France is preparing to reform its national immigration legislation a few months before the 27 member countries of the European Union in turn adopt a reform of migration policy for all member states. If Paris intends to tighten the conditions required to obtain the right to reside and work in France, what are the national policies in this area in some of the other countries of the European Union?
5 mins
As of January 1, 2021, the European Union had 5% non-European citizens, that is to say around 24 million people out of a total of 447 million inhabitants. And it is Germany which has the most with just over 11.5 million foreign nationals, ahead of France, Italy and Spain which have around 5 million. If the European Union must soon adopt a new migration policy, the 27 member countries all have their own legislation on the subject. Laws that are very different from each other and which will have to evolve soon to comply with future European legislation in this area.
The toughest: Denmark and Sweden
Denmark is cited as an example by right-wing and far-right parties in France. The country has the toughest migration policy in the European Union. Once they arrive in the country, migrants’ property is confiscated and access to benefits restricted. The job market is also very closed to them: there is a list of professions authorized for foreign workers. Consequence: immigration has been considerably reduced, even if the labor shortage is cruelly felt.
At the beginning of November, Sweden in turn tightened its migration legislation. You must earn at least 2,400 euros per month to qualify for a residence permit, while most foreigners have precarious jobs. The far-right SD party (Sweden Democrats) is the main ally of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and is imposing its road map.
Germany opens up again
To accommodate around 400,000 qualified workers per year and compensate for the aging of its population, the government of Olaf Scholz adopted an immigration bill which makes it easier to relax immigration rules. A first since the 2000s.
Since November, immigrant workers no longer need to provide an employment contract to enter the country, they can also apply for German citizenship after five years of residence in the country. Another measure to encourage foreigners to settle in Germany is that they are no longer obliged to renounce their original nationality, which was a deterrent to immigration for many of them.
Read alsoGermany adopts a points-based migration system to compensate for labor shortages
The most surprising: Hungary
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is one of the most anti-immigration European leaders, but paradoxically his country facilitates the use of foreign labor in businesses, which is also in Poland.
The government wants to create half a million jobs in the coming years, because with the mass exile of Hungarian workers in Western Europe, there is a shortage of local labor. Hungary therefore calls on foreign workers, mainly from Asia, they are called “guest workers”.
Spain simplifies and speeds up procedures
In Spain,one of the main receiving countries in Europe, a vast reform was adopted in August 2022 in order to simplify and accelerate the procedures for asylum or residence permit applicants. For irregular migrants who can justify a stay in the country of at least two years, it is now possible to obtain a 12-month residence permit, on one condition: complete training in the sectors that are lacking. labor.
Seasonal workers, who represent a large percentage of foreign residents in Spain, are also affected by this reform, particularly in order to improve their living conditions. Interested foreigners will now be able to apply for a four-year work permit. This document allows the person concerned to work up to nine months per year, but they will be required to return to their country after each harvest season. For people affected by family reunification: the new law brings a fundamental change for the migrants concerned, because the residence permit acquired through the family reunification process now includes a work permit.
Italy toughens its tone
The Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni (far-right) approved this year a series of measures that toughen reception conditions for migrants. In particular, there is a question of housing minors with adults, increasing the number of migrants in detention centers or even expelling people in a legal situation. However, these measures follow the decision to increase national quotas for legal immigration. A measure taken last spring to compensate for the lack of labor in certain sectors of economic activity, according to the authorities.
Read alsoItaly announces measures to deter irregular migrants
In Greece, regularization remains as long
Like Spain or Italy, Greece has also made changes to its immigration legislation. Faced with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants for almost 10 years, the conservative government has tried to simplify the procedures, without facilitating access to regularization. Since 2022, migrants must go through an online platform in order to submit their asylum application. Once an appointment has been obtained – the waiting time can exceed a year – migrants must go to closed centers. As for second-generation migrants, they are now entitled to a ten-year residence permit, compared to 5 years previously. Around 750,000 foreigners live legally in Greece, which had issued more than 150,000 permits in 2022, according to data from the Migration Ministry.
Read alsoGreece and other European countries push back migrants in violation of international law