Immigration

The government hopes its decision to double the minimum amount of property purchase at certain prime locations for a Golden Visa to €500,000 will dampen the excessive rally in prices and will make the market more accessible to more people, especially in areas such as Piraeus (photo).

Two men aged 36 and 41 have been arrested for forgery, violating immigration laws and other crimes after police found 196 phony passports, driver's licenses, ID cards and residence permits during raids on their respective homes in downtown Athens, the force said in a press release on Thursday.

The number of people who immigrated to Türkiye from foreign countries experienced a decline of 33.2 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year, totaling 494,052 individuals, as reported by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

The first five months of 2023 saw real estate purchases with a total value of 975 million euros coming from investors from third countries interested in obtaining a residence permit through the Golden Visa program.

The financing for the renewal of the term of office of 800 fixed-term border guards in the eastern Aegean has been decided by the managing authority of the Migration Ministry.

The move aims to strengthen the operational capacity of the Hellenic Police for the protection and surveillance of the country's external borders.

A court in Cyprus has ordered that two Syrian men remain in police custody for seven days on suspicion of people smuggling after authorities rescued a total 45 Syrian migrants aboard two rickety vessels off the island nation's southern coast.

59 migrants have drowned after a boat capsized off the coast of Greece. 100 people were rescued, but it is not clear how many migrants were on the boat.

The boat sank off the Peloponnese peninsula, reported the Greek coast guard. This is the worst migrant incident in Greece this year.

European Union countries have reached a long-delayed agreement on a fair distribution of refugees and migrants. The decision was reached last night in Luxembourg by interior ministers.

The reform is in two directions - on the one hand with the countries under pressure, and on the other - an accelerated procedure for some of the migrants' applications.

Ten illegal migrants from Syria were caught on "Trakia" highway - near the village of Tsaratsovo, Plovdiv region, announced the prosecutor's office.

Detained and charged are two women, both aged 29. They are charged with helping refugees cross the country illegally.

The European Commission has called on Greek authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into fresh allegations of illegal migrant pushbacks, stated Ylva Johansson, the EU's Home Affairs Commissioner, on Monday.