The Greek government granted legal residency status to 3,405 undocumented Bangladeshi migrants in 2023, under a bilateral agreement signed with Bangladesh in 2022. Thousands more residency applicants are awaiting decisions.
The agreement, signed in April 2022, aimed to provide a pathway to legal status for irregular Bangladeshi migrants already residing in Greece as of February 9, 2022. To qualify, applicants needed valid Bangladeshi passports, proof of residence, and proof of employment if seeking to retain residency rights.
According to data from Greece’s Ministry of Migration and Asylum, over 10,300 Bangladeshis applied for regularization under the agreement in 2023. While 3,405 were approved, 1,009 applications were rejected. However, the Bangladesh Embassy in Athens noted that rejected applicants can reapply if eligibility criteria are met.
An additional 5,910 residency applications filed last year remain pending as applicants await decisions after completing initial registration procedures. Meanwhile, 113 more Bangladeshis applied in the first half of February 2024.
The residency scheme comes as Greece aims to overhaul its immigration system, introducing biometric registration centers and digitizing over 850,000 immigration documents by 2026. The moves intend to modernize and accelerate residency and work permit approval processes for legal migrants.
According to Greek Migration Minister Dimitrios Kyridis, streamlining legal migration is a top priority for 2024 amidst efforts to curb unsafe sea crossings by irregular migrants. The regularization of thousands of Bangladeshis represents initial progress as Greece balances immigration enforcement with migrant integration.