Albanian Migration In Greece Understanding Irregularity In A Time Of Crisis

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ��7 | doi �0.��63/�57�8�66-��34��3
European Journal of Migration
and Law 19 (2017) 12–33
brill.com/emil
Albanian Migration in Greece:
Understanding Irregularity in a Time of Crisis
Eda Gemi
The European University of Tirana, Njësia Bashkiake 7, 1023 Tirana, Albania
eda.gemi@uet.edu.al
Abstract
The third decade of Albanian migration to Greece signalled a historical change in
the human geography of Greece’s largest migrant group. The impact of the economic
recession and the visa-free regime for Albanians entering the European Union shaped
a new fluid reality for Albanian irregular migration. This paper explores the impact
of the socio-economic transformation processes on the migrants’ legal status vis-à-
vis irregular status and integration dynamics. The emerging mobility strategies are
conceptualized as a migrants’ agency that overcome socio-economic barriers or pol-
icy restrictions and navigate them. This paper goes beyond the legality-irregularity
dichotomy, suggesting it is the multidimensional ‘in-between’ space of semi-irregular
status where apparently ‘irregular’ Albanians interact with various forms of agency.
Our aim is to explore how the irregular/legal nexus developed within the Balkan in the
specific context of Greece. The empirical analysis draws on in-depth interviews with
94 Albanians and 13 stakeholders in Greece and Albania.
Keywords
Albanian migration – circularity – Greece – irregularity – integration – mobility –
visa-free regime
1 Introduction
Albanian migration represents the most spectacular case study of the west-
ern Balkans-EU migration system. Since the 1990s, Albania has witnessed the
most dramatic migration flow in its history. The images of desperate Albanians

13
Albanian Migration In Greece
European Journal of Migration and Law 19 (2017) 12–33
‘breaking the walls’ of Western embassies or piled into rusting ships to escape
a country falling into chaos became a part of the iconology of migration on
the European continent in the early 1990s (King and Mai, 2008). Indeed, it was
a typical version of the ‘new migration’ (Castle and Miller, 2009) that came to
mark the collapse of the Soviet bloc in eastern Europe and the demise of the
‘new communist man’ dogma.
The massive migration outflows occurred almost ‘overnight’ as the country
moved from a 50-year totalitarian isolation to an unprecedented large-scale
emigration. The ratio of Albanians emigrating abroad to the country’s popu-
lation and the typology of this movement qualified Albania as a unique case
(Vullnetari and King, 2011). Its ‘uniqueness’ is further linked to the fact that the
migration flow was directed towards two neighbouring countries: Greece and
Italy. Indeed, since the 1990s Albanians have been the largest migrant com-
munity in Greece. Migratory movements of Albanians to Greece throughout
the 1990s were intended as temporary, predominantly irregular, and involved
semi-skilled, low-skilled, or unskilled migrants. These migrants were generally
employed on a seasonal or temporary basis in labour-intensive sectors noted
for informal activity: agriculture, construction, tourism, small-scale manufac-
turing units, and cleaning or maintenance. It is estimated that by the late 1990s
more than 550 000 irregular migrants were working in Greece and most were
employed in seasonal work (Reyneri, 2001).
In the early 2000s, most of this irregular and temporary migration evolved
into permanent settlement. This resulted primarily from legalization proce-
dures first introduced in 1998 that made social insurance contributions a pre-
requisite for proving legal work and obtaining or renewing residence permits
(Maroukis and Gemi, 2013). Despite this development, irregular migration of
Albanians remained a major challenge through the 2000s. Since 2010, however,
there has been a significant decrease in irregular migration, with detections of
illegal border-crossings showing a considerable decline. This is most evident
since the introduction of the visa-free regime for Albanians as of 21 December
2010. Nevertheless, there are still a number of irregular Albanian migrants in
Greece, although there seem to be degrees of irregularity that involve various
types of entry, stay, or informal employment (Triandafyllidou, 2016: 19). In one
respect, irregular (circular) work now constitutes the main structural feature
of this ‘new’ irregularity.
Indeed, Greece’s deep economic recession has altered the economic, social,
and political conditions in the country, subduing both the integration dynam-
icsandtheoverallmigrationpatternsthathavecometocharacterizeAlbanians
in Greece. The new forms of irregularities relate to de-regularisation, return,
informal circular movements between Greece and Albania, and multiple

14 Gemi
journeyseitherbetweenthetwocountriesortowardsotherdestinations.These
are now the most common types of Albanian migration to Greece prompted
by the Greek economic crisis.
In addressing these issues, the paper explores the impact of both the reces-
sion and visa-free regime on the Albanians migrants’ legal and socioeconomic
status as well as on emerging mobility strategies. It analyses the key findings
of fieldwork among Albanians by focusing on the multidimensionality of the
‘in-between’ space created by the precariousness of semi-legal status where
Albanian migrants interact with various forms of agency and negotiate their
present and future orientation. The emerging mobility strategies are concep-
tualized here as the migrants’ agency that must overcome and navigate both
socioeconomic barriers and policy restrictions. Albanian migrants are thus
viewed as active actors shaping their own strategy in order to cope with dif-
ficult conditions in the Greek market for low-skilled labour and find practical
responses to these circumstances.
The paper has three parts.The study’s broad context is outlined in Section 2,
which delineates the methodological approach and the sample’s profile.
Section 3 attempts to place irregular Albanian migration in a theoretical per-
spective and frame it in the Greek context. Section 4 elaborates on the main
findings of the empirical research through interviews of Albanians and various
stakeholders conducted in both Greece and Albania. Finally, the conclusion
summarizes the research findings and addresses the question of how the mi-
grants’ agency shapes new strategies in response to an increasingly insecure
labour market and legal status.
2 Methodology and Sample
The methodology of this study is based on multifocal ethnographic fieldwork.
We conducted 94 interviews with regular and irregular migrants, members of
their families, representatives of migrant associations, and migrant smugglers
in Greece and Albania. Thirteen additional interviews were conducted with
stakeholders in Greece and Albania.
The sampling method is purposive and qualitative. Initially, the snowball
technique was adopted, followed by the purposive sampling of the available
sample.Wevisitedpublicandprivatelocationsfrequentedbyregularandirreg-
ular Albanian migrants, as well as the offices of the Confederation of Albanian
Associations, the “Studenti” Student Association, the Migrant Integration
Council of Rhodes Municipality, ARSIS and the Mother Teresa Association
in Thessaloniki. Special permission was obtained from the Ministry of Public
Order to visit the Attica Aliens and Migration Bureau on Petrou Ralli street and

