EU figures hint at level of hidden migrants

The number of non-nationals living in EU member states may be "significantly" higher than thought, suggest official Brussels statistics.

Overall figures for migrants living in most European countries have not changed greatly between 1990 and 2004, show figures published by Eurostat on Friday.

But an average five fold increase in the numbers of non-EU25 nationals has been noted in countries where national governments held amnesties or regularised illegal immigrants.

"Between 1990 and 2004, in most countries the percentage of foreign citizens
either did not change significantly or it increased," states the report.

"Regularisation programmes had a significant effect on the size of non-national populations in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain."

Most EU countries have run immigration crackdowns and figures for non-nationals with official status only increased marginally in countries such as the UK.

But if the experience of amnesties in Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal is taken across the EU, a hidden figure larger than official statistics in countries like the UK or Germany is indicated.

Amnesties for illegal immigrants saw the number of non-nationals increase six fold in Greece and seven fold in Spain.

Regularisation and amnesties over the 90s in Italy and Portugal saw six fold and two fold increases respectively.

Non-nationals in Germany, mainly Turks, increased from 6.1 per cent to 8.9 per cent over the period 1990 to 2004

But that figure that might be much larger if an estimated one million people were regularised, as some German campaigners demand.

The issue is a sensitive one and anti-immigrant feeling, strong in many European countries, is one reason why governments run shy of amnesties.

Illegal immigrants outside the official statistics are often also outside social legislation and face discrimination or conditions not permitted for EU citizens or legal migrants.

Friday’s Eurostat release states: “In all EU member states, except Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland and Cyprus, the majority of foreigners are citizens of non-EU-25 countries.”

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