/2004. Hence, in 2007 the list of public documents proving such stay was
expanded by a subsequent law and illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to
apply for legalization by adducing such documentation. However, it seems that the
number of the relevant applications is particularly small, which implies that the
provisions of Law 3886/2005 failed to introduce any serious restriction.
Another pioneer aspect of Law 3886/2005 is the simplification of the
immigrant permit issue procedure, the integration of the stay and employment permits
into a single permit and the introduction of the institution of non-EU citizens living in
the country for a long time; moreover, the administration authorities had both more
experience and resources to handle the legalization scheme. In other words the Third
legalization was less demanding from the previous ones, and probably more
beneficial; however, by setting a specific date as a deadline, it excluded all new illegal
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immigrants and aimed to legalize only those living in the country for some time.
According to the official data of the Hellenic Ministry of Interior (HMoI), the
total number of applications lodged, pursuant to the transitional provisions of L.
3386/2005, was 152,400. 58,777 of those were applications for permit renewal and
93,623 were applications for the issue of an original stay permit for the first time (Art.
91 paragraph. 11).
These numbers are much smaller than those of the First
legalization, which counted 371,641 applications and of the Second, which counted
361,119 applications. This impressible smaller number of applications filed in the
Third legalization is a clear indication that the illegal immigrant population existing in
the country right before that legalization was clearly smaller than that of the previous
legalizations. This is further enhanced by the fact that during the Third legalization
the legal immigrant population, as reported by the NSSG, was materially larger than
that of 2002 (during the Second legalization). Besides, based on the number of
immigrants as estimated in the 2001 Census and the number of applications filed in
the previous legalization, it is estimated that 130,000 illegal immigrants did not apply
in the Second legalization scheme of 2002. There is no particular reason to assume
that this did not happen in the Third legalization too. Hence, we assess that right after
the Third legalization, just like in the previous ones, the illegal immigrant population
in the country was approx. 100,000 – 120,000. The failure to apply for legalization
could be due to several causes. Ignorance of law (which most probably applies to very
few cases, since the time limits set are quite loose and the matter is broadly discussed
by the public), failure to meet the legal requirements, illegal entry in the country after
31/12/2004 and, particularly, the conscious decision to not apply for legalization in
order to save time and money, especially on part of the immigrants who are planning
to leave the country soon or who do not expect to gain any significant benefits from
the legalization are some of them. The above assumptions and figures lead to the
conclusion that at the end of the Third legalization illegal immigrants were approx.
100,000 – 120,000. By adding to that the 152,400 applications filed, one can safely
infer that prior to the beginning of the Third legalization, that population was approx.
270,000.
It should be noted that out of 93,600 applications filed during the Third
legalization for the issue of a new stay permit, as shown in table 4, almost 77,000
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non-EU citizens (more accurately: 76,952) were for the first time granted a stay
permit valid through the end of 2006, i.e. a rate of 81.2%, which could only be
considered as a high percentage.
Table 5 – Third country citizens legalized under the 3rd legalization scheme
Nationality
Male Female Children
Total
Imm.
Imm.
4006
287
4293
Ethiopia
96
314
410
Albania
16186
9300
Armenia
321
334
655
Afghanistan
382
10
392
Bulgaria
2529
4948
Georgia
1671
2987
4659
162
135
297
93
38
131
India
1101
62
1163
Iraq
1072
195
1268
Iran
276
44
1
320
1728
978
6
2712
Belarus
46
502
548
Morocco
321
67
388
Moldavia
754
893
1647
1260
48
993
586
1579
56
141
197
Egypt
Serbia - Montenegro
Ghana
China
Bangladesh
Nigeria
Uzbekistan
11
3
1
25497
7480
1309
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Ukraine
830
2369
Pakistan
5055
37
FYROM
173
87
Romania
2877
3378
2
6257
Russia
431
2203
1
2635
Sudan
98
12
110
Sri Lanka
81
79
160
1451
348
1799
Turkey
141
35
176
Filippines
394
573
967
Others
701
642
Syria
Total
Source: Hellenic Ministry of Interior
45285
31632 35
3199
1
5093
260
8
1351
76952
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4. Estimate of illegal immigration based on the national populations, as reported
by the NSSG.
The last source of information used in estimating the illegal immigrant
population comes from the published demographic data of the National Statistical
Service of Greece (NSSG). Since 2004, the NSSG has been publishing estimates of
the total population of the country per nationality, for the beginning of each year,
which are forwarded to Eurostat. The basic figures of these estimates are: total
population, the number of native Greeks and the number of foreigners per nationality,
without however the last two being summed up to the first.
Total population is estimated based on the 2001 Census, which is considered a
reliable recording of all permanent residents of the country (including the illegal
immigrants at that time). This number is increased by the natural movement of the
population (number of births less number of deaths, which, since 2004, are divided
into native and foreign). The estimation method applied to pure immigration, which
appears to be positive and quite appreciable during the last fifteen year, is not
completely clear to us. The NSSG specialists have specified that it is based on the
immigration trends during the last years, as same is recorded mainly based on the
2001 Census, which, among others, recorded some variables relating to the place of
residence during the previous years (before the Census).. The extensive increasing
review of the demographic figures, due to the Census, the immigration trends and the
cooperation with EUROSTAT form the base for estimating pure immigration. Based
on this methodology, the NSSG makes an estimate of the country’s permanent
residents at the beginning every year, regardless of the legality of their stay. Such
estimate is useful, given that the vast majority of illegal immigrants participate in the
country’s economy and therefore should be taken into consideration in estimating the
relevant economic and social variables.
The Greek population is estimated in a similar manner, though the margins for
error due to wrongful estimate of Greek immigration, are practically much more
limited .
Lastly, the NSSG immigration estimates come from administrative sources,
and particularly from the Ministry of Interior, which is the body competent for the
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issue of stay permits to non-EU citizens, i.e. to foreign citizens outside the EU25.
Evidently, these are third country citizens who are staying in the country legitimately,
for various reasons, while all third-country citizens staying in the country illegally are
excluded. Moreover, the EU citizens are estimated separately, but only those who
have declared their stay to the General Secretariat of Public Order. However, given
that these citizens (EU24 citizens) do not face any sanctions for failing to do so, the
relevant figures published by the NSSG are obvious understatements of their number.
We indicatively mention that on 1-1-2004 the non-EU25 citizens (excluding the
Greeks) were reported to be 5,952, when the 2001 Census estimated this population at
78,979 and the Labour Force Survey for the 1st quarter of 2004 at 69,433.
Based on these facts, the aggregate of the Greek citizens and the foreigners
(EU24 and other countries) recorded by the administration authorities is naturally
smaller than the country’s permanent population. This difference evidently includes
the citizens of the other EU member-states who were not recorded by the
administration authorities and are staying in the country legitimately, as well as any
third-country citizens without a stay permit who are considered to be illegal. Hence, if
the number of citizens from other EU member states is deducted from this difference,
then the residue could be considered as a reliable estimate of the number of illegal
immigrants in the country.
With regard to the question “how many citizens from other EU member states
are living in Greece over the last years?”,
this cannot be accurately answered.
Relevant information can be drawn from the quarterly Labour Force Survey, which,
for period 2004A – 2007B produced an estimate of 53.2 thousand (with a typical
deviation of 7.2 thousand) with no clear trend. These figures are clearly smaller than
the 79,000 of EU24 citizens recorded in the 2001 Census. Since there is no serious
reason to assume that the EU24 citizens in Greece have been reduced over the last
years, it seems that the sampling LFS has made an under-estimate of the foreigners in
the country, basically due to the communication difficulties between the interviewers
and the interviewees or due to the fact that foreigners are reluctant to participate in
government research. Hence, we make the assumption that the EU24 citizens are
approximately the same figure reported in the 2001 Census, i.e. 80,000.