15
interview 13 detained irregular Albanian migrants. Despite the inherent diffi-
culties encountered, interviews were conducted with migrant smugglers from
both sides of the border. Employees and owners of bus services on the Athens-
Tirana route were also interviewed; they provided important information on
movement trends, means, causes, and profiles of Albanian migrants.
The 13 interviews with stakeholders were conducted between January and
May 2013: nine with Albanian and Greek key informants and stakeholders in
Greece and four with corresponding stakeholders in Albania. From August
to December 2013, 60 qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted
with regular and irregular Albanian migrants in Greece. Between December
2013 and March 2014, 34 interviews were conducted across Albania. The data
was analysed using the MaxQDA processing software.
As for the baseline demographics, 56.4% of the total sample were men,
mostly first-generation migrants living in Greece for over ten years. The major-
ity of Albanians in the sample were men working in construction or tourism,
with the second largest group comprised of women working mostly as domes-
tic workers. The majority of the sample was in the 25–35 age cohort, immedi-
ately followed by those aged 36–45 years.
With respect to education level, the sample was largely comprised of prima-
ry and secondary school graduates, thus confirming the view that migrants in-
volved in mobility schemes are of relatively low educational capital and work
as unskilled or semi-skilled workers (Gemi, 2013: 27). It is worth noting that
university and vocational education institute graduates belong to the group of
the second or ‘one-and-a-half’ generations: some were students, while others
completed their studies in Greece.
As for employment, 15% of the sample claimed to be unemployed. Most
interviewees in this category were based in Albania and either work in Greece
seasonally or are supported by family members who live in, or travel back and
forth to, Greece. The majority of men in the sample worked in construction or
agriculture on a semi-legal seasonal basis. With respect to family status, the
most highly-represented category in the sample was married (32%), followed
by unmarried persons (25%). The majority of informants in Greece have lost
legal status (54%) as a result of unemployment, while the majority of inter-
viewees in Albania were circular migrants (30%).
3 Understanding the Irregular/Legal Nexus of Albanians in Greece
The prevalent view on irregular migration implies a strategy of overcoming the
institutionally-embedded restrictions to pursue socio-economic advancement
(Bommes and Sciortino, 2011: 216). Based on this premise, economic migration

16 Gemi
flows tend to move from low-income to high-income countries (Jandl et al.,
2009: 211), taking advantage of a so-called dual frame of reference (Waldinger
and Lichter, 2003) whereby employment conditions abroad are evaluated
against job opportunities in the home country (Berntsen, 2016: 4). It can thus
be assumed that the income disparities between Greece and neighbouring
Albania fuel the regular and irregular migration movements to the country.
There is much empirical evidence confirming that the income inequalities
combined with geographical proximity and established ethnic networks are
sufficient preconditions for generating irregular migration. In fact, until 2009,
the Greek-Albanian borders were the main point of entry for irregular mi-
grants to the country.
Furthermore, various migration theories support that as far as demand for
low-skilled, low-paying, and dangerous jobs cannot be satisfied by native work-
ers, it is increasingly filled by irregular migrant workers (Jandl et al., 2009: 213).
This is evident in Greece where irregular Albanians often work with low risk
of detection in low-skill, physically demanding, and largely seasonal jobs in
the service sector (caring, cleaning, and tourism) and in the primary sector
(agriculture) where natives no longer want to work (Triandafyllidou, 2016: 8).
Fromademographicperspective,beingamale,havingaloweducationlevel,
originating from a rural area, and having positive short-term migration experi-
ences are all factors that indicated a propensity for involvement in temporary
cross-border mobility for employment (Vullnetari, 2009). This can be seen in
the METOIKOS findings that seasonal migration involves young or middle-
aged Albanian men from rural areas who leave every year for a few months to
work in agriculture in northern Greece (Triandafyllidou, 2011: 13).
While migration to Greece in the 1990s was mostly irregular, gradual chang-
es in migration laws and the introduction of integration policies in the early
2000s signalled a change in this stereotypical image of irregular Albanian mi-
grants, with a significant number of Albanians being regularised even under
a temporary regime and with an incomplete legal status. However, the ‘pool’
of individuals without papers continues to replenish itself with both informal
circular migrants in search of job opportunities as well as with others who lose
their legal status for reasons primarily tied to job insecurity, insurmountable
bureaucratic obstacles, and restrictive integration and citizenship policies.
These developments are in contrast with the migration systems approach,
which maintains that migrants’ socio-economic advancement becomes self-
perpetuating after they have settled at a destination because this creates the
social and economic structures to sustain the migration process (Castle and
Miller, 2009, Bakewell et al., 2011: 6). Indeed, this static view fails to take into

