Background
Greece has long relied on labour migration to address chronic workforce shortages in key sectors, particularly agriculture, fisheries, construction, and tourism. The country’s demographic decline, combined with low domestic interest in seasonal and manual labour, has created persistent gaps that cannot be filled by the domestic workforce alone. For many years, the main tool that Greece has used is the one called metaklisi (invitation).[1] It was established by Law 1975/1991, as an employer-focused recruitment mechanism that allows Greek employers to invite third-country nationals for predetermined employment periods and sectors. What preceded and one could say paved the way for this system was the Agreement on the promotion of bilateral cooperation on labor issues between Greece and Egypt.[2] Signed in 1981 and ratified by the Hellenic Parliament in 1984, this agreement foresaw the invitation of Egyptian
fishermen/women to work in Greece for up to eleven months annually. Coming to today, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed Greece’s persisting need for migrant labour in agriculture. Border restrictions interrupted the usual inflow of Albanian seasonal workers, prompting bilateral coordination and special arrangements to facilitate their entry to Greece.[3]
In 2021, an additional “exceptional” procedure for temporary employment of third-country nationals in the agricultural economy was introduced (Article 16 of Law 4783/2021), and subsequently amended (Law 4950/2022, Article 62). An exceptional clause whose validity is extended constantly until today (L.5243/2025). This strengthens the case for predictable, operationally workable, and rights-compliant pathways supported by monitoring and timely administrative delivery.
This experience helped bring labour migration governance more centrally onto the policy agenda and was followed by a bilateral agreement in 2022, between Greece and Bangladesh on Migration and Mobility.[4] Within this policy turn and in the context of a comprehensive bilateral engagement framework with Egypt, Greece signed a second labour agreement with Egypt, now focused on agricultural labour, agreed in Cairo on 2022 and ratified by the Greek Parliament in January 2023. The link between the two bilateral agreements was noted, during the relevant parliamentary proceedings, whereas emphasis was placed on the need to overcome any impediments faced already in the practical implementation of the agreement between Greece and Bangladesh. During the same parliamentary proceedings, the Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs articulated explicitly the linkage to the imperative of preventing a resurface of exploitative employment practices that like in precedent cases such as in Manolada.[6] In contrast to the Greece-Bangladesh MoU, the scope of the agreement with Egypt is limited to seasonal agricultural employment.
Αgreement Provisions
The agreement establishes a triennial framework with a provision for a two-year extension. Its scope is narrowed to “the entry, temporary stay, and seasonal employment of citizens of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the agricultural sector (category of agricultural workers).” A Mixed Committee, representing both states, exercises oversight responsibilities, evaluates pilot performance in the first year of implementation, and may, consequently, propose relevant amendments. For the pilot year, the annual quota was established at 5,000 seasonal workers, with geographic distribution determined jointly by the respective national administrations. The annual placement quotas are determined and confirmed by 31 January of each calendar year. It should be noted that the Arab Republic of Egypt is not obliged to fully cover the labour market needs of the Hellenic Republic for agricultural workers up to the maximum specified number.
Egyptian authorities conduct preliminary candidate selection against criteria provided by Greek counterparts, establishing a candidate pool. Greek employers submit electronic applications through the competent regional offices in Greece. Upon validation, the system executes an automated candidate allocation from the pool to the employers to-be without administrative discretion, to preserve the procedural integrity. Digital employment contracts are generated, and the authorization documentation is transmitted to the Greek consular authorities in Egypt. Then, the Greek consular authorities process the visa applications within thirty days.