Following the above, and based on this assumption, an estimate is made of the
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illegal immigrants from third countries at the beginning of years 204-2006, as
presented in the last row of table 5. It is estimated that at the beginning of 2004, there
were 231,1 thousand of third-country citizens staying in the country without a stay
permit, i.e. illegally. The relevant figures for years 2005 and 2006 are 272.2 and 224.8
thousand respectively.
In conclusion, one could infer that the illegal immigrant population, according
to the demographic estimates of the NSSG and the administration data for the time
period in question, is approximately 250,000. The reliability of these estimates is
obviously strongly dependant upon the reliability of the NSSG estimates of the
country’s total population, which are essentially based on some processed assumption
as to the development of pure immigration during the respective year.
Table 5
Estimate of the illegal immigration based on population per nationality
Year
Total population
Greeks
Non-EU citizens
EU24 citizens
Estimate of EU24
citizens
Illegal immigrants
1-01-2004
11,040,65
0
10,149,45
3
580,092
5,952
80,000
231,105
1-011-012005
2006
11,082,75 11,125,17
1
9
10,138,06 10,127,96
2
4
592,471
692,380
11,744
3,599
80,000
272,218
80,000
224,835
Source: First four rows: NSSG; two last rows are estimates
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5. Characteristics of illegal immigration population
5Α. Data from the Labour Force Survey
As already mentioned, the LFS data could be used to examine the
characteristics of the uninsured (therefore illegal) immigrants and to compare same
with those of the insured (i.e. legal) immigrants and of the Greeks. For the purposes
hereof, this survey is limited to year 2007 and its results are presented in table 6
below. Similar information could be drawn from the FBS2004 and partly from the
Third legalization, as follows.
According to Table 1, the following conclusions are drawn:
(i)
The uninsured women from third countries form a larger part of the total of
uninsured immigrants (51.2%) compared to men (48.8%). Nevertheless, there are no
impressive differences with the respective rates of the insured citizens from third
countries. This slight difference in the percentage of uninsured women from third
countries over that of men is consistent with the relatively higher responsibilities of
the men as family leaders and with the type of employment of many women (as
domestic workers). A more detailed analysis indicates that a relatively high
percentage of uninsured women come from countries of the former Soviet Union.
(ii)
The rate of single and divorced immigrants from third countries appears to be
higher over the uninsured immigrants rather than over the insured. In particular, 47%
of the uninsured are single over 44% of those insured. On the contrary, the same rates
for married immigrants are 44% and 51.4% respectively. It appears that married
immigrants largely tend to be legal and insured, contrary to those who are single or
divorced.
(iii)
The data used indicate that immigrants are much younger than native Greeks,
who present a high rate of persons aged over 50. Moreover, there are significant
differences between the insured and uninsured immigrants per age, where the latter
present higher rates at the younger ages (15-30) and at the older ages (51+) compared
to those insured. Thus, it could be possible that the younger immigrants are not
insured because they do not have the opportunity, unlike the older immigrants who
fail to do so because they are not particularly interested in that, as they do not seek to
qualify for pension or because they do not intend to stay in Greece permanently or for
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a long period of time.
(iv)
There are significant difference between legal and illegal immigrants as to
their place in the job market. Although the rate of immigrants employed is similar for
both groups (out of 100 immigrants, approx. 54 are employed over 41 Greeks), illegal
immigrants present over two times higher an unemployment rate compared to legal
immigrants (out of 100 uninsured immigrants 9.0% are unemployed over 4.1% of
those insured). One possible explanation for this difference in the unemployment rates
could be that many illegal immigrants do not have a permanent occupation, to the
extent that legal immigrants do, so they have to change jobs very often. It is worth
noting that the rate of unemployed uninsured immigrants over the total immigrant
population is not much higher than that of the Greeks (3.7%). Moreover, children up
to 14 years of age represent a smaller rate of the population of illegal immigrants
(11.7%) over that of legal immigrants (22.1%) and Greeks (14.1%). Hence, the
remaining uninsured immigrants who are economically inactive form a relatively high
rate of their population (26%) over those insured and the legal immigrants (21%).
(v)
Besides, the unemployment rate of legal immigrants is near to that of the
Greeks (7.1% and 8.1% respectively, if estimated over the labour force), whereas that
of illegal immigrants is two times higher (14.4%). These relatively higher
unemployment rates of illegal immigrants, combined with the relatively high rate of
those who are economically inactive (one in four uninsured immigrants states that
he/she is not employed nor seeks employment) indicate that there are limited job
opportunities for the illegal immigrants as well as that some illegal immigrants are
unwilling to work or that they stay out of the job market on their own free will. It is
worth noting that the relatively high unemployment rate of illegal immigrants and the
relatively high rate of those who are reluctant to work could be considered as
situations incubating their engagement in illegal activities.
(vi)
With regard to education, it appears that legal immigrants are somehow in
better position compared to illegal immigrants, given that the latter present higher
rates in the lower educational levels (primary school and high school).
(vii)
The LFS indicates that on a per-district basis, the uninsured (i.e. illegal)
immigrants present almost the same distribution with the legal immigrants. The
correlation coefficient between the two distributions is 0.99. Hence, the Districts with
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a large population of legal immigrants also comprise a large population of illegal
immigrants and vice versa. A significant variation is that the District of Attica
presents a relatively smaller concentration of illegal immigrants over legal
immigrants. In particular, 44% of the total population of illegal immigrants resides in
Attica, whereas for legal immigrants this rate would be 52.8%. In the other Districts
(excluding Thessalia and Crete) the rate of illegal immigrants is slightly higher to that
of legal immigrants.
(viii) If the survey results are to be limited only to employed immigrants, as
reported by the LFS (table 6a), then there are more similarities than differences
between the insured and uninsured immigrants as to the sector of employment and the
profession, whereas, as analysed above, there are significant differences between the
overall immigrant and Greek populations. The uninsured immigrants (who are, by
definition, illegal immigrants) present a high rate of employment in the sector of
constructions (35%) and private households (30%) and a considerable rate of
employment in the agriculture (9.2%), commerce (7.7%), processing industries
(6.1%) and hotels – restaurants (5.8%). Similar rates apply to the insured (i.e. legal)
immigrants; however they present relatively higher rates of employment in sectors
which are considered to be part of the official sector of economy, such as the
processing industries and the hotels and restaurants.
(ix)
It appears that both immigrant categories are mainly employed as “skilled
workers, physical labour workers and small tradesmen” (uninsured: 46.7%, insured:
31%) and as “skilled technicians and similar workers” (31% and 42.5% respectively).
However, the insured immigrants present a higher frequency in the other single-digit
professions, excluding the specialized farmers, stock raisers and fishermen. These last
two findings lead to the conclusion that illegal immigrants tend to work as unskilled
workers in the constructions and in private households, which are two sectors
presenting a rather high rate of evasion of social security contributions.
(x)
Table 6a only confirms the presumed result, that there are no illegal
immigrants employed in the public sector, while very few legal immigrants (1.8%)
state that they are employed in the public sector, against 24% of the Greeks. Lastly, it
should be noted that 17.3% of the illegal immigrants state that they have a part-time
occupation, against 6% of the legal immigrants and 5.7% of the Greeks. We reach the
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same conclusion if we examine the term of employment contracts, where uninsured
immigrants present a slightly higher rate of temporary employment. In brief, one
could claim that the place of the illegal immigrants in terms of sector of employment
and profession, is lower than that of legal immigrants, who, in turn, hold a lower place
compared to the Greeks.
(xi)
By using the LFS data for 2007, tables 6b and 6c seek to indicate the changes
between the characteristics and the place of immigrants in the job market depending
on their country of origin. For that purpose, and based also on the number of available
remarks, the citizens of third countries were classified in the following six categories
of insured and uninsured immigrants: Immigrants from Albania, other Balkan
countries, Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. It derives that there are
significant difference between immigrants depending on their origin.