17
consideration the contextual and structural developments in both sending
and receiving countries that might evidently change the initial conditions
under which migration took place (de Haas, 2010). For instance, as the stability
of remittance flows is dependent on the migrants’ legal status and position in
the labour market, the economic recession in Greece along with the decrease
in remittance flows qualifies as the main transmission channel of a domino
effect vis-à-vis the Albanian economy (Gemi, 2014: 7).
The momentum created by the crisis coupled with the unsustainable mi-
gration policy in Greece has disrupted the migration life cycle of Albanians
by blurring the system boundaries and their integration trajectory dynamism.
The question, however, is how to explain the changes occurring in the existing
migration system as well as the role of agency vis-à-vis structure in addressing
such change (Bakewell et al., 2011). The available migration literature (Massey
et al., 1993; Faist, 2000) suggests that it is the migration network theory that can
explain the extent to which previous migration experience and the settlement
of migrants in the destination country may facilitate both the arrival of new
migrants and their status. However, the conceptualization of migration and
integration dynamics from the perspective of the network theory appears too
simplistic to explore the role of the migrants’ agency to navigate within those
structures (Bakewell et al., 2011: 11). In this case, to be an agent implies being
able to exercise a certain degree of control over the structural factors (i.e.,
immigration policy, labour market, economic conditions) that play a signifi-
cant role in determining the likelihood of agency within the migration system
(Bakewell et al., 2011: 12). Is this the case when it comes to irregular migrants?
Migrant worker agency is conceptualized primarily as workers’ ability to
act within organized and collective forms of resistance such as trade unions
(Penninx and Roosblad,, 2000). This approach, however, tends to focus only
on settled regular migrants. Albanian migrant workers do not fall under this
category as they are irregular and move between worksites as well as between
Greece and Albania on a regular basis. From a collective agency point of view,
these workers appear to be powerless actors who passively accept the unregu-
lated employment conditions (Berntsen, 2016: 4). Yet these migrants also exer-
cise their agency within a micro-scale context; while Albanian workers might
not have a ‘say’ in the job market context because of their irregular status, they
still exercise their agency to claim a position even within the existing unde-
clared employment relations.
On the other hand, the Greek economic crisis has activated the availability
of resources and networks in both Greece and Albania. What began as eco-
nomic recession for Greece in 2009, intensified economic, social, and legal

18 Gemi
insecurity for many immigrant workers — and in particular those of Albanian
origin. The attrition from austerity and the economic downturn negatively im-
pact labour sectors, both formal and informal, that once concentrated the ma-
jority of immigrant workers. Evidence refers to regular migrants’ loss of legal
status due to the high unemployment rates which reached an estimated 36%
in the third quarter of 2012 (LFS, 2012). According to the Labour Force Survey
data of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT), for the first time in the last
20 years, the Albanian migrant population in Greece has decreased steadily
since 2010. The drop in the number of registered Albanian immigrants in 2012
suggests that approximately 130 000 Albanian migrants have lost their stay
permits, making approximately 29% of the Albanian immigrant population in
Greece irregular.
Albanian irregular migration thus appears higher not because of new en-
tries but because of former legal migrants’ inability to renew stay permits — a
phenomenonusuallytermedasthede-regularizationprocess(Triandafyllidou,
2013: 1). Under these circumstances, Albanians (migrant agency) are forced to
reconsider their livelihoods and develop new strategies for responding to the
new situations (Gemi, 2014: 13) that might make existing precarious employ-
ment relations more resilient.
As we have seen, there is a mosaic of migration realities and legal ambigui-
ties involving various types of entry, stay, and mobility strategies that currently
shape the multi-dimensional nature of Albanians’ irregularity in Greece. Thus,
who is an Albanian irregular migrant? Is there any definition that may capture
the multi-faceted aspects as well as its very specific nature? The IRMA concept
paper places the causes of irregular migration in the context of the intersection
between people’s search for a better life, market demand for cheap labour, and
restrictive immigration control (Hatziprokopiou and Triandafyllidou, 2013). If
this is the case, then the interconnectedness of migration policy with migrants’
strategies in the particular economic reality of Greece may explain the specific
environment for generating irregular Albanian migration to Greece (Maroukis,
2008). However, in order to understand the mechanisms behind the ambigu-
ous statuses of irregularity of Albanians in Greece, we need to explore the ways
through which Albanian migrants become irregular. Empirical evidence sug-
gests a variety of pathways into irregularity, among which irregular entry is just
one and which accounts for the lowest percentage of irregular Albanian mi-
grants since the visa-free regime introduced in 2010. How realistic is it, though,
to argue that all types of Albanian irregular migratory routes identified by this
study qualify theoretically as irregular?

19
In terms of domestic migration law, the ‘illegal’ migrant would be a per-
son “who does not or no longer fulfils the conditions of entry . . . stay or resi-
dence” (L. 4251/2014: 1304). Under the visa-free regime, Albanians are allowed
entry into the country, albeit with restrictions on access to employment.
Are migrants who work despite visa restrictions indeed irregular migrants?
From a legal point of view, they are considered legal residents but irregular
workers.
On the other hand, a large number of Albanians cannot find work so they
can purchase the social security contributions required for renewing their
stay permits. As a result, many of them are lapsing into an irregular or semi-
irregular status. Those who become unemployed and fail to successfully ac-
quire a long-term stay permit are often left to their own devices despite living
in the country for more than 15 years and having children who were born
and raised in Greece. Thus, we are talking about another “irregular” group of
Albanians, notably the “de-regularized” holders of a two-year stay permit for
dependent work or independent economic activity, female holders of stay per-
mits for family reunification whose husbands lose their jobs, and the second
generation of Albanian migrants who lost the right to a stay permit as a depen-
dent family member.
In the relevant literature, there is an effort to employ terms and definitions
that allow for some degree of conceptualisation of the fluidity and flexibil-
ity of the irregular reality on grounds such as in-between migrants (Schuck
1998), liminal legality (Menjívar, 2006), semi-compliant (Ruhs and Anderson,
2010), legally illegal (Rigo, 2011), quasi-legal (Düvell, 2008), a-legal (Lindahl,
2010) or semi-legal (Kubal, 2012), to name just a few. Nevertheless, the legality-
irregularity dichotomy has not been clearly addressed yet.
Given that in the context of Greece the legality/irregularity nexus is not a
static condition but rather a flexible one with people shifting ‘overnight’ from
onestatustoanother,itissuggestedthatitisthemultidimensional‘in-between’
space of semi-irregularity where apparently ‘irregular’ migrant agency inter-
acts with various forms of structures. Employing the concept of semi-irregular-
ity would allow us to explore the complex and multifaceted situation of many
Albanians trapped in a legal ambiguity (Kubal, 2012: 5). As the distinction be-
tween legal and irregular status of Albanians is hardly clear-cut, it is further
argued that semi-irregularity would enable us to properly frame the empirical
findings and illustrate the limbo many Albanians experience. Semi-irregularity
is thereof used as an analytical concept to address the multi-dimensionality
and blurred boundaries that the ‘irregularity’ of Albanians presents.

