Over 9,000 register at embassy

At least 9,194 undocumented Bangladeshi migrants have registered with the Bangladesh embassy in Greece as of August 1 for a regularisation programme of the Greek government, according to the Bangladesh mission in Athens.

An estimated 12,000 undocumented Bangladeshis are expected to avail the opportunity as the Greek government set a deadline for application submission on October 30 this year.

As part of the process, the Bangladeshis have to apply through an online platform created by the Greek government, reads a notice of the embassy issued on August 2.

The regularisation will be done in line with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries in February last year in Dhaka.

Greece is also expected to hire 4,000 fresh Bangladeshi workers each year, but the process has not started yet.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Greece Ashud Ahmed recently told this newspaper over the phone that they were "trying to streamline" the process of fresh workers' recruitment.

On the regularisation of undocumented Bangladeshis, the ambassador said they have estimated that about 12,000 Bangladeshis could avail the opportunity.

He, however, said the mission was yet to get a figure from the Greek authorities regarding how many of the Bangladeshis have so far been regularised.

To be regularised, the undocumented Bangladeshis have to fulfil a set of conditions, reads a notice of the embassy issued in January this year.

One condition was to submit documents ensuring their entry to Greece before February 9, 2022.

Besides, the Bangladeshis have to obtain a passport with a validity of at least two years at the time of application and submit a "letter of willingness" from an employer on job availability.

Also, the undocumented Bangladeshis will have to pay €91 each through online banking as processing fee and for issuance of residence card for regularisation.

Once the applications are submitted properly, the workers will receive a "temporary residence permit" via email, which would enable them to live and work in Greece legally.

Later, upon scrutiny and approval of the applications by the Greek authorities, the migrants will be provided with a "residence card" for five years, which can be extended.

According to the Bangladesh mission, Bangladeshi migrant workers in Greece are exploited by trafficking rackets due to their irregular status.

Besides, undocumented Bangladeshi workers, especially those employed in the agriculture sector in Western Greece, receive wages less than the European country's minimum monthly wage.