(xii)
The rates of uninsured immigrants over the insured immigrants vary
depending on their origin, ranging from 8% (immigrants from Albania) to 27.4%
(immigrants from Africa). It appears that the Albanian immigrants, who were the first
immigrants in modern Greece, have been “legalized” to a relatively higher rate,
whereas the more recent immigration currents from other continents appear higher
illegality rates. This conclusion must be interpreted in conjunction with the fact that
the Albanians still remain the largest part of the immigrant population, and therefore
continue to be the majority among the illegal immigrants.
(xiii) It is also verified, although already known, that there are differences as to the
sex of immigrants, the majority being the female immigrants from the Balkans and
Eastern Europe and men from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. This numerical
advantage of female immigrants from Eastern Europe and from the Balkans becomes
more evident with regard to the uninsured immigrants. Likewise, the numerical
advantage of male immigrants from Asia and the Middle East is also more intense or
maintained high in the uninsured – illegal immigrants of that origin. In other words, it
appears that the distribution of legal immigrants per sex and country of origin also
applies to the distribution of illegal immigrants per sex and country of origin.
(xiv)
Whereas there are considerable rates of uninsured immigrants of senior age
(41+) with regard to immigrants from Albania, Other Balkan countries and Eastern
Europe, the same does not apply to the immigrants from Africa and Asia, where the
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uninsured are primarily immigrants aged 21-40. This means that the uninsured
immigrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia who are relatively younger, may be
integrated in social security more easily than the older uninsured immigrants from the
Balkans. In this regard, we mention that the Albanian and African immigrants present
a relatively high rate of uninsured children.
(xv)
Except for the Albanians, where the employment rate is lower for the
uninsured, the uninsured immigrants from other countries present a higher or equal
employment rate compared to the insured. Although this is an issue that calls for
further investigation, it seems that the Albanian immigrants are “accompanied” by
uninsured and economically inactive persons relatively more often than other
immigrants.
(xvi)
Table 6c shows that the sector of employment of legal immigrants varies
considerably according to the country of origin. We indicatively mention that the
sector of constructions absorbs 45% of the legal Albanian immigrants, 18.3% of the
immigrants from Eastern Europe and 17% of those from Asia. On the other hand, the
processing industries concentrate 30% of the legal immigrants from Asia, 28% of
those from the Middle East and only 15% of the Albanians. It is worth noting that the
legal immigrants are employed in more and more sectors of the economy.
(xvii) The differences in employment per sector of economy depending on the
country of origin are reduced with regard to illegal immigrants. The illegal
immigrants are absorbed in a few sectors of economy (i.e. domestic workers, hotels
and restaurants and agriculture, with regard to the uninsured immigrants from the
Balkans), which are characterized by a high rate of evasion of social security
contributions and the flourishing of black economy.
The rate of uninsured immigrants employed in private households (the
percentage of the uninsured immigrants employed who are employed in households)
clearly exceeds that of the insured, regardless of origin. This high rate of uninsured
immigrants employed in private households indicates how difficult it is to control and
combat this type of illegal immigration. On the contrary, the uninsured immigrants
employed present a lower rate of employment in hotels and restaurants compared to
those insured, regardless of origin. We indicatively mention that 9.7% of the legal
Albanian immigrants are employed in hotels and restaurants, against 2.4% of the
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illegal ones. On the other hand, the rate of uninsured immigrants from Eastern
Europe, the Middle East and Africa employed in the constructions is higher than that
of those insured, which also applies to the processing industries with regard to
immigrants coming from the Balkans.
(xviii) The fact that the illegal immigrants are more concentrated in few sectors of
economy compared to the legal immigrants is consistent with the higher rate of illegal
immigrants as “unskilled workers, physical labour workers and small tradesmen”,
which applies to all immigrants regardless of origin. However, the rule is that the
illegal immigrants are systematically detected, regardless of origin, in sectors and
professions where there are considerable numbers of legal immigrants.
Excluding Eastern Europe and Africa, the rate of part-time employment is
higher for the uninsured immigrants than that of the insured, which, in terms of
numbers, are relatively appreciable.
(xix)
A noticeable finding deriving from table 6c is that the uninsured (i.e. illegal)
immigrants from Africa and Asia state to be self-employed, whereas those insured
this rate is much lower. This is rather compatible to the common knowledge that
many immigrants are street vendors in urban areas or in other places where there is a
lot of people, while it could also be attributable to the racial discriminations made
against these immigrants in the employment procedure.
In brief, one could say that the characteristics and place in the job market of
illegal immigrants varies according to their origin. Such variation is mainly identified
between the immigrants from Albania and other Balkan countries on one hand and the
immigrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia on the other. As mentioned above,
similar differences are also noted amongst the legal immigrants.
5Β. Data from the 2005 Family Budget Survey
As mentioned above, another source of information on the characteristics of
the illegal immigrant populations, when approached as uninsured immigrants, is the
FBS2004, which provides the necessary information. Table 7 presents, in the same
manner as table 6, the characteristics of the insured and uninsured immigrants, as
reported in the FBS2004. It generally appears that there are great similarities as to the
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characteristics of the insured and uninsured non-EU citizens, as reported in the
FBS2004 and the LFS2007. Here too, the rate of uninsured female immigrants of
relatively senior age and with relatively low educational background is somewhat
higher. However, it should be noted that the FBS indicates a larger concentration of
the uninsured (but also insured) immigrants in Attica, against the LFS, which could be
partly attributable to the different totalization coefficients applied therein.
5C. Data from the Third Legalization (L. 3386/05)
The published data on the number of illegal immigrants per nationality who
were legalized under the Third legalization scheme (Art. 91 paragraph. 11 of L.
3586/2005), allow us to compare their distribution per country of origin compared to
the data published by the NSSG on the number of foreign citizens who were
permanently residing in Greece on 1/1/2006, as presented in table 8.
The general conclusion is that the countries with a high rate of legal citizens
also present high rates of illegal immigrants legalized in 2006. The correlation
coefficient between the two figures is 0.945, which indicates a very close connection
between legal and illegal immigrants per nationality.
This close connection between legal and illegal immigrants could be largely
attributed to the existence of informal networks of legal immigrants which facilitate
the entry and stay of illegal immigrants from their home countries. In that regard, it
should be noted that the legal immigrants have been in the past illegal immigrants;
therefore, they have first-hand knowledge and they are able to provide reliable
information to prospective or new immigrants coming from their families or their
communities, on the opportunities and risks involved. The immigrant networks inform
prospective immigrants of the ways to cross the border and assist them in finding
accommodation and employment and in dealing with all other primary needs they
have upon arrival in the country. These connections between legal immigrants and
prospective or newly-arrived immigrants are quite important; they are active on
international level and they even extend to the integration of immigrants in the
country. Hence, they are a fundamental social phenomenon to those involved in
immigration.
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It is worth noting that although the Albanian immigrants present the highest
rate among the immigrants legalized under the Third legalization scheme, this rate is
approximately equal to half the rate of the legal Albanian immigrants over the total
immigrant population, as recorded by the HMoI and the NSSG (33.1% against
70.6%). On the contrary, for many other third countries, it appears that the Third
Legalization scheme was a reason that their legal immigrant population increased
considerably. This applies also to the other Balkan countries as well as for several
countries of Africa and Asia. For example, the legal immigrants from Egypt were
almost 9.5 thousand at the beginning of 2006, whereas after the legalization that
number increased by 4.3 thousand. Chinese immigrants were slightly over 2,000; after
the legalization, another 2.7 thousand were added. Moreover, the number of legal
immigrants from Iraq was doubled, whereas those from Nigeria were almost doubled
too. The 15.8 thousand of immigrants from Pakistan increased by 5.1 thousand.
A glance at table 8 indicates that the legal immigration in the country is no
longer limited to immigrants from the Balkans and Eastern Europe, but also from
Africa and Asia. This great variety of the former illegal immigrants per nationality
implies that the Third legalization was inevitable, since the alternative immigration
polices are considered to be practically limited. Furthermore, this variety could be
indicative of the variety of the population of illegal immigrants currently living in
Greece.
5D. Summary
In brief, the above data lead to the following conclusions as to the
characteristics of illegal immigrants:
The rate of female illegal immigrants is higher than that of male illegal immigrants.