Regarding the entry of agricultural workers, Greek consular authorities issue national visas valid for up to 9 months per 12-month period. According to Article 10 of the Agreement: “The period of stay of third-country nationals who have entered and work in Greek territory does not count as residence time for the granting of residence permits for exceptional reasons.” A third-country national may extend their employment contract with the same employer or work for another employer under a new employment contract within the maximum duration of their entry visa. The workers’ rights and obligations align with Greek domestic legislation and the EU Directive 2014/36/EU on seasonal workers, ensuring equal treatment and access to social insurance. Finally, the worker must depart no later than 10 days after their visa expiration. It should be noted that the costs of arrival, departure, as well as any health examinations, are borne by the employer
Implementation Overview
As described above, the Bilateral Agreement between Greece and Egypt was signed on November 22, 2022, ratified by the Greek Parliament on January 12, 2023, and entered into force on January 24, 2023. In practice, however, implementation in Greece began when the electronic platform “OPS Migration” became available on June 7, 2024. By then, the first list of 2,400 prospective seasonal workers had already been drawn up by the Ministry of Labour in Egypt.[8] This sequence resulted in a gap of about sixteen months between the agreement’s entry into force and its effective operationalization.
This delay can be attributed primarily to the late launch of the OPS Migration electronic to the design choice to create a central “pool” of prospective workers compiled and proposed by the Egyptian administration. While the pool was based on criteria agreed with the Greek authorities, the fact that candidate selection is carried out in Egypt, rather than directly by Greek employers, has been viewed with caution by producers in Greece. [9]
Hence, in essence, 2025 is the first and pilot year of the Bilateral Agreement’s implementation, limiting the possibility to assess the full range of the Agreement’s impact. However, the main conclusion that can be drawn from the data presented below is that the number of applications submitted and approved through the “OPS Migration” platform falls significantly short of the pilot-year target of 5,000 agricultural workers to be invited and recruited.
Figures
According to data provided by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, since the launch of the OPS Migration platform on June 7, 2024, and until November 3, 2025, the Decentralized Services in Greece had received 91 employer applications, corresponding to 298 third-country nationals (TCNs) seeking employment under the agreement.
Of these, 49 applications (211 workers) have been approved, 21 have been withdrawn, 9 have been rejected, and 13 remain in the registration stage. The approved figures are dispersed across regions of Greece, with the majority being in Central Macedonia, where 90 individuals have been approved for employment. Other regions with high numbers include Western Greece (44 approvals) and the Peloponnese (34).
Implementation Challenges
The agreement’s architecture incorporates multiple efficiency-oriented provisions: mixed governance oversight, digitized employer applications, automated allocation mechanisms reducing administrative discretion, explicit employer cost-bearing obligations, and committed consular processing timeframes. Despite this, only 4.2% of the pilot quota has been met, signaling issues in design-implementation coherence rather than low market demand.
1) The centralized candidate pool methodology: Designed to ensure quality assurance and security screening, demotivated employers as it eliminates their traditional recruitment autonomy. Industry stakeholders have expressed reservations about this limitation, which led to low uptake.
2) Delayed Operational Rollout: The 18-month implementation delay missed one complete seasonal cycle. This prevented any early learning opportunities for improvements during the pilot phase and may have dampened employer confidence in the new system.
3) Lack of Flexibility: The employer mobility restrictions towards the workers did not respond to the operational flexibility needed for both workers and employers, especially where agricultural calendars fluctuate with local climate. It is plausible that this inflexibility partially limited the agreement’s practical utility.
According to the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (ETHEAS), the main challenge for agricultural producers is the limited availability of labour at specific times of the year. Labour demand is concentrated in narrow periods (e.g., olive and citrus harvests, greenhouse work), during which delays in recruitment can lead to unmet production needs. Producers report that when administrative procedures result in workers arriving after the relevant harvest period, recruitment efforts lose much of their value. This perspective highlights a potential misalignment between existing administrative timelines and agricultural production cycles.
The Agricultural Cooperatives as an Intermediary
In 2025, it was announced that ETHEAS, under formal authorization from the Ministries of Rural Development & Food and Migration & Asylum, was assigned a role in supporting the implementation of the Greece–Egypt Agreement.[10] This development reflects an administrative choice to involve a sectoral intermediary to facilitate matching between employers in Greece and prospective workers in Egypt.