20 Gemi
4 Irregularity of Albanian Migrants in Time of Crisis: an Empirical
Perspective
Moving beyond the theoretical perspective of irregularity, this section turns
to the empirical findings that revolve around the role of migrant agency in the
issue of semi-irregularity of Albanians in Greece.
To accurately address the complexity of the phenomenon, we identify the
Albanian irregular migrant as a person who falls into one or more of the fol-
lowing categories:
(a) has entered and stays in the country irregularly (i.e., an expulsion order
has been issued);
(b) has entered the country legally, but violates the conditions and terms
of entry or stay or both (i.e., visa overstayer or informal employment or
both);
(c) holds a legal stay permit, but is working informally (i.e., the stay permit
prevents them from accessing the labour market);
(d) has lost legal status and continues to stay in a semi-irregular status.
Based on the empirical research, this section elaborates on the main findings
of the fieldwork conducted in Greece and Albania. It explores the multiple
ways in which the on-going economic, social, and political crises in Greece
intersect with new and old patterns of irregular Albanian migration and its re-
lated mobility. Multiple forms of mobility such as regular and irregular tempo-
rary movements, circular migration, returns and re-migration are believed to
become important livelihood strategies for Albanian migrants in dealing with
the current economic and political reality in Greece.
Following Düvell’s approach (2006: 178), we distinguished a range of mobil-
ity patterns that were traced in our sample:
(i) Some Albanians move very few times on an occasional basis.
(ii) Some Albanians frequently go back and forth between the two countries
on a circular basis.
(iii) Another group returned to Albania but continued to commute between
two countries for employment purposes.
(iv) One group chose to move to other European destinations to find job op-
portunities. According to Düvell (2006: 178) they represent a globally-
mobile category.
(v) Another group may cross the borders once by staying longer in Greece.

21
(vi) Another group may come only once, but stay as long as possible.
(vii) Others are long-term irregular migrants
4.1 Typology of Irregular Migration
This study identified a typology consisting of three types of irregularity ac-
cording to irregular or semi-regular stay and/or employment in Greece, demo-
graphic features, skill level of occupation, and sector of employment (Table 1).
4.1.1 Type One: Legal Entry-Irregular Employment
The first type configured in typology (Table 1) refers to the employment of
Albanians in Greece that goes beyond visa restriction. It constitutes a new
form of semi-irregularity that derives from the introduction of a visa-free re-
gime for Albanians in the Schengen area as of 21 December 2010. It also dem-
onstrates how the political developments further blur the boundaries between
legal and irregular status, thereby creating space for semi-irregularity to unfold
(Kubal, 2012: 16).
Indeed, this policy development has significantly reversed the ratio of reg-
ular migration to irregular migration. At the same time, it has unintention-
ally set a framework of legal entry in which irregular seasonal employment
occurs. Is it safe, though, to classify it as a type of irregular migration? The
IRMA concept paper argues that “the irregular employment may suggest that
there is a demand not for irregular migrants as such but for the type of (ir-
regular) work they offer and the specific conditions and wages this provided”
(Hatziprokopiou and Triandafyllidou, 2013: 14).
Most of the qualitative interviews indicated that the pull factors related to
demand for cheap and flexible seasonal labour and the lack of legal channels
to work regularly in Greece leaves migrants no other option but to use the visa-
free regime to pursue irregular work. Obviously, these migrants do not live per-
manently in Greece but move back and forth in a circular way.
In this sense, the EU’s visa liberalization regime has served as a means to
control legal entry into the Schengen area and not irregular employment. In
practice, the visa liberalization regime gives space only for short-term stay
(three months) and seasonal informal work, but does not provide any other
employment rights. The fact that these irregular migrants have no work rights
in Greece renders them a significant source of irregular labour.
There are two types of employment that present elements of irregularity.
The first involves low-skilled Albanian men arriving regularly in Greece to
work irregularly mainly in agriculture or other seasonal employment such as
herding or tourism. As one key informant described it:

22 Gemi
TABLE 1 Typology of Albanian irregular migration to Greece
Category Type 1: Legal entry/
irregular
employment
Type 2: Migrants lapsing
into irregularity
Type 3: Irregular stay
and employment
seasonal/daily
cross-border
movement
unemployed migrant who
failed to renew their stay
permit/ female mainly domestic
worker failed to renew their
family reunification stay
permit/children whose parents
fall into irregularity/second
generation over 18
visa overstayer, sex
workers, trafficked
children, refused
entrance, penal
cases
1. Demographic
features
single male
migration
married male and female,
children/young migrant
single male/female/
children, family
2. Stay status in
Greece
regular (visa-free
regime)
undocumented/semi-regular undocumented
3. Duration 3 months – usually
for seasonal work;
daily cross-border
permanent/temporary/return/ Varies according to
the activity
4. Skill level of
occupation
in Greece
low-skilled low- and semi-skilled Low-skilled and
unskilled
5. Sector of
Employment
work mainly in
agriculture or
other seasonal
employment such
as herding or
tourism.
male in construction sector or
tourism; female mostly as
domestic workers; second
generation as student and/or
work irregularly.
mainly in agricul-
ture and tourism,
sex services,
beggary, illegal
activities
6. Country
where
migrants’
families are
permanently
situated
Albania Greece Greece, Albania

