Latest news with #migrationpolicy
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Greece to toughen migration laws: Minister
Greece plans to eliminate a provision allowing irregular migrants to apply for residency after seven years in the country, the migration minister announced Thursday, saying the rule had been abused. The police last year arrested 74,000 irregular migrants, but could only expel 2,500, Makis Voridis told broadcaster Skai, adding that detainees often claim a false country of origin to avoid deportation, stalling the process for months. 'The longer you were (in the country) illegally, the bigger your prize. 'From now on, whoever is in Greece illegally will never be legalized, will never get a residence permit,' he said, pointing out that some 55-65,000 people enter Greece illegally every year, with half granted asylum. 'There must be (sanctions) for those who persist in staying even though they are not legally here,' he said. The new draft law, approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, carries a prison sentence of up to five years for illegal entry and residence, he said. The draft's parliamentary passage, slated for June, is essentially assured with the government enjoying a majority. Administrative detention prior to deportation will be extended to a maximum two years, up from a maximum 18 months currently, he said. Irregular migrants can choose voluntary repatriation to avoid any sanctions, he said. Voridis said new regulations to encourage legal migration will be presented by July. According to Bank of Greece governor Yiannis Stournaras, the country is short of around 200,000 laborers.
Arab News
7 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Germany tries Syrian man over deadly stabbing that stoked migration debate
DUESSELDORF: A Syrian man stood trial in Duesseldorf on Tuesday over a knife attack claimed by Islamic State in which three people were killed, a case that stirred debate over foreigner crime in Germany and paved the way for a crackdown on 27-year-old defendant, identified as Issa al H, is accused of swinging his knife at a crowd of revellers at a festival in the western town of Solingen last year, stabbing several people from faces three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, and is also charged with membership in a foreign terrorist al H admitted guilt on his first day in court, where he appeared in a blue jumpsuit with his head bowed before him, only raising his head occasionally.'I have brought heavy guilt upon myself,' he said via a statement read by his offered his apology to the relatives of the victims and said he was prepared to accept his did not comment on the allegation that he committed the crime in coordination with the Islamic State militant convicted, the defendant faces life Solingen attack raised an outcry and drew calls for tough action against foreign perpetrators of violent crime in the run-up to Germany's February election, won by the conservatives under migration hard-liner Friedrich coalition government, which took office earlier this month, has closed Germany's borders to undocumented migrants and vowed to ramp up deportations to Syria and Afghanistan.
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Germany to suspend asylum seekers' rights to bring family members
Germany is to suspend family reunification rights for asylum seekers, its government has announced. The policy, in place since 2018, has allowed 1,000 people a month to follow their relatives into the country. Its suspension represents the latest move by the coalition government to restrict migration in response to the surging popularity of the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. 'We have to significantly reduce the pull factors to Germany. This also shows that the migration policy in Germany has changed,' said Alexander Dobrindt, the interior minister of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party. Asylum seekers had been able to bring their partners and children to Germany if they were from conflict regions, before their applications were officially granted. Last year, figures showed there were more than 350,000 people in Germany who had not been granted full asylum and could be eligible for family reunification, with Syria and Afghanistan the most common countries of origin. The suspension of family reunification rights aims to save €12 million a year, mostly from fees for integration language courses. Germany has long been wrestling with the consequences of Angela Merkel's 2015 decision to allow in more than a million refugees, mostly from the Middle East. Meanwhile, the AfD has risen to become the country's second political force and the most popular party in some polls. 'Intensified' border controls Friedrich Merz, the chancellor and long-term rival of Ms Merkel, was elected on a promise of a drastic 'turnaround' on migration policies. He even broke a long-standing German political taboo to vote alongside the AfD in January on a plan to reduce migration following several terrorist attacks suspected to have been committed by former asylum seekers. Since the new Government took office, Germany has intensified border controls and turned back irregular migrants at its borders, despite the move being legally questionable under the European Union's Dublin agreement. Mr Dobrindt said current figures showed that 'the intensified border controls are working,' with almost 1,700 people turned back in two weeks. However, the measures have caused conflict with Germany's neighbours. Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, warned that he would be 'ready to close the border' using an emergency EU security treaty 'if you send migrants to us'. Switzerland has also claimed that the pushbacks are illegal. Meanwhile, Ms Merkel made a rare political intervention during an event in Ulm to condemn the border controls. She said: 'This will cost us Schengen if it becomes permanent… We have to focus on the EU's external borders'. However, Ms Merkel admitted: 'I have always advocated European solutions, and the truth is that it takes forever and a very long time.'