Operational steps taken by ETHEAS
In response, ETHEAS has developed a set of tools and procedures intended to facilitate the recruitment process within the parameters of the bilateral agreement[11]:
1) an electronic system to record and manage candidate workers based on lists provided by the Egyptian Ministry of Labour;
2) short video interviews in Arabic to verify basic information and collect data on work experience and skills
3) a simple scoring system to differentiate candidates by suitability and motivation;
4) a trilingual (Greek, English, Arabic) employment contract to clarify rights and obligations; and
5) templates and instructions for employers, including an invitation addressed to cooperatives and other stakeholders.
Interested employers may provide information on farm size, period of need and existing workforce. ETHEAS then will share a number of candidate profiles that exceed the requested positions, allowing employers to indicate their preferences while remaining within the regulated framework. ETHEAS charges an administrative fee to employers and, where explicitly agreed by the worker, allows part of the employer’s up-front costs to be recovered through limited wage deductions foreseen in the contract.
Observed bottlenecks and proposed adjustments
From its position as intermediary, ETHEAS has reported several implementation issues:
1) Statutory deadlines for decentralized administrations and consular authorities are not consistently met, and decisions sometimes arrive after the relevant agricultural period.
2) Certain recruitment applications are reportedly rejected by consular authorities without detailed written reasoning, which creates uncertainty for employers.
3) The current framework provides limited scope for workers to move between employers during their authorized stay, which may affect both employers’ capacity to respond to changing needs and workers’ earnings opportunities.
On this basis, ETHEAS has proposed the following adjustments for consideration by the competent authorities:
1) Improving adherence to existing timelines and clarifying responsibilities where delays occur;
2) exploring options for regulated intra-seasonal mobility between employers, subject to safeguards for workers; and
3) allowing cooperatives, under specified conditions, to submit recruitment requests on behalf of their members.
These proposals reflect the experience and perceptions of one key stakeholder group. At present, there is no comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness, costs, or distributional impacts of the ETHEAS-supported approach. Any decision to institutionalize or extend this model would therefore benefit from further data collection and assessment, including perspectives from workers, employers not represented by ETHEAS, and the competent public authorities.
Practices in the Region
There is ample experience across the Mediterranean in managing seasonal and circular labour migration. Southern European and Mediterranean states are developing their own combinations of quotas, bilateral agreements, intermediaries, and safeguards to attract seasonal workers and manage circular migration.
For Greece, this means two things: First, there is an opportunity to learn systematically from international experience, both from elements that appear to function well (such as multi-annual seasonal permits or clear state-led intermediaries) and from documented problems, including rights violations and weak enforcement.
Second, there is a need to shift mindset: Egypt and other origin countries are not passive suppliers of labour, but actors with a growing
range of options. Prospective
workers can choose among various destinations and channels.
In the context of this paper, the recent Spain–Egypt Memorandum of Understanding on a pilot circular migration program is a
reminder of this changing landscape.[12] In this environment, Greece is not only competing on wages or geography, but also on the quality and efficiency of its migration pathways, how predictable, transparent, and rights-compliant they are for workers, and how useful they are for employers.
The following table presents experiences in the region, including good practices and cautionary tales[13]that can help identify concrete design choices and trade-offs relevant to the further development of the Greece–Egypt agreement and Greece’s overall labour migration strategy.
Recommendations: From Pilot Schemes to Agile Governance
The pilot implementation of the Greece-Egypt seasonal work agreement suggests that the key challenge lies not necessarily in the legal framework itself but in its operationalization. On the public administration side, the delayed rollout of the OPS Migration platform created a significant gap between the Agreement’s entry into force and its implementation. This reduced opportunities for early learning. On the employer demand side, the low employer uptake appears to have been constrained by limited trust in the new recruitment model. Experiences from other seasonal migration schemes indicate that predictable planning, clearly defined intermediary roles, and systematic evaluation mechanisms are considered important for effective implementation. These experiences also show that human rights and labour rights risks are present across models, reinforcing the need for strong safeguards, accessible complaints mechanisms, and effective oversight.
