The Joint Ministerial Decision (JD) was published in the Government Gazette (Government Gazette B 2189/3.4.2023), which sets the maximum number of residence permits for third-country nationals for work – for the years 2023 and 2024 – at 167,925.

As the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs states in its announcement, the number of permitted transfers was determined at a level significantly lower than the requests submitted through the Regions, which approached 380,000 and close to the corresponding limit set for the two-year period 2021-2022 (was 168,632).

In addition, measures have been taken, so that on the one hand the employment of Greek workers (or from EU countries) is not affected and on the other hand the needs of businesses are covered, which in certain sectors are increased compared to previous years.

Specifically, as pointed out in the announcement, the redeployments are distributed in sectors in which there is no job offer from Greek workers, but with flexibility, which allows meeting the needs, as:

“- The available positions are distributed at the Region level and not at the regional unit level, as was the case until now. In this way, the phenomenon, which had been observed in previous years, of having a shortage of workers in one regional unit and a surplus in a neighboring one is being addressed.

– Additional flexibility in the distribution of positions is also ensured by the grouping of specialties in the primary sector (land workers, livestock workers, fish farming workers, forestry workers, etc.), which means that a worker, during his stay, can be employed in more from one specialty.

Of the 167,925 positions, 20,000 are expected to be filled, through the bilateral agreements that our country has signed with Egypt and Bangladesh. Of the remaining 147,925 positions, the majority (113,467 or 76.7%) are allocated to the primary sector. Of these, 91,630 relate to seasonal work, lasting 3 to 9 months, 16,572 dependent work of at least twelve months and 5,265 to fishermen of Egyptian origin, who enter the country for a maximum period of 11 months, based on a relevant bilateral agreement.

It is also noted that:

– The possibility of redeploying an increased number of workers in the catering and accommodation sectors (9,261 compared to 2,811 in the previous two years) is provided, but significantly lower than the proposals submitted for 80,316 workers and here the job offer and the possibility of filling the vacancies from domestic human resources.

– In the construction sector, the upper limit was set at 10,338 positions and mainly concerns qualified builders, for whom, based on the data of the Public Employment Service (DYPA), large human resource shortages were found, in particular, in view of the implementation of the projects are included in the NSRF and the Recovery Fund, but also due to the increase in private construction activity compared to previous years and the energy/aesthetic upgrading programs of buildings, which are being implemented, etc.

– For workers from third countries, the same institutional framework that governs the labor relations of Greek/European workers applies (wages, minimum wage, working hours, health-safety, etc.). In addition, seasonal workers should be provided accommodation for their stay.

– Finally, it is noted that the recall of highly skilled workers is approved by a special procedure (interested employers should submit requests to the decentralized administrations of the Regions for the specific specialty they request and, subsequently, a thorough check by DYPA regarding the existence domestic workforce). For highly skilled workers, it is also provided that the remuneration cannot be lower than 1.5 times the amount of the average gross annual salary in Greece, as it appears from the data of the Hellenic Statistical Authority”.

The distribution of positions by branch, the corresponding requests that had been submitted and the distribution of the period 2021-2022 are recorded in the attached table.