It's like receiving an invitation to lunch and then being told you are not invited. More than 10'000 immigrants have been told that there will be no work permits for them even though many were actively encouraged to come here by the authorities. The Central Government Delegate's Work Permit department has said that there has been no slowdown in applications despite the amnesty period (for all those wanting to legalise their situation) ending in January. So what is going to happen to this small army of people? Are they going to be told to leave, will they be forcefully deported, or are the authorities just going to turn a blind eye? As in many European countries the immigration programme has been a failure. It started out as a good idea, encourage people from developing countries to come to the Balearics to fill vacancies within the work-force. But the offer, was quite simply, over-subscribed. Trade unions are calling for a new amnesty period to allow the 10'000 to legalise their status. The Foreigner's Office is already handling 7'000 applications. You can't promise people a better life and then just tell them they arrived too late. Sorry.
A Balearic duty
09/02/2002 00:00
Also in Holiday
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