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Island of strangers' speech echoes of past discordant voices over immigration
Internal Labour rows about how the party speaks about immigration are, of course, nothing new. Ahead of the 2015 election, a campaigning red mug with the slogan 'Controls on immigration', was condemned by veteran MP Diane Abbott as 'shameful'. This week, similar criticism has greeted a government paper on reducing net migration numbers – less about the proposed policies than the language used by Keir Starmer to introduce them. Most notable was the prime minister's warning at a Downing Street press conference that without a change to migration policy the UK risked becoming 'an island of strangers', a near-echo of words used by Enoch Powell in his infamous 1968 Rivers of Blood speech. No 10 has defended this language while rejecting the idea that it even accidentally referenced Powell, stressing Starmer's other remarks hailing the many benefits over the decades brought by immigration. Privately, officials say the similarity was purely coincidental, but they have defended the overall tone, arguing – as one No 10 source put it – that 'Tough words and tough policy are required to solve tough problems.' However, what is tough to one person can seem overly provocative, even inflammatory, to another. And a series of Labour figures have spoken out about the rhetoric, with others expressing worry in private. This was not, an official said, an intended part of the government's attempts to combat even more robust language and policies on immigration from the Conservatives and Reform UK: 'Sometimes you know that people will kick off, but those comments weren't written for that aim. They are what Keir believes, and has been saying for some time.' Politically, there are two intertwined imperatives. The first is the way that in the last few years, migration has returned to its former place at or near the centre of UK political discourse. A long-term YouGov poll tracker of which subjects voters believe are most important shows that about the time of the 'Controls on immigration' mug, immigration was at the very top. But after Brexit it plummeted. This changed, in part due to Nigel Farage highlighting the parallel subject of unofficial Channel crossings, but also as official numbers soared, with net migration topping 900,000 in the year to mid-2023. The line on the YouGov chart has duly crept up again. The second part of this political equation follows directly: immigration has usually been seen as home turf for the Conservatives. If a Labour government can claim for example, that it has halved migration since taking power, that is a powerful slogan to take into the next election. It is, however, is not just the Conservatives that Labour need to think about. Reform UK have based much of their message around greatly curbing migration, with rhetoric to match, for example Farage's tweet on Monday listing that day's total of small boat arrivals with the message: 'How many are Iranian terrorists?' It is in this context that Starmer's language needs to be considered. There has been something of a rhetorical arms race, with Conservatives like Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman discussing it in sometimes apocalyptic, Reform-like terms. On the other flank of Farage's party, his former parliamentary colleague, Rupert Lowe, is demanding Donald Trump-style mass deportation programmes, and talking about 'large groups of foreign men loitering in town centres, intimidating locals, especially women'. Robert Ford, professor of political science at Manchester University, said all this could in part explain Farage's language: 'What Jenrick says now is like what Farage was saying 10 years ago. So there does seem to be a bit of a ratchet going on. 'The government seem to be watching and reacting to the language that the people they're trying to compete with are using, and seeking to make the case in the same terms, without thinking about the consequences of it.' These consequences, Ford said, could include not just disquiet from Labour MPs and supporters, but also the fact that polling shows that vehemently anti-immigration views are relatively niche – and that those who hold them are unlikely to support Labour. 'In some ways they're shouting in an empty pub, when all the customers moved down to the Farage Arms months ago,' Ford said.
The National
13-05-2025
- Business
- The National
UK considering 6% levy on university income from foreign students
Universities are facing a levy of 6 per cent on the income raised from overseas students' fees under the UK government's plans to reduce net migration. The proposal was put forward in a plan published on Monday, which stated that fees paid by students coming to Britain contribute £12 billion ($15.85 billion) towards the higher education sector. Fees form part of an overall £20.65 billion contribution to the economy made by international students 'but it is right that these benefits are shared', the government said. The government is exploring a levy it says will be reinvested in the higher education and skills system and though a figure was not revealed, it is understood to be 6 per cent. Under the proposals, graduate visas will be reduced to 18 months and the requirements that sponsoring universities must meet to recruit international students will be strengthened. The UK government said there have been problems involving "misuse and exploitation of student visas" and "too many graduates" who stay in the UK after their studies are not moving into graduate-level jobs. The plans form part of a pledge by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to significantly reduce migration, which has risen sharply in recent years and led to the rise of the anti-migration Reform UK party. But university leaders have been warning of significant financial concerns caused by a drop in the number of international students, who can be charged higher tuition fees, following restrictions introduced by the former Conservative government, as well as frozen tuition fees paid by domestic students. Last week, an analysis by the Office for Students, the higher education regulator, forecast 43 per cent of universities and colleges in England were expected to be in deficit this year. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute think tank, warned the proposed levy on international students 'will be seen by many as a tax on a very successful UK export sector'. Mr Hillman said other ideas were also 'problematic', particularly reducing the length of the graduate visa. He explained that 'employers wanted to see an increase to three or four years, rather than a reduction, as new employees take months to become productive members of the workforce'. Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said: 'Following years of frozen fees, inadequate research funding and a rapid downturn in international students, the current operating environment is very challenging'. "We would urge government to think carefully about the impact that a levy on international student fees will have on universities and the attractiveness of the UK as a study destination,' she said. Business leaders are also warning that a levy and any restrictions on overseas students could have an adverse effect on the British economy. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, said: "Policy changes that risk making the UK a less attractive place to study, or increase costs confronting universities, will have knock-on impacts for the competitive strength of UK higher education as a growth export and young people's ability to access degree-level education at home. "These trade-offs need to be considered if the government is serious about developing domestic talent and driving growth."