In the case of Greece, the engagement of a non-state actor (The Agricultural Cooperatives) hints towards a “test-learn-adjust” approach by the administration. Whether this arrangement will improve uptake remains to be seen. If it does not, the key governance question is whether the administration will systematically readjust the design and delivery of the agreement implementation based on evidence. More broadly, whether this can become a step towards embedding agile governance in migration policy: systematically piloting, measuring results, and adjusting.
In this context, the following recommendations are proposed for consideration.
Introduce regulated flexibility in intra-seasonal mobility
International examples show that strict ties to a single employer can reduce both economic efficiency and worker protection, while completely free mobility can complicate monitoring. For the Greece– Egypt framework, the authorities could explore:
• allowing movement between employers within the authorized stay under specified conditions (e.g., notification to authorities, updated contract, no change in sector);
• and enabling sequential contracts during one visa period, especially in regions with overlapping crop cycles.
Such measures could improve utilization of the quota, support employers facing unforeseen labour shortages, and increase workers’ earning opportunities, while remaining compatible with control objectives.
Define and regulate the role of sectoral intermediaries
Experiences from Italy and Spain, as well as the early involvement of ETHEAS in Greece, suggest that sectoral intermediaries can help aggregate demand and support both employers and workers. At the same time, intermediary roles can create new risks if they are not clearly regulated. The Greek authorities could therefore:
• Formally define the conditions under which cooperatives and producer organizations can on behalf of their members;
• and set minimum transparency and accountability requirements, and periodically review their performance, including feedback from workers and employers not represented by them.
This would allow the potential benefits of intermediary involvement to be tested and, if appropriate, scaled up, while managing associated risks.
Move towards multi-year planning and clearer quota management
Drawing on Italy’s multi-year Decreto Flussi approach, the Greece–Egypt agreement could be embedded in a more predictable planning framework. Options include:
• setting indicative multi-year targets for seasonal entries under the agreement, aligned with national labour market assessments;
• communicating these targets in advance to Egyptian counterparts and domestic stakeholders to support planning; and
• linking quota decisions to transparent criteria, such as demonstrated employer demand, compliance with timelines, and respect for workers’ rights.
Such steps would not remove the need for annual decisions, but they would improve predictability and support medium-term planning by both states and social partners.
Strengthen system usability and targeted outreach to employers
Low employer uptake may partly reflect limited familiarity with the OPS Migration platform and the new procedures. To address this, the ministries responsible, in cooperation with sectoral organizations, could:
• develop simple, sector-specific guidance (step-by-step guides, FAQs, short video tutorials);
• organize targeted information sessions in key agricultural regions, possibly in partnership with cooperatives and local authorities; and
• establish a helpdesk function (hotline or email) during peak recruitment periods to resolve technical and procedural issues quickly.
These measures could be implemented at relatively low cost and evaluated based on changes in application numbers and error rates.
[1] Anna Triandafyllidou, “Migration in Greece: People, Policies and Practices,” ELIAMEP, n.d., https://www.eliamep.gr/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IRMA-Background-Report-Greece.pdf.
[2] Κύρωση Συμφωνίας για την προαγωγή της διμερούς συνεργασίας σε θέματα εργασίας μεταξύ των Κυβερνήσεων της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας και της Αραβικής Δημοκρατίας της Αιγύπτου. (1984), https://www.e-nomothesia.gr/diethneis-sunthekes/nomos-1453-1984-phek-88a-16-6-1984.html.
[3] Managing International Migration under COVID-19, OECD Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19) (OECD, 2020), https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/managing-international-migration-under-covid-19_6e914d57-en.html.
[4] Κύρωση Μνημονίου Κατανόησης Μεταξύ Της Κυβέρνησης Της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας Και Της Κυβέρνησης Της Λαϊκής Δημοκρατίας Του Μπαγκλαντές Για Τη Μετανάστευση Και Την Κινητικότητα, accessed September 28, 2025, https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/Nomothetiko-Ergo/Anazitisi-Nomothetikou-Ergou?law_id=61ea9440-4b74-4c84-ac1f-aed60154f58e.