This numerical advantage of female immigrants is detected in the populations coming
from the Balkans and Eastern Europe. On the contrary, in the illegal immigrant
populations from Asia and Africa (which is also the case in the legal population from
those countries) men are outnumbering women.
The illegal immigrants are usually single or divorced persons, whereas the
married immigrants appear to be legal. Moreover, illegal immigration mainly
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comprises the younger and senior immigrants. These are persons who have recently
arrived in the country and have not yet been legalized or senior persons who are not
interested in being legalized.
Illegal immigrants present almost two times higher an employment rate
compared to legal immigrants, and an even higher rate of persons who are
economically inactive (persons not employed or seeking employment). Moreover, the
rate of part-time employees is almost three times higher in illegal immigrants
compared to legal immigrants and the Greeks. Illegal immigrants present clearly the
most loose connection with employment.
The illegal immigrants are detected in all Districts and in close positive
connection with the legal immigrants. In other words, the ratio of illegal immigrants
to legal immigrants does not present significant variations between the various
districts.
Illegal immigrants are mainly employed in the constructions (35% and private
households (30%) whereas legal immigrants present bigger variation per sector of
employment and industry. Likewise, a high rate of illegal immigrants (47%) are
employed as “skilled workers, physical labour workers and small tradesmen”. The
general rule is that illegal immigrants are employed as workers in industries and jobs
where the black economy and evasion of social security contributions is flourishing.
The illegal immigrants, as a rate over the legal immigrants, vary depending on
the country of origin. It is estimated that such rate is 8% for the immigrants from
Albania and 27.4% for those from Africa. The illegal immigrants from Africa and the
Middle East are relatively younger than those from the Balkans.
There are no significant differences as to the sector of employment or the jobs
of illegal immigrants depending on their origin. The illegal immigrants engage in
sectors and jobs which present high rates of legal immigrants.
There is a close connection between the immigrants legalized under the Third
legalization scheme in 2006 and the legal immigrants per nationality. Illegal
immigration is close related to legal immigration, which could be attributed to the
existence of unofficial networks of legal immigrants and their compatriots from the
same communities or families.
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Table 6
Characteristics of Immigrants from third countries - 2007
Characteristics
3rd country citizens
Insured
Uninsured
%
%
Greeks
%
Sex
MALE
FEMALE
TOTAL
Number of Immigrants (in thousands)
Age
52.6
47.4
100.0
475.2
48.8
51.2
100.0
49.6
49.0
51.0
100.0
10173.1
0-14
15-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51+
TOTAL
22.1
7.2
20.9
26.7
15.1
8.0
100.0
11.7
9.9
27.8
21.2
14.4
15.0
100.0
1.1
6.2
13.0
15.1
14.6
37.1
100.0
53.7
4.1
20.0
22.1
100.0
53.3
9.0
26.0
11.7
100.0
41.4
3.7
40.9
14.1
100.0
44.1
51.4
4.5
100.0
47.0
44.0
9.0
100.0
38.6
51.5
10.0
100.0
0.1
6.8
4.5
26.8
22.3
16.5
0.3
0.5
0.0
6.8
3.4
22.0
24.2
27.5
1.3
3.0
1.0
9.7
9.3
24.8
10.3
25.3
3.4
2.2
Place in the job market
Employed
Unemployed
Financially non-active
Children aged up to 14
TOTAL
Family status
SINGLE
MARRIED
WIDOWED & DIVORCED
TOTAL
Education level
PhD or Post-Graduate degree
University Degree
Higher Technical School Graduates
Continuing Education
High School Graduates
Primary School Graduates
Primary school unfinished
No education at all
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82
Children aged up to 14
TOTAL
22.1
100.0
11.7
100.0
14.1
100.0
1.8
13.3
0.7
2.0
5.3
2.3
4.2
5.4
52.8
4.5
0.6
1.3
5.9
100.0
4.5
15.4
1.1
2.4
2.5
3.7
4.5
8.2
44.0
6.3
0.9
1.3
5.2
100.0
5.7
17.6
2.8
3.2
6.8
2.0
6.8
5.1
34.5
5.5
1.9
2.7
5.4
100.0
District of residence
01. EASTERN MACEDONIA
THRACE
02 CENTRAL MACEDONIA
03 WESTERN MACEDONIA
04 HEPIRUS
05 THESSALIA
06 IONIAN ISLANDS
07 WESTERN GREECE
08 CENTRAL GREECE & EVIA
09 ATTICA
10 PELOPONNESE
11 NORTH AEGEAN
12 SOUTH AEGEAN
13 CRETE
TOTAL
Source: Labour Force Survey 2007
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83
Table 6a – Characteristics of employed immigrants from third countries - 2007
Insured
immigrants
A. Agriculture, stock raising, hunting and
forestry
B. Fishery
G. Mines and Quarries
D. Processing industries
E. Electricity / natural gas/ water supply
F. Constructions
G. Wholesale and retail commerce, car
repair
H. Hotels and restaurants
I. Transports, storage and communication
J. Intermediary financial organizations
K. Real estate management, leasing and
business
L. Public administration and defence,
obligatory social security
M. Education
N. Health and social care
O. Other services to the social benefit
P. Private households occupying domestic
workers
P. Exterritorial organizations and bodies
Total
Number of Immigrants (in thousands)
Profession
1. Members of Deciding Bodies, Higher
Management Executives and Directors
2. Persons engaging in Scientific,
artistic or similar professions
3. Technologists, Technical Assistants
4. Office employees
5. Persons engaging in the provision of
services and sales
6. Persons engaging in specialized farming,
stock raising, forestry or fishery
7. Skilled technicians
8. Fixed industrial installations and
machinery operators
9. Unskilled workers, persons engaging in
physical labour & small tradesmen
Unclassifiable persons
Total
Uninsured
immigrants
Greeks
4.6
0.1
0.1
16.0
0.2
36.8
9.2
0.4
0.0
6.1
0.0
35.0
1.7
0.3
0.4
12.2
0.9
6.8
8.3
10.7
1.8
0.1
7.7
5.8
1.4
0.0
18.4
6.8
6.2
2.7
2.7
3.2
6.8
0.5
0.4
1.1
1.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.9
9.2
7.7
5.6
3.7
15.1
0.0
100.0
255.2
30.3
0.0
100.0
26.5
0.5
0.0
100.0
4215.7
2.0
0.9
11.0
1.1
0.9
1.0
0.0
0.9
0.6
15.2
9.2
12.0
13.6
11.0
14.0
2.4
42.5
6.8
30.9
11.8
13.4
5.3
2.1
7.5
31.1
0.0
100.0
46.7
0.0
100.0
4.6
1.4
100.0
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84
Employer’s ownership status
Public enterprise or corporation
Private enterprise
Total
Full-time employment
Part-time employment
Total
Source: Labour Force Survey 2007
1.8
98.2
100.0
93.9
6.1
100.0
0.0
100.0
100.0
82.7
17.3
100.0
24.0
76.0
100.0
94.3
5.7
100.0
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between Albania,the E.C. and concerned third countries”
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85
Table 6 (b) - Characteristics of Immigrants from third countries - 2007
Albania
Balkans
Eastern Europe
Uninsur
Uninsur
Uninsu
Insured
ed
Insured
ed
Insured
red
%
%
%
%
%
%
PER SEX
MALE
56.0
49.2
39.3
38.0
35.8
28.2
FEMALE
44.0
50.8
60.7
62.0
64.2
71.8
TOTAL
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Total cases
326443
26337
47470
9054
55083
5859
PER AGE
0-14
15-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51+
TOTAL
Total cases
Employed
Unemployed
Financially non-active
Children aged up to 14
TOTAL
26.3
8.3
20.7
24.8
14.3
5.6
100.0
326442
16.5
12.4
26.4
16.4
14.0
14.2
100.0
26338
10.4
3.3
24.1
29.1
16.0
17.0
100.0
47470
49.6
3.7
20.3
26.3
100.0
40.7
7.6
35.1
16.5
100.0
65.5
5.8
18.3
10.4
100.0
Africa
Uninsu
Insured
red
%
%
Middle East
Uninsur
Insured
ed
%
%
Asia
Uninsu
Insured
red
%
%
51.3
48.7
100.0
8610
44.2
55.8
100.0
