Article 17 of Law 5275/2026 amended article 26 of Law 5038/2023, which regulates the procedure for determining the volume of worker admissions for the provision of dependent employment, highly skilled employment, and seasonal work.
These amendments concern the provisions set out in the annually issued Ministerial Cabinet Act and are as follows:
Increase of the maximum number of job positions by up to fifteen percent (15%) instead of the previously applicable ten percent (10%).
Introduction of a provision for the designation of specific third countries from which invitations may be carried out (new regulation).
Introduction of a provision for determining a specific number of third-country nationals, per country of origin, who may be invited from each third country, taking into account, among other factors, reasons of national interest, interstate relations, the administrative capacity of the competent consular authorities to process invitation requests, labor market needs and the conclusion of bilateral agreements in the field of migration and mobility (new regulation).
For the issuance of the Ministerial Cabinet Act, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security consults not only with the Economic and Social Committee and the Public Employment Service, as previously provided, but also with the country’s chambers, the relevant employers’ associations and the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives. Furthermore, for its issuance, account is taken, among other factors, of the number of invitation requests submitted and those completed during the previous two (2) years (rather than generally in previous years, as previously stipulated), the specialties to which these requests related, as well as statistical and qualitative data on the dynamics of the invitation procedures, as transmitted by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
In the case of inviting seasonal workers in the agricultural sector, for determining the maximum number of workers to be admitted nationwide, the total number of applications submitted to the Decentralized Administrations over the previous two (2) years is taken into account (instead of the previous one (1) year), as well as the estimates of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.
The determination, under the Ministerial Cabinet Act, of the ratio between the cultivable land area or livestock of the applicant employer and the number of seasonal workers they may request to invite has been abolished. This determination is now made by decision of the Minister of Rural Development and Food, in accordance with Article 176 par. 29B of the Migration Code.
Introduction of a provision to suspend invitations from specific third countries for reasons of national interest, foreign policy, national economy or bilateral relations, by means of a Ministerial Cabinet Act issued following a recommendation by the Ministers of Migration and Asylum, Foreign Affairs, and Citizen Protection (separate from the one provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 26) (new regulation).
The invitation of third-country nationals for employment is not permitted in cases of highly skilled employment, dependent employment following invitation and seasonal employment following invitation, where the individuals concerned are under eighteen (18) years of age (new regulation).
If you are an employer and wish to hire a third-country national under the employment invitation procedure, you can contact our office at +30 210 3319753 or by email at info@georgallis-law.com. Our law office and associates, with their expertise and experience in Immigration Law, will assist you complete the invitation process securely and efficiently.
Article 17 of Law 5275/2026 amended article 26 of Law 5038/2023, which regulates the procedure for determining the volume of worker admissions for the provision of dependent employment, highly skilled employment, and seasonal work.
These amendments concern the provisions set out in the annually issued Ministerial Cabinet Act and are as follows:
If you are an employer and wish to hire a third-country national under the employment invitation procedure, you can contact our office at +30 210 3319753 or by email at info@georgallis-law.com. Our law office and associates, with their expertise and experience in Immigration Law, will assist you complete the invitation process securely and efficiently.