23
They are very poor people coming to Greece to work in the agriculture
sector in northern Greece. They know well that urban areas are not for
them. In the rural areas [it] is easier to find a temporary job.
VH, 43, Thessaloniki
These men usually stay for three months and then return to their families in
Albania. It is widely acknowledged that irregular movement is facilitated by
new, even more flexible and insecure modes of employment relations because
of the pressure exerted by the economic crisis on the formal labour market.
There are also Albanian workers who cross the border daily in order to work in
agriculture in northern Greece. This type of circular seasonal employment in
the informal economy is actually a significant form of reproducing the irregu-
lar mobility of Albanians to Greece.
Since the introduction of the visa-free regime, a significant drop has been
noted in irregular border crossings. The empirical data demonstrate how the
option of being under a semi-irregular (entering legally) status challenges the
stereotypical image of the victimised Albanians exploited by bad employers.
On the contrary, this study reveals a well-established rational interaction based
on the mutual interest of Albanian migrants and Greek employers. Another
approach that has gradually gained ground focuses on the de- or re-regula-
tion argument (Jandl et al., 2009, p. 31) that the Greek state would tolerate the
underground economy in order to allow small and medium-size firms to re-
main competitive in an increasingly unstable market hit hard by the economic
crisis.
In any case, the majority of the respondents were aware of the limitations
stemming from the visa-free regime.
I go to Greece twice a year. Once in April, for two or three months, and
once in autumn . . . No, they don’t invite me. I know there’s work during
that time . . . I cross the borders with my passport. I don’t overstay the
three months. I do it five days in advance. Before 2010, I would cross over
by foot, whereas after the ‘visa,’ I cross over with my passport.
DX, 42, Shkodër
The above account corroborates Düvell’s observation that specific micro-
systems of (informal) information networks and chain migration exist within
the macro-systems, particularly when it comes to irregular migration (Düvell,
2006: 172).

24 Gemi
4.1.2 Type Two: Migrants Lapsing into Irregularity
The second type of irregularity involves the de-regularization process as a con-
sequenceof unemploymentandtheinabilitytofulfiltherequirementsinorder
to renew the temporary stay permit or, in the case of the second generation,
reaching adulthood. The pathway from regularity to irregularity may be best
exemplified by what has been termed “befallen illegality” to describe situations
whereby migrants face difficulties in renewing their permits mainly due to an
inability to prove formal employment (Hatziprokopiou and Triandafyllidou,
2013: 16). As noted by a stakeholder:
The legislation instead of putting pressure to employer to pay the ergo-
simo requires migrants to buy them with their own money in order to
renew the stay permit.
MK, 39, Athens
Thistypeof irregularityhasbeendevelopedmoresystematicallythananyother
form of irregularity in the case of Albanians. The loss of legal status in such in-
stances is not a question of individual preference or strategies, but depends on
employment-related developments and immigration policy (Hatziprokopiou
and Triandafyllidou, 2013: 17).
In conditions of high unemployment and dramatic drops in wages, a signifi-
cant segment of the Albanian population has been led to irregularity or, in the
best of cases, to a semi-irregular status. Even when employed, the lack of valid
documents along with the lack of prospects for a return to regularity may in-
vigorate the vicious cycle of irregularity. This demonstrates that the incomplete
implementationof migrationandintegrationpoliciesisoneof thedefiningcon-
ditions of semi-irregularity (Kubal, 2012: 14). As one of the interviewees put it:
I lost my papers two years ago. I was without insurance for a while. In
the summer I work for six to seven months . . . I’ve now found a job with
work stamps in a construction company and they can’t hire me because I
don’t have a permit. I went at IKA to buy the work stamps but they didn’t
accept.
MZ, 36, Athens
Women are also subject to such circumstances, although the level of unem-
ployment for men is notably higher. This is because the impact of the crisis
on the construction sector is deeper; as a result, most men lost their jobs from
the beginning of the recession and have thus been without work longer than

25
women. On the other hand, women lose their legal status from the moment
their husbands are unemployed and stop earning the required income to qual-
ify for the residence permit’s renewal.
In other cases, the administration appears exceedingly strict, even where
the migrant loses the right to stay because of an error on the part of the em-
ployer. The following case is typical:
I had papers until 2011 for family reunification with my husband and my
children. In 2010, we left Thessaloniki as there was no more work with
stamps and we went to Domokos. My husband dropped out of the IKA
system and found work stamps from OGA, paid for by the employer. A
year later we received a negative reply from OGA, that it didn’t recognize
the insurance because the employer had put him down as having worked
more days . . . A paper arrived saying that we should leave the country
within 30 days. How were we supposed to leave? Our children were born
here and go to school here.
MB, 31, Thessaloniki
Even second-generation migrants face the danger of falling into irregularity
when they reach adulthood. Until recently they had been required to have a
stay permit for work, studies, or other reason as they were no longer consid-
ered dependants and thus ineligible for such a permit. Instead of being granted
citizenship or at least access to long-term legal status, second-generation mi-
grants reaching adulthood were treated like any other temporary migrant. As
an interviewee said:
I have no papers. I was born in Greece. Until the age of 18, I was supported
by my mother. I was a protected family member and now that I’m 19 I’ll
have to do my papers independently. I applied but because I no longer
had the required documents they wanted (work stamps, employer, or
studies) it was not approved and now I am illegal here.
AD, 19, Athens
There are also cases where legal status is still precarious even though the mi-
grant is enrolled in secondary or tertiary education.
I’m in Greece since I was eight. When I enrolled in the university I did all
my papers as a student. I got a one-year residence permit and I renew it
every year . . . I had no other choice. I know that when my studies are over,