2362
78.9
21.1
100.0
11363
77.4
22.6
100.0
1503
71.5
28.5
100.0
16535
95.9
4.1
100.0
3570
5.3
15.0
4.3
25.1
11.4
6.2
2.9
9.7
29.1
14.8
18.4
10.1
25.0
31.6
20.5
39.4
13.1
18.0
31.7
13.6
16.3
14.4
22.2
2.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
9055
55084
5859
8611
PER EMPLOYMENT STATUS
27.7
0.0
21.8
50.5
0.0
0.0
100.0
2363
9.0
2.7
37.9
23.3
19.2
7.9
100.0
11363
0.0
0.0
55.0
6.6
6.1
32.4
100.0
1504
7.5
4.6
32.0
32.4
18.1
5.3
100.0
16535
2.1
11.9
48.6
30.5
6.9
0.0
100.0
3569
72.3
0.0
0.0
27.7
100.0
72.5
7.8
10.7
9.0
100.0
67.6
0.0
32.4
0.0
100.0
84.4
0.6
7.5
7.5
100.0
77.0
18.9
2.0
2.1
100.0
67.8
9.5
17.4
5.3
100.0
56.5
6.0
22.5
15.0
100.0
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements
between Albania,the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
65.3
12.9
17.5
4.3
100.0
48.8
3.3
22.8
25.1
100.0
86
Total cases
326442
26338
47470
45.5
52.2
47.5
46.9
33.5
57.4
2.3
100.0
326442
5.6
100.0
26338
9.2
100.0
47470
7.0
47.8
18.4
0.4
26.3
10.7
40.5
31.8
0.4
16.5
13.0
65.5
11.1
0.0
10.4
4.5
69.5
12.8
8.0
5.3
30.8
43.9
9.7
0.6
15.0
TOTAL
100.0
Total cases
326443
Source: Labour Force Survey 2007
100.0
26337
100.0
47471
100.0
9055
100.0
55083
SINGLE
MARRIED
WIDOWED &
DIVORCED
TOTAL
Total cases
University / College
High School
Primarey education
No education at all
Children aged up to 14
9055
55084
5860
PER FAMILY STATUS
31.0
53.5
37.5
51.1
8611
2363
11362
1504
16536
3569
60.8
28.9
100.0
0.0
58.5
39.3
55.0
45.0
61.6
31.0
89.7
10.3
10.4
100.0
8611
0.0
100.0
2363
2.2
100.0
11363
0.0
100.0
1504
7.4
100.0
16535
0.0
100.0
3570
25.9
59.9
9.8
0.0
4.3
16.8
47.2
10.9
0.0
25.1
0.0
7.9
36.4
28.1
27.7
20.2
54.2
15.5
1.0
9.0
0.0
18.6
81.4
0.0
0.0
5.8
47.0
35.6
4.1
7.5
0.0
47.5
50.4
0.0
2.1
100.0
5858
100,.0
8610
100.0
2363
100.0
11363
100.0
1503
100.0
16535
100.0
3570
22.7
53.4
15.5
11.5
23.9
100.0
100.0
100.0
9055
55084
5860
PER EDUCATIONAL LEVEL
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements
between Albania,the E.C. and concerned third countries”
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87
Table 6(c) – Characteristics of employed immigrants from third countries - 2007
Albania
Balkans
A. Agriculture, stock raising, hunting and
forestry
B. Fishery
G. Mines and Quarries
D. Processing industries
E. Electricity / natural gas/ water supply
F. Constructions
G. Wholesale and retail commerce, car repair
H. Hotels and restaurants
I. Transports, storage and communication
J. Intermediary financial organizations
K. Real estate management, leasing and
business
L. Public administration and defense,
obligatory social security
M. Education
N. Health and social care
O. Other services to the social benefit
P. Private households occupying domestic
workers
Total
Eastern Europe
Africa
Middle East
Asia
Uninsur
ed
Insured
Uninsur
ed
Insured
Uninsur
ed
Insured
Uninsur
ed
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
1.0
0.2
0.0
19.3
0.0
18.3
7.9
14.8
4.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
6.5
0.0
24.5
0.0
9.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
3.6
0.0
3.4
0.0
28.7
0.0
22.8
6.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
20.2
26.5
14.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
27.9
0.0
31.1
11.1
3.3
13.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
81.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.6
00
0.0
30.1
0.0
17.0
25.6
6.6
0.0
0.0
2.8
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
61.1
36.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.9
3.9
0.0
6.3
0.0
6.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.6
1.2
3.1
1.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.7
0.3
0.0
0.0
1.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
3.7
0.0
0.0
7.4
10.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
2.9
0.0
0.0
2.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.5
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
29.9
22.5
29.8
28.6
55.7
10.9
38.8
1.3
18.7
13.6
0.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Insured
Uninsur
ed
Insured
%
%
%
5.6
0.1
0.2
15.1
0.4
45.0
7.1
9.7
0.8
0.0
9.2
1.0
0.0
5.9
0.0
41.2
2.5
2.4
3.4
0.0
5.2
0.0
0.0
9.0
0.0
28.3
6.9
11.0
1.8
0.5
22.3
0.0
0.0
12.0
0.0
16.0
5.5
10.8
0.0
0.0
1.1
4.7
8.5
0.3
0.3
0.9
1.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
12.1
100.0
Uninsur
ed
Insured
%
%
PER INDUSTRY
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88
Total cases
161872
10726
31112
PRIMARY SECTOR
SECONDARY SECTOR
THIRD SECTOR
Total
Total cases
5.6
60.6
33.8
100.0
161872
10.2
47.0
42.8
100.0
10726
5.2
37.3
57.5
100.0
31112
6142
31116
PER PROFESSION
1.0
0.0
2.7
0.0
0.4
0.0
1.0
0.5
0.6
0.0
0.0
10.9
1. MEMBERS OF DECIDING BODIES,
HIGHER MANAGEMENT
EXECUTIVES AND DIRECTORS
2.PERSONS ENGAGING IN
SCIENTIFIC, ARTISTIC OR SIMILAR
PROFESSIONS
3. TECHNOLOGISTS, TECHNICAL
ASSISTANTS
4. OFFICE EMPLOYEES
5. PERSONS EMPLOYED IN THE
PROVISION OF SERVICES AND SALES
6. PERSONS ENGAGING IN
SPECIALIZED FARMING, STOCK
RAISING, FORESTRY OR FISHERY
7. SPECIALIZED TECHNICIANS
8. FIXED INDUSTRIAL
INSTALLATIONS AND MACHINERY
OPERATORS
9. UNSKILLED WORKERS, PERSONS
ENGAGING IN PHYSICAL LABOUR
6142
31117
PER SECTOR
22.3
1.2
28.0
37.5
49.7
61.2
100.0
100.0
3824
4202
1708
0.0
31.0
69.0
100.0
3.6
32.1
64.3
100.0
0.0
20.2
79.8
100.0
3823
4202
3.2
0.0
0.0
0.7
2.6
1.4
4.0
1.4
4.3
14.3
2.9
47.6
7.4
43.8
5.0
31.1
1017
13960
2748
0.0
59.0
41.0
100.0
0.0
81.3
18.7
100.0
5.6
47.1
47.3
100.0
2.8
61.1
36.1
100.0
1708
8238
1017
13959
2748
2.6
0.0
5.1
0.0
4.4
0.0
0.0
7.4
0.0
6.3
0.0
1.5
0.0
0.0
0.6
0.0
0.0
4.8
0.0
0.0
0.0
3.3
2.9
0.0
0.0
0.0
2.4
0.0
0.0
18.3
20.2
18.3
27.3
15.6
11.8
0.0
18.3
13.0
1.5
31.2
16.5
19.4
1.2
32.4
0.0
21.2
9.2
29.5
0.0
20.2
0.0
54.1
0.0
38.5
2.1
36.9
0.0
26.8
2.0
4.5
5.7
5.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
9.7
0.0
9.4
0.0
42.5
40.8
34.6
36.4
60.5
19.1
64.2
6.7
61.5
25.0
60.2
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements
between Albania,the E.C. and concerned third countries”
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89
8239
& SMALL TRADESMEN
UNCLASSIFIABLE PERSONS
Total
Total cases
0.0
100.0
161872
FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT
PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT
Total
Total cases
92.9
7.1
100.0
161871
Self-employed immigrants, occupying
personnel
Self-employed immigrants without personnel
Salaried employees
Assistants in family businesses
Total
Total cases
1.9
5.2
91.8
1.1
100.0
161871
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
31112
6142
31116
3823
PER TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT
77.7
96.8
88.7
92.0
100
22.3
3.2
11.3
8.0
0.0
4202
1708
8238
1017
13959
2749
94.8
5.2
100
0.0
100
0.0
48.2
51.8
98.5
1.5
73.3
26.7
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
31112
6142 31116
3823
PER PLACE IN THE PROFESSION
4202
1708
8237
1017
13959
2750
10726
100.0
10726
100.0
100.0
100.0
2.6
4.1
93.3
0.0
1.8
6.2
88.9
3.1
0.0
6.3
93.7
0.0
2.0
6.1
89.4
2.5
0.0
11.8
88.1
0.0
2.6
10.4
87.0
0.0
0.0
46.7
53.3
0.0
0.0
8.0
92.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
100.0
0.0
1.8
6.6
90.4
1.2
0.0
3.1
63.9
0.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
10726
31112
6142
31116
3823
4202
1708
8237
1017
13959
2749
Source: Labour Force Survey 2007
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements
between Albania,the E.C. and concerned third countries”
This project is co-funded by the European Union and the project partners under the AENEAS Programme
90
Table 7 - Characteristics of Immigrants from third countries - 2005
Male Imm.
