Seasonal worker visas to give Bangladeshi migrants ‘dignity’

International

-DW News

Athens,
Aug
29:
It
has
been
around
six
months
since
Bangladesh
and
Greece
signed
an
agreement
to
grant
temporary
work
visas
for
Greece
to
4,000
Bangladeshi
nationals
each
year.
Under
the
same
scheme,
as
many
as
15,000
undocumented
Bangladeshis
already
working
in
Greece
will
have
their
status
legalized.

In
an
exclusive
interview
with
InfoMigrants
in
Athens,
Greek
Migration
Minister
Notis
Mitarachi
said
the
scheme,
which
will
begin
this
fall,
will
provide
legal
pathways
for
people
to
come
to
Greece
without
relying
on
people
smugglers.

‘Strict
but
fair’ migration
policy

As
many
as
30,000
Bangladeshis
currently
live
in
Greece,
according
to
the
Bangladesh
embassy
in
Athens.
About
half
of
them
are
believed
to
be
without
legal
status.

The
deal
is
aimed
at
preventing
Bangladeshi
migrants
from
making
risky
sea
journeys
to
the
Greek
islands,
or
trying
to
cross
the
land
border
with
Turkey
in
the
northeastern
Evros
region.

Instead
of
EU,
Tunisian
migrants
head
south

Tensions
between
Greece
and
Turkey
over
migration
have
escalated
in
recent
weeks,
with
Athens
claiming
that
Turkish
security
forces
are
pushing
migrants
into
Greek
territory,
and
blaming
Turkey
for
using
them
as
a
political
weapon.

Greece
has
argued
that
it
has
the
right
to
decide
who
is
allowed
to
come
to
the
country,
and
the
seasonal
worker
visa
scheme,
which
is
confined
to
the
agricultural
sector
for
now,
is
said
to
be
in
line
with
the
policy
Athens
describes
as
“strict
but
fair.”

“Greece
does
not
accept
illegal
migration,”
Mitarachi
told
InfoMigrants.
“We
protect
our
borders.
We
do
not
allow
smugglers
to
select
who
comes
to
Europe.”

‘Visa
offers
dignity’

The
minister
said
the
scheme
will
allow
migrants
from
Bangladesh
to
come
to
Greece
to
work
and
earn
money
to
support
their
families.
Bangladeshi
migrants
currently
send
home
about
€100
million
in
remittances
from
Greece.

4,000
new
seasonal
permits
will
be
issued
on
an
annual
basis,
allowing
the
visa
holder
to
work
in
Greece
for
five
consecutive
years,
for
up
to
nine
months
each
year.
This
means
the
migrant
has
to
leave
the
country
for
three
months.

The
conditions
will
be
the
same
for
undocumented
Bangladeshi
migrants
who
receive
regular
status.
They
will
be
allowed
to
stay
in
Greece
for
five
years
as
seasonal
workers,
doing
agricultural
work
for
up
to
nine
months.

Mitarachi
says
Greece
is
the
first
European
country
to
provide
a
long-term
seasonal
visa,
offering
migrants
security
and
“dignity”.

“(The
visa)
allows
both
the
employer
to
invest
in
training
people,
and
also
for
the
employee
to
have
the
certainty,
that
for
a
period
of
five
years
he
has
the
same
job
with
the
same
employer
in
the
same
country,”
Mitarachi
said.

No
permanent
relocation

After
five
years,
the
migrants
must
leave
Greece,
and
there
are
no
plans
to
extend
the
time-limit.
The
minister
said
it
was
important
that
this
“human
capital”
returns
to
their
home
country
–
he
did
not
address
the
possibility
that
they
might
travel
to
third
countries
in
the
European
Union.

Mexico:
94
migrants
found
in
abandoned
freight
container

“It’s
a
program
for
people
that
want
to
leave
legally
from
Bangladesh,
come
to
the
European
Union,
gain
experience,
make
money,
work
in
a
different
environment,
but
maintain
their
social
family
links
to
the
country
of
origin
and
eventually
return
back
to
their
country,”
Mitarachi
said,
adding:
“This
is
not
a
permanent
relocation
program.”

That
has
caused
concern
among
some
Bangladeshi
migrants
in
Greece,
who
told
InfoMigrants
that
the
deal
does
not
provide
a
secure
future.

After
22
years
in
the
country,
Jamal
Uddin
still
has
no
papers.
Now
living
in
Athens,
he
sees
the
agreement
as
a
good
initiative,
”but
in
the
end,
you
are
not
getting
any
permanent
residence
permit.
So,
we
are
tense
about
our
future.”

Another
Bangladeshi
migrant,
Azizur
Rahman,
has
been
working
on
an
agricultural
farm
in
Varda.
“We
have
left
the
family
for
the
future.
If
you
must
leave
the
country
after
five
years
according
to
the
contract,
then
it
will
not
bring
any
benefit
to
us.
I
have
worked
so
hard
to
come
here
to
establish
my
life,”
he
said.

Under
the
terms
of
the
agreement,
in
order
to
apply
for
a
seasonal
worker
visa,
the
worker
will
have
to
secure
an
employment
contract
in
Bangladesh.
Undocumented
migrants
already
in
Greece
will
also
need
to
provide
proof
that
they
have
a
job
in
order
to
secure
a
five-year
visa.

Mitarachi
said
there
would
be
an
administrative
fee
of
around
€120
for
the
visa
application,
a
figure
he
said
was
a
fraction
of
what
people
pay
to
smugglers.
But
other
seasonal
worker
programs
in
Europe
have
resulted
in
migrants
paying
thousands
of
euros
to
recruitment
agents
in
their
countries
of
origin,
and
then
being
exploited
by
gangmasters
once
they
arrive.

Asked
about
safeguards
against
illegal
practices,
Mitarachi
said
the
government
was
working
with
employers
in
Greece
and
trying
to
ensure
that
the
costs
for
migrants
in
Bangladesh
are
kept
to
a
minimum.

‘Unrealistic
and
costly’

InfoMigrants
has
been
told
by
some
Bangladeshi
migrants
in
Greece
that
the
scheme
is
unrealistic:
in
particular,
returning
home
for
three
months
each
year
would
be
too
expensive.
Azizur
said
that
returning
to
Bangladesh
after
nine
months
of
work
would
exhaust
all
his
savings.

While
they
are
not
obliged
to
go
back
to
Bangladesh,
working
for
three
months
of
the
year
in
another
European
country
would
require
the
migrants
to
have
a
visa
from
that
country,
which
they
are
unlikely
to
receive.

Any
overstayers
will
have
their
visas
revoked,
and
if
the
problem
becomes
systemic,
the
whole
agreement
will
be
put
at
risk,
“so
hopefully
everyone
plays
by
the
book,”
Mitarachi
said.

The
minister
also
confirmed
that
not
all
undocumented
Bangladeshi
migrants
in
Greece
will
benefit
from
the
deal.
People
who
are
in
administrative
detention,
awaiting
deportation,
will
not
be
eligible
for
regularization.

Others
have
already
decided
that
even
if
they
could,
they
will
not
take
up
Greece”s
offer.
“It
is
better
not
to
take
this
paper,”
Salam
told
InfoMigrants.
“We
came
to
Europe
to
settle
here
and
for
the
safety
of
our
life.
I
will
not
take
the
paper
that
is
being
offered
for
five
years.
Instead
I’ll
move
to
Italy
or
France.”

Source: DW