[5] Κύρωση Συμφωνίας Μεταξύ Της Κυβέρνησης Της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας Και Της Κυβέρνησης Της Αραβικής Δημοκρατίας Της Αιγύπτου Για Την Απασχόληση Εποχικών Εργαζομένων Στον Γεωργικό Τομέα (2023), https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/Nomothetiko-Ergo/Anazitisi-Nomothetikou-Ergou?law_id=7927de9f-ef56-450c-8652-ac1d00ef28a2.
[6] “Συνεδριάσεις/Πρακτικά,” October 1, 2023, https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/Koinovouleftikes-Epitropes/Synedriaseis?met_id=e703eadb-1adc-4059-b8b7-af8500a414fa.
[7] “Agreement between the Government of the Hellenic Republic and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt on the Employment of Seasonal Workers in the Agricultural Sector,” Hellenic Parliament, 2023, https://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/2f026f42-950c-4efc-b950-340c4fb76a24/12179557.pdf.
[8] ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ, Ανοίγει Τη Δευτέρα η Ηλεκτρονική Πλατφόρμα Για Την Εφαρμογή Της Συμφωνίας Ελλάδας – Αιγύπτου Για Τους Εποχικούς Εργαζόμενους, n.d., accessed October 2, 2025, https://www.amna.gr/home/article/825667/Anoigei-ti-Deutera-i-ilektroniki-platforma-gia-tin-efarmogi-tis-sumfonias-Elladas–Aiguptou-gia-tous-epochikous-ergazomenous.
[9] “«Νοσταλγούμε τους Αλβανούς» – Οι ροδακινιές περιμένουν εργάτες από την Ασία,” Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ, April 19, 2023, https://www.kathimerini.gr/society/562373026/nostalgoyme-toys-alvanoys-oi-rodakinies-perimenoyn-ergates-apo-tin-asia/.
[10] “Η ΕΘΕΑΣ ορίστηκε Θεσμικός Εκπρόσωπος των εργοδοτών για την εύρεση εργατών γης από την Αίγυπτο,” ΕΘΕΑΣ, April 25, 2025, https://etheas.gr/i-etheas-oristike-thesmikos-ekprosopos-ton-ergodoton-gia-tin-euresi-ergaton-gis-apo-tin-aigipto/.
[11] “ΕΘΕΑΣ: Έναρξη διαδικασίας μετάκλησης εργατικού δυναμικού από την Αίγυπτο,” ΕΘΕΑΣ, October 8, 2025, https://etheas.gr/etheas-enarksi-diadikasias-metaklisis-ergatikou-dynamikou-apo-tin-aigypto/.
[12] “The Government of Spain Is Promoting a Pilot Circular Migration Programme with Egypt to Strengthen Bilateral Relations,” La Moncloa, February 19, 2025, https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/lang/en/gobierno/news/paginas/2025/20250219-egypt-migration-programme.aspx.
[13] Useful Readings: Anna Knoll, Re-Thinking Approaches to Labour Migration? Potentials and Gaps in EU Member States’ Migration Infrastructures (n.d.), https://www.icmpd.org/file/download/63761/file/20241115_Overall_Report.pdf; “Spain: New Order for Migrant Employment and Circular Migration – Migration and Home Affairs,” https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/news/spain-new-order-migrant-employment-and-circular-migration-2025-01-13_en; “Seasonal Worker in France – Migration and Home Affairs,” , https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/eu-immigration-portal/seasonal-worker-france_en; “Spain: Moroccan Women Strawberry Pickers Left without Medical Care & Income despite Terminal Illness & Pregnancy in Alleged ‘Blatant Violations of Labour Laws,’” Business and Human Rights Centre, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/spain-moroccan-women-farmworkers-hired-through-the-gecco-program-allegedly-face-severe-labour-rights-violations-in-huelvas-strawberry-fields/.