Female Imm.
Total
Number of Immigrants (in
thousands)
Age
0-14
15-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51+
Total
Employed
Unemployed
Financially non-active
Children aged up to 14
Total
Single
Married
Widowed & Divorced
Total
University or High School
graduates
Senior High School
High School
Primary school graduates or
illiterate
Children aged up to 14
Total
01. Eastern Macedonia Thrace
02 Central Macedonia
03 Western Macedonia
04 Hepirus
01-04
05 Thessalia
06 Ionian Islands
07 Western Greece
08 Central Greece and Evia
% of imm.
insured
50.3
49.7
100.0
% of imm.
uninsured
45,4
54,6
100,0
% of
Greeks
48,5
51,5
100,0
556.2
81,9
10204,3
22.0
9.2
19.2
22.0
17.8
9.7
100.0
51.9
3.2
24.2
20.6
100.0
43.1
52.2
4.7
100.0
19.3
7.7
21.8
19.3
11.6
20.3
100.0
48.4
7.5
24.8
19.3
100.0
40.9
44.9
14.3
100.0
15.0
6.4
12.9
13.3
13.6
38.8
100.0
37.4
3.7
44.9
14.0
100.0
37.4
51.6
11.1
100.0
10.4
25.9
21.4
7.9
27.1
23.4
11.7
23.6
9.3
19.2
23.1
100.0
23.0
18.7
100.0
36.9
18.5
100.0
8.3
14.5
28.1
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91
10. Peloponnese
05-10
09 Attica
11 North Aegean
12 South Aegean
13 Crete
11-13
Total
Source: FBS 2004
11.9
75.9
16.5
55.3
24.9
37.7
3.9
100.0
.
13.7
100.0
9.3
100.0
“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between
Albania, the E.C. and concerned third countries”
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Table 8 – Third-counry citizens
3rd country citizens legalized under the 3rd
Legalization Scheme
Nationality
Male
Imm.
Female
Children
Imm.
Egypt
4006
Ethiopia
96
Albania
16186
Armenia
321
Afghanistan
382
287
314
9300
334
Bulgaria
Georgia
Ghana
India
Iraq
Iran
China
Belarus
Morocco
Moldavia
2529
1671
93
1101
1072
276
1728
46
321
754
4948
2987
38
62
195
44
978
502
67
893
Bangladesh
Nigeria
Uzbekistan
1260
993
56
48
586
141
Ukraine
Pakistan
FYROM
830
5055
173
2369
37
87
Romania
Russia
Serbia Montenegro
Sudan
Sri Lanka
Syria
Turkey
Filippines
2877
431
3378
2203
162
Total
NSSG 3rd country
citizens
%
%
Population
composition
composition
4293
410
25497
655
5.58
0.53
33.13
0.85
9461
979
481663
4687
1.39
0.14
70.64
0.69
392
0.51
128
0.02
7480
4659
131
1163
1268
320
2712
548
388
1647
9.72
6.05
0.17
1.51
1.65
0.42
3.52
0.71
0.50
2.14
43981
13254
436
10043
1054
393
2041
1168
550
9920
6.45
1.94
0.06
1.47
0.15
0.06
0.30
0.17
0.08
1.45
1309
1579
197
1.70
2.05
0.26
5661
1632
881
0.83
0.24
0.13
1
3199
5093
260
4.16
6.62
0.34
19785
15830
1406
2.90
2.32
0.21
2
1
6257
2635
8.13
3.42
25375
13635
3.72
2.00
135
297
0.39
3691
0.54
98
81
1451
141
12
79
348
35
110
160
1799
176
0.14
0.21
2.34
0.23
226
828
5747
947
0.03
0.12
0.84
0.14
394
573
967
1.26
6465
0.95
1351
76952
1.76
100.00
9811
681867
1.44
100.00
11
10
Others
701
642
Total
45285 31632
Source: HMoI and NSSG
3
1
1
6
1
8
35
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CHAPTER SEVEN
ESTIMATE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATION
BASED ON THE ASSESSMENTS OF THE HELLENIC POLICE FORCE
I. One additional source of information in assessing the number of illegal
immigrants in Greece, is the Hellenic Police. It was considered advisable to seek
the assessments of the Hellenic Police, in parallel to those of the municipalities
and communities, by making use of the same questionnaire. The task of collecting
the assessments of the Police authorities in various districts of the country was
undertaken by the General Secretariat of Public Order, which applied its own
internal procedure.
II. The results of this survey are presented in Table 1 below. As it appears, twenty
District Police Directorates (including Attica) out of a total of 56, mentioned that
the number of illegal immigrants was “unknown” or “indefinable” or that there is
no safe assessment thereof. Table 2 does not include any information for the
District of Thessaloniki, because the General Police Directorate of Thessaloniki
did not provide any answers. The total population of legal immigrants reported by
the various police directorates is 758742. For purposes of comparison, we will
deduct from this aggregate the people for whom no illegal immigration is reported
as well as the people of Western Attica for whom illegal immigration was
estimated at 266 people, which is probably a false assessment. Following this
deduction, the population of legal immigrants is 527,491 . The total population of
illegal immigrants of the respective Districts (including Attica) is 79,629 .
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Table 1
Legal and Illegal Immigrants per Police Directorate
Legal
Immigrants
Illegal
immigrants
Illegal
immigrants
over total
immigrants
Illegal
Female
immigrants’ main illegal
country of origin immigrants
General Police
Directorate of
POLICE
DIRECTORATE OF
ATHENS
91,411
15,000
14%
Albania, Russia,
Ukraine, Egypt,
Georgia,
Pakistan, Syria
47.8%
P. D. OF PIRAEUS
106,540
7,915
7.5%
30-40%
P.D. OF NORTHEASTERN ATTICA
45,850
4,919
9.68%
P.D. OF WESTERN
ATTICA
27,063
266
0.98%
Albania,
Pakistan
Albania, India,
Georgai,
Pakistan,
Iraq/Kurdistan
Albania,
Pakistan, Iraq
No accurate
figure
available to
make a safe
estimate
28,100
It is not
possible to
pay the
amount
claimed
P.D. OF SOUTH31,325
EASTHERN ATTICA
TOTAL
302,189
General Police Directorate of SOUTHERN AEGEAN
P.D. OF
8,219
Non calculable DODECANESE
P.D. OF THE
10,065
3,330
23%
CYCLADES
TOTAL
18,284
General Police Directorate of WESTERN ATTICA
P.D. OF ACHAIA
Approx. 3,000 15%
Approx.