26 Gemi
my stay in Greece will be an issue. That is, I will be a foreigner who came
only to study and must now leave.
DS, 24, Athens
It should be noted that in the interim between the fieldwork and this writ-
ing, the Code of Immigration and Social Integration (Law 4251/2014) has
come into force and hopefully may cause a shift in the current pattern of de-
regularisation. More specifically with regards to adult children of migrants, the
Code introduces a new permit category for the second generation, extending a
five-year stay permit to adult children born in Greece to migrants or who have
successfully completely a minimum of six years in a Greek school before the
age of 21.
As for regular migration, Greece’s economic recession has led to a rise in
unemployment and a displacement of a large number of Albanians, especially
those working in the construction sector. The data provided in April 2015 by
the Social Insurance Institute (IKA) shows a gradual decline in the number of
insured Albanians compared to previous years.
Data provided by the Ministry of Interior suggest that between 130 000 and
140 000 Albanian migrant workers lost their stay permits because they were
unable to secure the required number of social insurance stamps to renew
their documents (Gemi, 2013: 4). According to the Migrant Integration Policy
Index (2015), employment rates in Greece are actually the lowest in the EU
(around 50%) with economic recession and austerity measures exacerbating
the structural problems within Greece in implementing social and integration
policies. As few immigrants had secured permanent legal status under Greece’s
rigid and restrictive migration policies, many of them have lost their jobs and
legal status, and therefore their basic social entitlements. As a consequence,
by the end of 2014, Greece ranked 27th out of the 38 MIPEX countries, with
the most problematic areas being legal status, access to citizenship, and anti-
discrimination policies for long-settled migrant population.
According to more recent data for the residence permits issued by the
Ministry of Interior (October 2015), 69% (380 503 out of a total of 548 515) of
regular immigrants in Greece are of Albanian nationality. At this point it would
be interesting to note that the number of regular Albanian migrants in 2015
increased by 79 664 compared to 2012 (300 839). This may be due to the imple-
mentation of the transitional provisions in the Migration and Integration Code
(Law 4251/2014) which provided the opportunity for a return to legality for cer-
tain categories of unemployed migrants and instituted the residence permit
for the second generation. With respect to the stay permit’s categories, there is

27
a significant decrease in the number of stay permits issued for ‘Employment’
(12%), whereas an increase is seen in the ‘Family Reunification’ (44%) and
‘Other’ (44%) categories. Moreover, an increase is also noted in the number of
naturalisations, with 56 274 Albanian nationals — or 85% of the total number
of naturalized immigrants — having obtained Greek citizenship in the 2010–
2014 period.
4.1.3 Type Three: Irregular Stay and Employment
The third type of Albanian irregular migration involves different forms of irreg-
ular entry and stay. Some of these are related to legal entry on a visa-free regime
and overstaying after expiration, entry and stay using fraudulent documents,
or other illegal activities related to trafficking of human beings. Contributing
to the continuity of this type of irregular migration is the fact that some per-
sons are registered on the list of unwanted persons (Law 2910/2001, Article 49),
usually for illegal entry and stay in the country.
Data provided by the Greek police (2014b) show that arrests of Albanians
for irregular entry and stay for the 11-month period in 2014 account for
21.53% (15 635) of the total number of foreigners’ arrests (72 632). Conversely,
FRONTEX (2014)showsanincrease(60%)inthenumberof irregularAlbanians
detected on the Greek-Albanian borders in 2013 compared to the two previous
years (an estimated 5000 individuals for the years 2011 and 2012) (FRONTEX,
2014: 30). This development may be associated with cases of violation of the
terms of residence (90 days) in Greece, as stipulated by the liberalisation of
the entry visa.
Despite the changes in legal status and the new possibilities for crossing the
border legally, certain categories of young men follow the ‘traditional’ routes
that made up the model of irregular migration in the 1990s. This group usu-
ally opts for irregular migration, either because there is some pending issue
between themselves and the Greek state or because in the past they had vio-
lated the terms of entry and stay in Greece. Most of them are low-skilled or
unskilled single males or females working mainly in agriculture, tourism, the
domestic sector, sex services, begging and other mostly illicit activities, such as
drug trafficking.
One category that does not fall under the typical cases of irregular migration
is women who come to stay in Greece for family reunification, but without
legal papers. An interesting element that distinguishes this category from the
previous ones is that these women are under the protection of their families;
their children are born in Greece and the women often work as domestic work-
ers. Their husbands and children usually hold valid stay documents.

28 Gemi
Mywifeiswithoutpaperssince2002whenshefirstcametoGreece.There
was no way to bring my wife with papers here. I paid and they brought
her to Megara in a taxi.
XA, 29, Alepochori
5 Concluding Remarks
This paper has attempted to explore the ‘new’ irregularity of Albanians in
Greece and the role of migrant agency in order to see how the socio-economic
transformation (strongly accelerated by Greece’s economic recession) impacts
on migrants’ legal vis-à-vis irregular status. It is further suggested that the mul-
tidimensional ‘in-between’ space of semi-irregular status is where irregular mi-
grant agency interacts with various forms of structures. The employed concept
of semi-irregularity allowed us to explore in depth the complex and multifac-
eted situation where Albanians find themselves trapped in a legal ambiguity.
It, indeed, proved to be a useful concept tool that enabled us to cast light on
blurred boundaries that the ‘irregularity’ of Albanians presents and address
their relationship with the structure and system in place.
Given that migrants are not passive recipients of the opportunity structures
imposed by the host country, they are proved to exercise a certain degree of
control over the structural and legal factors that play a significant role in deter-
mining their likelihood. In this context, it is interesting to see how Albanians
(migrant agency) shape their strategies in response to the policies that condi-
tion their migration towards Greece.
As shown in this article, the expanding possibility of legal entry into Greece
has had the immediate consequence of limiting irregular border transit. But
the issue of circular mobility for seasonal work persists. This is because a sig-
nificant number of Albanians make use of the possibility of legal entry into
Greece to enter the country with the aim of finding work, thus violating the
terms imposed by the relevant regime of the liberalisation of the entry visa. On
the other hand, the increased circularity, as a product of legal border crossing,
facilitates the mobility of the Albanian labour force and its adaptation to new,
even more flexible, forms of labour relations because of the pressure exercised
by the economic crisis on the labour market, both in Greece and Albania.
In an effort to understand which institutions are more involved and how
these act upon decision-making by Albanians, it becomes clear that the dy-
namic of attraction is exerted by the demand for seasonal work in sectors such
as tourism and agriculture. At the migrant agency level, the existence of family

