This thesis presents a mainly empirical analysis of the phenomenon of recent immigration to the Athens conurbation and of the relationship of foreign workers to the Athenian lahour market. The research focuses on three of the main groups of foreign migrant workers from Third World and Eastern European countries: Albanians, Egyptians and Filipinos. After an analysis of the nature and characteristics of the Greek economy and labour market the research is built around three major topics: the differentiation of migrant groups within the context of Greek labour market segmentation; the relation between immigration and the informal, underground economy; and the impact of immigration on the spatial and social division of labour in Athens. Methodologically, the main effort of the study was a field survey of recent immigrants in Athens, undertaken over a period of seven months hetween August 1995 and February 1996. The first three chapters of the thesis contain the theoretical hackground to the empirical research. Chapter 4 contains a detailed presentation of methodological tools and approaches adopted during the field research in Athens. Chapter 5 presents the general background and profile data of 141 immigrants interviewed, including such variables as age, sex, time and means of arrival, education and training, reasons for migrating to Greece, family circumstances, remittance behaviour, and plans for the future. Chapter 6 is an extended discussion of the interactions between immigrants and the Athens labour market, based partly on a detailed analysis of the city's economy and social formation, and pattly on interview results. Chapter 7 looks more closely at the day-to-day lives of the immigrants in Athens, focusing in particular on their housing arrangements and their impact on the social geography of the city. Finally Chapter 8 concludes the thesis. It shows how the empirical findings to the different research questions are related to each other and how these findings are related to past and contemporary theories of migration. The strengths and weaknesses of the research are evaluated and suggestions for further research made.