Until recently, Greece was a migration sender rather than host. Emigration, however, came to a halt in the mid to late 1970s after the tightening up of migration regimes in northern Europe. The 1989 geopolitical changes converted the country into a host of mainly undocumented immigrants from eastern and central Europe, and increasingly from the Third World. Major population inflows since the late 1980s include co-ethnic ‘returnees’ and/ or their descendants from the former Soviet Republics (Georgia, Kazakshtan, Russia and Armenia, commonly known as Pontic Greeks); Greek Albanian immigrants (ethnic Greek Albanian citizens known as Vorioepirotes); immigrants from non EU countries (other than the categories mentioned previously); and a smaller number of returning Greek emigrants from northern Europe, the US, Canada and Australia.

The investigation of the factors that attract migrants to Greece reveals interesting combinations of economic motivations with historical ties. Contrary to the argument that post-1980 migratory movements have been largely independent of geographical and historical ties between origin and destination (King et al, 1997), in the case of Greece, ethnic ties and labour market conditions have had an equal share in determining incoming flows (Veikou, 2001: 58). A large part of the migration patterns towards Greece correspond to pre-existing ethnic ties. A number of immigrants coming from ex-Communist states claim Greek ethnicity and choose Greece as their resettlement destination on the assumption that a presumed common cultural past should allow for an easier integration. Another important reason that attracts ‘co-ethnics’ to Greece is that according to the Greek Constitution, people from the Greek diaspora are entitled to a favourable legal status in Greece.

The dramatic and sudden increase of immigrant influx since the early 1990s was a new and unexpected phenomenon for both the government and the population. The new situation has been characterised by administrative and political confusion with regard to migration policy, and also by a shift in popular attitudes towards foreigners. An increase in xenophobic behaviour and racism has been registered since the mid-1990s while combating illegal migration remains a priority for the Greek government. Nevertheless, in the last few years, hesitant steps have been taken to address the integration of legal migrants. NGOs and to a lesser extent governmental agencies have recognised that Greece has become a multicultural society and have gradually advocated immigrant social and economic rights. Political participation of immigrants remains a taboo, however, and ‘progressive’ state policies are sometimes met with the citizenry reluctance to accept foreigners on a par within Greek society.

Against this background, this report provides for a comprehensive, though brief, overview of immigration to Greece during the past fifteen years. The following section offers an overview of the size and composition of the immigrant population and the third section discusses critically the main developments in Greek immigration policy since 1990. The fourth section focuses on the insertion of immigrants in the Greek labour market and social welfare system. The fifth section introduces the specific case of Polish immigrants in Greece and presents some ideas as to which are the relevant migration or other policies that have affected, and continue to affect (until the abolition of the restriction to the free movement of Poles in the EU), daily life and their plans to come and stay in the country.