Notis Mitarachi, the Greek minister for migration and asylum, has said that a scheme to offer seasonal worker visas to thousands of Bangladeshis will start this fall.
However, some migrants are critical of such a plan, adding that it offers no long-term security, the minister added while speaking with the InfoMigrants.
Bangladesh and Greece signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was projected in order to bring to the Hellenic Republic 4,000 workers from Bangladesh annually in a lawful way on 9 February this year.
The agreement was signed in Dhaka by Bangladesh Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmad, as well as his Greek counterpart Panagiotis A Mitarakis.
"Bangladeshi workers will be provided with a 5-year temporary work permit. Under the agreement, seasonal workers will be hired in the agricultural sector," the Bangladesh expatriate ministry pointed out in this regard.
The Migration Minister of Greece, Notis Mitarachi, has confirmed that the scheme that will start this fall is a legal pathway for all people to work in the Hellenic Republic without relying on people smugglers.
About 30,000 citizens from Bangladesh are currently living in the Hellenic Republic, based on the figures provided by the Bangladesh Embassy in Athens, while the same source notes that nearly half of them are believed to not have legal status.
Such an agreement reached between Greece and Bangladesh comes after a large number of migrants from Bangladesh took risky journeys in order to reach Greece.
Authorities in the Hellenic Republic have argued that the seasonal worker visa scheme, which is confined to the agricultural sector at present, is in line with the policy described as strict but fair by authorities in Greece.
"Greece does not accept illegal migration. We protect our borders. We do not allow smugglers to select who comes to Europe," Mitarachi told InfoMigrants.
It has been confirmed that the conditions for undocumented migrants from Bangladesh who receive the regular status will be the same, meaning that they will be permitted to stay in the Hellenic Republic for five years as seasonal workers, doing agricultural work for a period of nine months.
In this regard, Mitarachi stressed that Greece is the first European country to give a long-term seasonal visa, offering migrants dignity and security.
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