Departures of asylum seekers and migrants from Greece were double the total number of arrivals in the first five months of 2021, according to migration and asylum ministry figures on Wednesday.
4,951 persons left either for European countries or were sent to non-EU countries via the deportation and return mechanisms for third-country nationals.
During the same period, 2,981 arrivals were recorded at the Aegean islands and at the Evros border, decreased by 68% compared with arrivals in the first five months of 2020 (9,421 arrivals).
In terms of the permanent residence permit for investors (Golden Visa), Chinese nationals topped the list of recipients (71%) followed by Turkish nationals (6.2%) and Russian nationals (5.5%).
In a statement, Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis said that an “important chapter of the National Strategy for Migration 2020-2021 is that of deportations and returns. A new draft bill prepared by the ministry will be released for public consultation within the next few days toward this end.”
It’s just difficult to stomach the idea of Greece giving 130 mil to a German company for losses incurred while so many Greek small businesses were also hurt significantly and not compensated in a remarkable way like the airport. I know many people in the travel and tourist industry who closed their small shops because they could not make it.