20,000
P.D. OF ACARNANIA 2,438
Undefinable
Undefinable
number
rate
Approx.
150
5%
Approx.
P.S. OF ETOLIA
5,000
P.D. OF ILIA
Approx. 250
2%
Approx.
14,300
TOTAL
41738
General Police Directorate of CRETE
P.D. OF CHANIA
11,144
Unknonw
Unknonw
3%
8%
It is not possible
to identify the
immigrants’
countries of
origin
It is not
possible to
pay the
amount
claimed
Albania
-
Albania
27.1%
Afghanistan,
Iraq, Albania
-
7-10%
Albania
1%
Albania
35%
Albania
Unknown
-
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19,831
P.D. OF
RETHIMNO
P.D. OF HERAKLIO 28,000
Unknown
Unknown
Albania
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Albania
Unknown
P.D. OF LASITHI
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Albania
20%
Albania
Albania
Αλβανίαπ.Γ.∆.Μ.
Albania
Albania
3.4%
1%
3%
10,000
TOTAL
68,975
!
General Police Directorate of CENTRAL MACEDONIA
Approx.
P.D. OF PIERIA
Undefinable
6.78%
15,000
P.D. OF IMATHIA
13,100
Undefinable
5.87%
P.D. OF PELLA
13,000
1817
14%
P.D. OF KILKIS
5,576
Undefinable
21%
P.D. OF SERRES
P.D. OF
HALKIDIKI
TOTAL
7,733
9,428
Undefinable
Undefinable
4%
5%
5%
4.1%
63,837
General Police Directorate of EASTERN MACEDONIA & THRACE
0
0
0
0
P.D. OF
ORESTIADA
P.D. OF
1284
0
0
0
ALEXANDROUPOLI
P.D. OF RODOPI
1797
0
0
0
P.D. OF XANTHI
1625
0
0
0
P.D. OF KAVALA
21,000
2,100
10%
Albania
P.D. OF DRAMA
2580
0
0
0
TOTAL
28.286
0
0
0
0
2%
0
General Police Directorate of WESTERN MACEDONIA
P.D. OF GREVENA 2,100
653
Undefinable
P.D. OF KASTORIA 1,929
14,999
Undefinable
Albania
Albania
0
0
P.D. OF KOZANI
P.D. OF FLORINA
Undefinable
Undefinable
Albania
Albania
0
0
0.8%
Albania
10%
TOTAL
8,500
4,177
16706
2,642
8,402
26696
General Police Directorate of HEPIRUS
P.D. OF IOANNINA 22,170
180
P.D. OF
THESPROTIA
P.D. OF PREVEZA
P.D. OF ARTA
TOTAL
5,876
50
0.85%
Iraq/Afghanistan
1%
7,500
2,200
37746
110
250
590
1.46%
10%
Albania
Albania
15%
2%
General Police Directorate of CENTRAL GREECE
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P.D. OF VIOTIA
15.000
3.000
16%
Albania
5%
P.D. OF EVOIA
P.D. OF
EVRITANIA
11.900
411
1.400
30
12%
8%
Albania
Albania
3%
1%
P.D. OF FTHIOTIDA
15.315
2,725
45.351
150
10%
5%
Albania
Albania
10%
1%
-
Albania
Albania
-
-
Albania
Albania
-
P.D. OF FOKIDA
TOTAL
General Police Directorate of THESSALIA
P.D. OF LARISSA
19.839
1.385
15.560
809
P.D. OF
MAGNESIA
P.D. OF TRIKALA
5.950
290
4.480
537
P.D. OF
KARDITSA
TOTAL
45.839
3.021
0.2%
General Police Directorate of NORHTERN AEGEAN
P.D. OF LESVOS
6424
140
2%
P.D. OF HIOS
2312
Undefinable
P.D. OF SAMOS
2905
Undefinable
TOTAL
11641
5%
——_———■
General Police Directorate of the IONIAN ISLANDS
9300
1500
16,1%
P.D. OF
ZAKINTHOS
P.D. OF CORFU
12450
400
3.2%
6800
200
2.9%
P.D. OF
KEFALLONIA
2500
70
2.8%
P.D. OF
LEFKADA
TOTAL
31050
2170
General Police Directorate of the
PELOPONNESE
11900
Estimated
P.D. OF
less than 800
ARGOLIDA
P.D. OF ARCADIA
6000
P.D. OF CORINTHIA 12500
7%
Albania
-
30-35%
-
Albania
30%
Albania
Albania
0.6%
10%
Albania
5%
25%
10%
Estimated
less than 200
3%
Albania,
Pakistan, Iraq,
Afghanistan,
Palestine,
Soudan, Nigeria
Albania
Estimated
less than 350
3%
Albania
2%
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P.D. OF LAKONIA
7200
Estimated
less than 100
1%
Albania
30%
P.D. OF MESSINIA
9500
Estimated
less than
1300
12%
Albania
40%
TOTAL
47100
Estimated less
than 2750
5.2%
21.4%
Source: General Secretariat of Public Order
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98
As already mentioned, there are no data available from the General Police
Directorate of Thessaloniki Let’s assume that the illegal immigrants living in
Thessaloniki are equal in number with those living in Piraeus, i.e. approx. 8,000.
The total number of illegal immigrants is 87,627 .
As regards the country of origin, illegal immigrants mostly come from Albania as
well as from other countries, such as Ukraine, Georgia, Pakistan, Iran, India etc.
The rate of female illegal immigrants varies considerably among the various
Districts. The highest rates are those of Athens (48%), Messinia (40%), Piraeus
(30-40%), Ilia (35%), Cyclades (27%) and Lakonia(30%).
III. The estimate of the population of illegal immigrants made by the Police
Directorates is much lower than that deriving from the answers given by the
competent officials of the Municipalities and Communities (cf. Chapter 5). This is
most probably due to the fact that the information sources used by the Police
Directorates are different from those used by the Municipalities and the
Communities. For example, the Police assessments could be affected by the
number of arrests of illegal immigrants.
Following the above, the ratio of illegal immigrants to legal immigrants is formed
as follows:
Illegal immigrants = 79627 = 0.15 or 15%
Legal immigrants
527491
This ratio is lower than the one deriving from the answers given by the competent
officials of the Municipalities, Communities and District Capitals based on the
same questionnaire, which was 0.25.
IV. In conclusion, according to the assessments of the General Police Directorates
throughout the country, the total population of illegal immigrants in Greece is
approx. 87,627.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Assessing the number of immigrants living in Greece illegally is an extremely
difficult task. Those staying in the country illegally have no motive to state their
presence and be counted, except for legalization purposes. However, even in that case,
counting them in the event does not provide an accurate estimate, given that many
illegal immigrant prefer to remain illegal, for various reasons, especially when there
are few chances that they will be arrested and punished.
However, as mentioned above, although the illegal immigrants avoid to
present themselves, they do leave marks which makes it possible to draw information
as to their number. This survey attempted to make an estimate of the illegal immigrant
population in Greece, with the following methods:
1. From the data about the students, both Greek and foreign, registered in the
primary and secondary educational institutes, given that the Greek law allows
for the admittance of foreign children into the Greek schools, regardless of
whether their families are staying legitimately in the country or otherwise;
2. From the data of the General Secretariat of Public Order as to the number of
arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants;
3. From the assessments of the illegal immigrant population made by the
immigrant associations in various Greek cities;
4. From the assessments of the illegal immigrant population made by the local
Authorities (small municipalities and communities throughout the country) as
well as by the local authorities of the capital cities of the Greek Districts.
