4,790 applications had been submitted by Friday 1 March for the granting of residence permits in the context of the implementation of Article 193 of Law 5078/2023 on the granting of a new type of residence permit for work to third-country nationals.
The relevant digital application platform at the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum was activated on 9 February 2024.
Of these, 828 applicants have already received a “blue card” (temporary residence permit), while 3,952 applications are currently being processed. It should be noted that, from 9 February to date, more than 10 thousand applicants have visited this digital platform.
The Minister of Immigration and Asylum Dimitris Kairidis, after expressing his satisfaction with the pace of submission and processing of applications, stressed that “in this way we are giving access to legal employment to foreigners who have been living in Greece for years and we are putting order in the labour market”.
As it is already known, article 193 of Law 5078/2023 has established a new procedure for granting residence permits, which provides access to paid employment and the provision of services or work to third country citizens who:
α) (a) hold a declaration of an offer of employment from an employer in Greece or the commencement of a profession, for their employment under the status of dependent work or provision of services or work,
b) They have resided in Greece until 30 November 2023 and have completed at least three (3) consecutive years of residence in Greece, prior to the submission of the application, according to a public document of certain date,
c) They have a clean criminal record, valid personal documents and meet a number of other requirements in favour of public security.