29
networks plays an equally important role in the involvement of Albanians
in mobility schemes for work, compared to inter-group or transnational net-
works. Moreover, access to the labour market usually takes place with the me-
diation of migration networks of co-ethnics and Greek employers.
This study’s findings show that the emerging phenomenon of semi-
irregularity does not include new migrants from Albania, but involves mi-
grants with even rudimentary information about the Greek environment and
contacts with the migration networks in Greece. Moreover, the consequences
of Greece’s economic recession, combined with the visa-free regime and the
development of ethnic networks outside Greece, have differentiated migra-
tory destinations, with Albanians moving towards other industrial countries
to seek work opportunities.
The overall findings would allow us to draw the profile of an Albanian mi-
grant (agency) who is relatively well-informed on the condition of irregular
entry and stay in Greece. Their basic goal is to benefit from the work oppor-
tunities and the relatively good pay in Greece (compared to Albania) and the
lowest possible cost in choosing the destination and means of getting there.
They appear to adequately acknowledge the distinction between regular and
irregular border crossing, as well as the rules that determine cross-border jour-
ney and employment in Greece. Moreover, these migrants play an active role
in shaping the trajectory and the cost-effectiveness diptych with respect to the
means used to reach their destination.
To achieve their goal, migrants draw from informal information that serves
the goal in the short term, but which is nevertheless cross-referenced, mak-
ing use of informal (ethnic) networks and middlemen who are mostly based
in Greece. A crucial part in this process is undoubtedly Greek language profi-
ciency, coupled with long-term contact with Greek society. Contacts, as well as
the level of interaction with formal state and civil society institutions, are far
more restricted and marked by intense suspicion on both sides. On the other
hand, the role of institutional and other factors such as the police, the consular
authorities and the network of smugglers, facilitate the realisation of the ir-
regular migration plan, but do not shape its dynamic.
The stance of the Greek state over the past 25 years may be broadly sum-
marized as one where the state officially rejected migration through restric-
tions and closed-border policies while unofficially acknowledging the market’s
demand for cheap labour. And, while this arrangement gradually began to give
way to a more rational evaluation of the phenomenon, it was interrupted in
2009 by Greece’s slide into economic recession. If anything, the recession made
it clear that it was the market and not the state that allowed for some form of

30 Gemi
integration given that it was the collapse of market mechanisms that reversed
integrationtrendsthroughthede-regularisationof asubstantialnumberof im-
migrants. Under these circumstances, Albanians’ capacity for socio-economic
participation has been compromised, generating severance and reconnection
between migrants and their networks in both receiving and sending country
as well as other ‘Western’ destinations. In other words, migrants are struggling
to redirect the scarce available resources in order to rework and create more
viable socio-economic terrains while offering realistic and viable responses to
the new challenges.
Negotiation of identity is closely tied to negotiations of belonging. Since
Albanians are withdrawing from participation in Greece, they evaluate the
importance of location by their levels of association and attachment. Their
belonging and future have been called into question, leading Albanians to at-
tempt to navigate a complex web of defining factors to confront and reorient
the two.
References
Arango, J., ‘Theories of International Migration’, in D. Joly (ed.), International Migration
in the New Millennium: Global Movement and Settlement (Ashgate: Routledge, 2004),
pp. 15–35.
Bakewell, O., H. de Haas and A. Kubal, ‘Migration systems, pioneers and the role
of agency’, IMI Working Paper Series 48 (Oxford: IMI, 2011), available online at
http://www.imi.ox.ac.uk/pdfs/wp/wp-48-11.pdf (accessed 30 November 2015).
Berntsen, L., ‘Reworking labour practices: on the agency of unorganized mobile
migrant construction workers’, 30 Work, Employment and Society (2016) 472–488.
Bommes, M. and G. Sciortino, G., ‘In lieu of a conclusion: Steps towards a conceptual
framework for the study of irregular migration’, in M. Bommes and G. Sciortino
(eds), Foggy Social Structures. Irregular Migration, European Labour Markets and the
Welfare State. IMISCOE Research (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2011),
pp. 213–226.
Castle, S. and M. Miller, The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in
the Modern World (Basingstoke: Houndmills, 2009).
de Haas, H. (2010) ‘The Internal Dynamics of Migration Processes: A Theoretical
Inquiry’, 36 Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (2010) 1587–1617.
Düvell, F., ‘Reframing the Irregular Migration Dilemma’, in Düvell, F. (ed.), Illegal Immi-
gration in Europe Beyond Control? (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), pp. 223–243.
Düvell, F., ‘Clandestine migration in Europe’, 47 Social Science Information (2008)
479–497.

31
Faist, Th., The Volume and Dynamics of International Migration and Transnational
Social Spaces (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000).
FRONTEX (2014), Annual Risk Analysis 2014, available online at http://frontex.europa
.eu/assets/Publications/Risk_Analysis/FRAN_Q2_2014.pdf (accessed:5March2015).
Gemi, E. (2013), Albanian Irregular Migration to Greece. A New Typology of Crisis, Deliv-
erable 2.1., Background Report: Migration System 1 (Albania), IRMA Project, ELIAMEP,
available online at: http://irma.eliamep.gr/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/IRMA-
Background-Report_ALBANIA.pdf (accessed 15 October 2015).
Gemi, E., ‘Transnational practices of Albanian families during the Greek crisis: unem-
ployment, de-regularization and return’, 24 International Review of Sociology
(2014) 406–421.
Greek Ministry of the Interior (2015), Database on stay permits (30 October 2015), avail-
able online at http://www.ypes.gr/el/Generalsecretariat_PopulationSC/general_
directorate_migratation/diefthinsi_metanasteftikis_politikhs/ (accessed 15 Novem-
ber 2015).
Hatziprokopiou, P. and A. Triandafyllidou (2013), Governing Irregular Migration:
States, Migrants and Intermediaries at the Age of Globalisation, IRMA concept paper,
ELIAMEP, available online at http://irma.eliamep.gr/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/
IRMA-Concept-Paper-EN.pdf (accessed 15 September 2015).
IKA — Social Security Foundation (2015), Monthly Data on Employment for IKA-ETAM:
April 2015, available online at http://www.ika.gr/gr/infopages/stats/stat_report_
results.cfm (accessed 23 November 2015).
INSTAT, Migracioni ne Shqiperi, Regjistrimi i popullsise dhe i banesave (Tirana: INSTAT,
2011).
IOM and INSTAT (2014), Return Migration and Reintegration in Albania 2013, avail-
able online at http://www.instat.gov.al/media/255982/return_migration_and_
reintegration_in_albania_2013_.pdf (accessed 30 October 2015).
Jandl, M., C. Hollomey, S. Gendera, A. Stepien and V. Bilger, V., Migration and Irreg-
ular Work in Austria. A Case Study of the Structure and Dynamics of Irregular For-
eign Employment in Europe at the Beginning of the 21st Century, IMISCOE Reports
(Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009).
Katz, C., Growing up Global: Economic Restructuring and Children’s Everyday Lives
(Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2004).
King, R. and N. Mai, Out of Albania (Oxford: Berghahn, 2008).
Kubal, A., ‘Conceptualizing semi-legality in migration research’, IMI Working Paper
Series 58 (Oxford: IMI, 2012), available online at ///C:/Documents%20and%20
Settings/isogeio1/My%20Documents/Downloads/WP58%20Conceptualizing
%20Semi-Legality.pdf (accessed 25 October 2015).
Lindahl, H., ‘A-legality: post-nationalism and the question of legal boundaries’, 73
Modern Law Review (2010) 30–56.