5. From the findings of the NSSG Labor Force Survey;
6. From the findings of the NSSG Family Budget Survey;
7. From the data of the Third Legalization Scheme pursuant to Law 3386/2005;
8. From the NSSG data as to the total population of the country, the Greek
population and the population of non-EU citizens.
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Based on these data and specific assumptions made as applicable, we made certain
assessments of the population of illegal immigrants currently in Greece. Such
assessments are presented below:
Source of information
Number of Illegal Immigrants
Minimu
Maximum
Average
m
1.
Recorded students (2005)
184783
275500
230142
2.
Immigrants Arrested & Deported (2007)
160938
257866
209402
3.
Immigrant Associations’ Assessments
226000
159000
185500
172250
143400
167300
155350
(2007)
153000
178500
165750
5.
Labour Force Survey (2006)
81000
6.
Family Budget Survey (2005)
85300
7.
Third Legalization Scheme (2005)
270000
8.
National Statistical Service (2006)
224835
9.
Police Directorates’ Assessments
87627
(2007)
4.
(a) Small Municipality Assessments
(2007)
(b) Capital City Assessments (2007)
(c) Total Local Authority Assessments
101
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300000
250000
200000
Illegale
150000
Immigrants
100000
50000
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13
Assessment Method
These assessments are presented in the columns of the above chart. Where the
assessment method applied has produced two results, one minimum and one
maximum, two columns have been included in the chart.
As it appears from the above assessments, the number of immigrants staying in
Greece illegally, as estimate under various assessment methods applied, presents
considerable variation.
The estimated minimum is 810,000 and the estimated
maximum is 275,500; hence, there is variation of 194,500. These differences could be
attributed to the variety of the assessment methods applied, and to the different time
periods applying to different assessments.
The estimated average is 168,166. However, given that these different assessments
have derived from very different assessment methods, the importance of the average
is not the same with that of any regular distribution of frequencies. It is rather the
resultant of all the above estimates and assessments. Of course, in the case at hand,
the resultant is not necessarily closer to the actual number of illegal immigrants. If we
had to chose from the above assessments those considered to be closer to reality, we’d
chose the assessment that derives from the number of immigrants arrested and
deported, i.e. 209,402 people, as it is based on objective data and on the assessment of
the local Authorities of small Municipalities and Communities, as they probably have
a clear picture of the number of illegal immigrants staying in their areas, which is
172,250. Moreover, these assessments are relatively recent.
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Hence, our final assessment is that the total population of illegal immigrants in
Greece is somewhere between 172,250 and 209,402.
103
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ANNEX
FINDINGS ON THE REPATRIATION OF ILLEGAL ALBANIAN
IMMIGRANTS IN GREECE
Ι. The treaty signed between the European Community and the Republic of Albania
on the readmission of the illegal Albanian immigrants (official Gazette of the
European Union dated 17.5.2005) aims to promote the cooperation between the EU
member-states and Albania in combating illegal immigration efficiently . This treaty
introduces fast and efficient procedures for the identification and the safe and smooth
readmission of any persons not meeting the terms of legal entry or stay in Albania or
in any EU member-state. Moreover, this treaty regulates the transhipment of these
persons.
According to Art. 2 of the treaty, by application of any member-state and with no
further formalities there being required, Albania shall allow the readmission of any
Albanian nationals who do not meet the applicable conditions of entry, presence or
stay within the territory of the applying member-state. According to Art. 4 of the
treaty, the same obligation applies to all member states.
Article 3 of the treaty provides that the same applies to any non-Albanian nationals
who, as at the time of entry, are or have been holders of a stay permit or validation
issued in Albania as well as to any persons who entered the territories of the memberstates after crossing or staying in the Albanian territory. Article 4 provides the same
for the member states.
The remaining Articles of the treaty provide for the relevant time limits, the data
required in the readmission application, the means of proof evidencing the nationality
of the persons interested, the cost of transport and transhipment etc. In particular, with
regard to the cost of transport, the treaty provides that all transportation expenses
incurred within the scope of readmission shall be borne by the member-state lodging
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the application.
II. The survey carried out for the purpose of estimating the population of illegal
Albanian immigrants in Greece, leads to the following conclusions:
1st: The assessments of the illegal immigrant population in Greece vary depending on
the method applied and the time the survey was carried out. In the surveyors’ opinion,
this population ranges between 172,000 and 210,000. According to the actual permits
data provided by the Hellenic Ministry of Interior, on January 4, 2008, there were
496,169 valid stay permits. Although the number of both legal and illegal immigrants
in Greece is constantly changing, one could claim that approx. 28% of immigrants in
Greece do not meet the requirements for legitimate stay. These are either persons that
came to Greece illegally or persons that came legally but have forfeited the right of
legitimate stay. Hence, the treaty on the readmission of illegal immigrants has
quite a broad field of application.
Naturally, not all illegal immigrants in Greece are Albanian citizens. Nevertheless,
given that Albania is a neighbouring country and given the ease of accessing and
crossing the Greek borders in the north and the large number of legal Albanian
immigrants currently living in Greece (316,591 on 4.1.2008, as reported by the
Hellenic Ministry of Interior), it is only rational to assume that the majority of the
illegal immigrants in Greece are Albanians.
2nd: The illegal Albanian immigrants in Greece are not necessarily permanent
residents. They could be coming to Greece in time periods when the economic
activity is at peak and leaving as soon as these periods end. As a representative of an
Albanian immigrants’ association has characteristically said, 50% of the illegal
immigrants live permanently in Greece whereas the remaining 50% are coming and
going. If this is a widespread phenomenon, then one would wonder “what’s the use of
the readmission treaty for these immigrants?”. Other kind of treaties would
probably be more appropriate for these cases (e.g. treaties on the issue of permits
for temporary stay and employment with specific dates of entry and exit from
the country).
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3rd: Part of the illegal immigrants living permanently in Greece are not economic
immigrants, in the sense that they have entered the job market. These are family
members, parents, spouses etc. of immigrants, who have no intention of seeking
employment and who are living illegally in Greece either because they were unable to
get an entry permit or because their permits have expired or for various other reasons
(e.g. financial reasons). Assessing the number of these people or their origin is not an
easy task. However, one could reasonably assume that their population is rather small
and that it mainly consists of Albanians nationals, given that the immigrants from
Africa or Asia are not often accompanied by their family members. For example, the
immigrants from Egypt holding a valid stay permit on 4.1.2008 were 9,171 men and
1,624 women; those from Syria were 4,625 men and 1,367 women, whereas those
from Russia were 1,824 men and 9,128 women etc. As regards the possibility of
readmission of these immigrants, there is probably little chance because these
immigrants are difficult to identify, as they live with their families without ever
being exposed to the risks of the job market.
4th: The possibility of readmission of any illegal immigrants who are not Albanian
nationals but came to Greece from Albania, could not be excluded; however, it is of
rather minor importance. It could be possible that there are illegal immigrants who
came to Greece from other Balkan countries through Albania; however, their
population must be rather small, given the small amount of legal immigrants
from these countries.
III. According to the treaty signed between the member-states of the European
Community and Albania on the readmission of persons, the cost of transportation and
transhipment up to the borders of the county of final destination shall be borne by the
member-state that lodged the application. Such cost, together with the cost of various
other provisions and that of the “joint readmission committee” could be considerable
for Greece. Of course, Art. 15 of the Treaty entitles the competent authorities to
recover these costs either from the persons concerned or from third parties. In practice
however, the chance of recovering these costs is extremely small.
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IV. Lastly, it is advisable to note that the practical importance of the Treaty depends
on the ability of the competent border guarding authorities to prevent illegal
immigration. If the movement of illegal immigrants to and from Albania is easy and
does not entail material costs, then the readmission Treaty is practically of minor
importance.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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“Building on Mechanisms to Effectively and Sustainably Implement Readmission Agreements between
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