New Greece bill reshapes migrant policy « Euro Weekly News

Greece’s immigration crackdown is not just a domestic policy shift, and it is a warning shot fired across Europe’s borderlands. A new draft law proposes prison time, steep fines, and even electronic ankle bracelets for undocumented migrants. But behind the hardline measures lies something larger. The government is redefining what it means to seek refuge in the European Union. As the pressure builds on the frontline states and islands of Greece, the question isn’t who stays or who goes. It is a measure of how far a country is willing to go to send a message, and who else in Europe might follow. 

A crackdown in black and white 

A legal shift with teeth, Greece’s new immigration bill makes undocumented stay not just unwelcome but criminal. Anyone caught without legal status could face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to €10,000. That alone marks a turning point, indicating that no irregular presence is simply an administrative issue. It becomes a matter for the courts and cells. But it doesn’t stop there: 

Detention periods jump from 18 months to two years, with the potential for further extensions on national security grounds. 
The option to legalise one’s status after seven years, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity under SYRIZA, is now gone. 
Migrants ordered to leave Greece now have just 14 days to comply; if the deadline is extended to 25 days, they will be tracked with electronic bracelets.
Re-entry after deportation? Expect fines of up to €30,000 and bans of 10 to 15 years from entry. 

Even those appeals will face new limits, as the law expands the definition of a safe third country, meaning asylum seekers can be returned, not just to their home countries. To any place they transit, even those with patchy human rights records, if their claims are rejected. 

This is a deterrent by design. The bill stacks legal, financial, and technological barriers to signal that if you cross into Greece without documents, you won’t just be processed but also punished. 

The politics behind the punishment 

This law is framed as a matter of national security. However, the timing of the subtext suggests a deeper goal. The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced his stance as he positioned Greece as a European leader in refining migration policy. With EU elections around the corner, the bloc’s pressure is to enforce returns effectively. The bill signals to Brussels that Greece is not waiting; it is setting the tone for future negotiations. 

There is a hidden reason, the internal pressure from the island communities such as Crete and Chios, which have seen rising tensions and reported increases in petty crime, unrest, and overcrowded migrant reception centres. 

While the correlation between migration and crime is often oversimplified, the perception tells a different story, one of frustration. Local officials have discussed the strained resources and lack of coordination that the islands face in bearing the weight of Europe’s border policy. 

This narrative has gained traction in Greek media, turning what was once seen as a humanitarian crisis into a political liability. Add to that the recent rescue of over 500 migrants off the coast of Crete. In Chios, a long key entry point for migrants. In 2020, over 5000 residents marched against plans for a new detention centre. Protesters turned violent, and the mayor and the priest were hospitalised by tear gas during clashes with riot police. 

The optics are hard to ignore, and boats keep coming. Athens is under pressure to act or risk being accused of letting things spiral out of control. 

Safe third country loophole: Legal shortcut or trapdoor? 

At the heart of the bill is a deeply technical change. To redefine what would count as a “safe third country”. But this tweak can become a cornerstone of mass rejection. Greece’s new rules allow authorities to send asylum seekers not just back to their country of origin but to any country they have passed through. This includes: 

Transit nations like Turkey or Libya 
Countries where a claim was already deemed inadmissible 

For the government, it is about closing loopholes and aligning with the EU return policy; for migrants, it can send them back into danger legally. For migrants who reach Greece, the journey has been brutal: crossing the desert, dodging traffickers, or surviving boats that should never have been at sea. Once here, they hope for a fair process, a chance to prove their case. 

Under these new laws: 

Their asylum claim could be rejected on procedural grounds if they transit through a country considered safe. 
Legal appeals can become more complicated and faster. Many do not speak Greek and cannot afford lawyers. 

While much of the bill targets new arrivals, one of the most consequential charges targets those who are already here, thousands of undocumented migrants who live in Greece and often work informally, raising children and building lives in the shadows. 

Greece’s new model, or Europe’s normal? 

Greece, as the first entry country, is now leading the conversation to align its national law with the EU Return Regulation reforms and adopting a safer third country logic. Its proposed bill is a hardened stance on migration that is gaining momentum, from Denmark’s plans to offshore asylum processing to Italy’s naval blockade. It raises a point that Europe’s asylum ideals might deteriorate. This is a blueprint, and whether it holds or breaks depends on Greece and how Europe responds.