N. Mitarakis: "We have activated 15,000 accommodation places for the needs of the displaced Ukrainians. Greece has opened its arms and offers a safe place for people violently uprooted from their country"
Regarding the arrivals of displaced people from Ukraine, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, will include, from now onwards, all necessary data in the monthly Newsletter published.
More specifically, for the period from 23/2/2022 to 28/2/2022 we had in our country, 1,501 arrivals of displaced Ukrainians. 24% are minors, 26% come from the age group 18-34 years and 50% from the age group 35+.
The largest decrease, regarding the total number of migrants in the Islands in February 2022, is recorded among the residents of Leros, which is of the order of 96%, followed by Samos with 90%, Chios with 80%, Lesvos with 79%, and Kos with 28%. It is worth noting the significant decongestion in the islands of the North Aegean as the residents now constitute 1.22% of the population (2011 census) while in the corresponding month of 2021 they constituted 7.08%.
The number of migrants/refugees living on the islands in February 2022 is 3,030. Of these, 2,711 live in KYT, 18 in other structures, and 8 are eligible for ESTIA program, the remaining 293 live: 104 in P. S and the PROKEKA of ELAS, 189 in the structures of EKKA.
The total number of migrant residents in the Territory in February 2022 is also been reduced by 53% compared to February 2021.
According to the February newsletter, the flows in the arrivals during the first two months of 2022, have been increased by 17% in the islands and by 36% in total, compared to the first two months of 2021.
After systematic efforts, in the 2nd month of 2022, 556 people left for either Europe or third countries through the mechanisms of deportation, return and relocation of third country nationals, while 499 people arrived in our country, with the balance of departures / arrivals remaining positive.
In February 2022, a total of 29,071 asylum seekers resided in all the facilities managed or supervised by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, while in January 2021, were 62,088.
The pending cases of the Asylum Service and the Appeals Authority (in A 'and B' degree) record a decrease of 52%. The pending applications in A and B grade reach a total of 35,779 when in February 2021 the number was 74,934.
Regarding legal migration, the residence permits of Third Country Citizens in force in February 2022 amounted to 676,825, increased by 34.9% compared to February 2021 and decreased by 1.4% compared to January 2022. (The large increase in Strong Licenses in February 2022 compared to February 2021 is due to the automatic extension of licenses given due to the pandemic).
The top three countries of origin of third-country nationals with valid residence permits are Albania with 62.7%, Georgia with 4.4%, followed by China with 4.0%.
Of the 45,996 residence permit applications submitted between February 2021 and February 2022, a total of 39% has been issued, corresponding to 17,865 initial residence permits.
From the 153,459 applications submitted for renewal of residence permit in the period February 2021 - February 2022, a total of 34% has been renewed, which corresponds to 52,915 renewals of residence permits.
A total of 199,455 applications (granting and renewal) have been submitted between February 2021 and February 2022, of which 35.5% have been licensed, 1.4% rejected, while 63.1% are pending.
Regarding the permanent investor residence permit (Golden Visa), the total permanent investor residence permits (initial and renewals) valid in February 2022 amount to 10,951. 9,736 (89%) are for initial loans and 1,215 (11%) are for renewals. The main country of origin of investors in our country are Chinese nationals, at a rate of 65.9%, followed by much smaller figures Turkish nationals 6.4% and Russian 6.3%.
Of the 2,229 initial residence permit applications submitted between February 2021 and February 2022, 44% have been issued, corresponding to 986 initial investor residence permits issued. (Respectively, for the members of the investor family, 3,775 initial applications were submitted, and 1,934 licenses were issued - a percentage of 51%).
From the 518 applications submitted for renewal of residence permit in the period February 2021 - February 2022, a total of 55% has been renewed, which corresponds to 283 renewals of residence permits. (Respectively, 988 renewal applications were submitted for investor family members and 550 licenses were renewed - 56%).
The Minister of Migration and Asylum, Mr. Notis Mitarachi, stated: the following: "The last month has brought us face to face with the nightmare of the war in Ukraine. We have activated 15,000 accommodation places for the accommodation and food needs of the displaced Ukrainians. Greece has opened its arms and offers a safe place to people who have been violently uprooted from their country.
Despite the ongoing challenges, the reduction of migration flows and the impact of Migration, both on the islands and inland, continues at a steady pace. The maintenance of the positive balance of departures / arrivals, the reduction of flows by 80% and the reduction of pending asylum cases lead to the substantial decongestion of the islands and mainland Greece. We now focus on the major urban centers that have experienced the effects of the migration crisis".