32 Gemi
Maroukis, Th., Undocumented Migration Counting the Uncountable. Data and Trends
across Europe, CLANDESTINO project, December 2008 (2008).
Maroukis, Th. (2012), ‘Update report Greece: The number of irregular migrants in
Greece at the end of 2010 and 2011’, Database on Irregular Migration, Update report
(2012), available online at http://irregular-migration.net/index.php?id=229.
Maroukis, Th. and E. Gemi, ‘Circular Migration between Greece and Albania: beyond
the state?’, in A. Triandafyllidou (ed.), Circular Migration between Europe and
its Neighbourhood: Choice or Necessity?, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013),
chapter 4.
Massey, D.S., J. Arango, G. Hugo, A. Kouaouci, A. Pellegrino and E.J. Taylor, ‘Theories of
International Migration: A Review and Appraisal’, 19 Population and Development
Review (1993) 431–466.
Menjívar, C., ‘Liminal legality: Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants’ lives in the
United States’, 111 American Journal of Sociology (2006) 999–1037.
Penninx, R and J. Roosblad, Trade Unions, Immigration, and Immigrants in Europe,
1960–1993: A Comparative Study of the Attitudes and Actions of Trade Unions in Seven
West European Countries (New York, NY: Berghahn Books, 2000).
Piore, M.J., Birds of Passage: Migrant Labor and Industrial Societies (New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press, 1979).
Portes, A., Globalisation from Below:The Rise of Transnational Communities (Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University, 1997).
Reyneri, E., Migrants’ Involvement in Irregular Employment in the Mediterranean Coun-
tries of the European Union (Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2001).
Rigo, E., ‘Citizens Despite Borders: Challenges to the Territorial Order of Europe’, in
V. Squire (ed.), The Contested Politics of Mobility: Border Zones and Irregularity
(London: Routledge, 2011).
RoA — Republic of Albania, Strategy on Reintegration of Returned Albanian citizens
2010–2015 (June 2010).
Ruhs, M. and B. Anderson, ‘Semi-compliance and illegality in migrant labour markets:
an analysis of migrants, employers and the state in the UK’, 16 Population, Space and
Place (2010) 195–211.
Sassen, S., The Global City (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991).
Schuck, P., Citizens, Strangers and in-Betweens (Oxford: Westview Press, 1998).
Triandafyllidou, A. (2011), ‘Circular migration between the EU and its Neighbours.
A comparative analysis’, METOIKOS Comparative paper (San Domenico di Fiesole:
European University Institute), available online at http://www.eui.eu/Projects/
METOIKOS/Documents/METOIKOSComparativepaper.pdf (accessed 15 July 2015).
Triandafyllidou, A.,. Migrant Livelihoods during the Greek crisis: Coping Strategies and
the Decision to Return, unpublished paper (2013).

33
Triandafyllidou, A. (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Immigration and Refugee Studies
(London: Routledge, 2016).
Vullnetari, J., The dynamics between internal and international migration: a develop-
ment oriented ethnographic study in Albania. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Uni-
versity of Sussex, Hove (2009).
Vullnetari, J. and R. King, ‘Gendering remittances in Albania: a human and social devel-
opment perspective’, 19 Gender & Development (2011) 39–51.
Waldinger R.D. and M.I. Lichter, How the Other Half Works: Immigration and the Social
Organization of Labour (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003).
References in Greek
Greek Police (2014a), Statistical data on irregular migration 2014, available online at
http://www.astynomia.gr/index.php?option=ozo_content&perform=view&id=380
19&Itemid=73&lang= (accessed 30 September 2015).
GreekPolice(2014b),Irregularmigrantsarrestedforirregularentryandstaybynationality,
2014, available online at http://www.astynomia.gr/images/stories//2014/statistics14/
allod2014/statistics_all_2014_sull_yphkoothta.JPG (accessed 30 September 2015).
ΙΚΑ — Social Security Foundation (2014), ‘Monthly Employment Data: May 2014’,
available online at http://www.ika.gr/gr/infopages/news/apasxolisi_05_2014.pdf
(accessed 30 September 2015).
LFS — Labour Force Survey (2012), Labour Force Survey, 3rd Quarter 2012 (Athens:
Greek Statistical Authority), available online at http://www.statistics.gr/documents/
20181/508792cb-bda7-48e6-bfde-d7118fea39fa (accessed 30 September 2016).

Albanian Migration In Greece Understanding Irregularity In A Time Of Crisis

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Albanian Migration In Greece Understanding Irregularity In A Time Of Crisis

Similar to Albanian Migration In Greece Understanding Irregularity In A Time Of Crisis (20)

More from Jessica Henderson

More from Jessica Henderson (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Albanian Migration In Greece Understanding Irregularity In A Time Of Crisis