06-04-2011
Supreme Council strengthened migration policy approving the amendments to the laws that regulate the status of the foreigners staying on the territory of Ukraine. Besides, the number of motives have enlarged that permit to deport a foreigner from the country as well as increased fines for violation of the registration terms. On the experts’ opinion, the amendments do not correspond to international standards.
Supreme Council made changes in the law “About legal status of foreigners and persons without citizenship”, Crime Code and Code about administrative deliquesces. Some amendments were proposed by the President Viktor Yanukovych and taken into consideration by the Parliament. The majority of changes intensify the rules on entrance and stay of foreigners on the territory of Ukraine. Now persons who cannot financially secure themselves with stay in Ukraine will not be able to enter it. According the same considerations foreigners who already live in Ukraine can be deported.
The list of reasons has also expanded out of which a citizen from another country arriving for work or studies can be deported. It will happen, for example, if a foreigner arriving for work or studies do not appear at university or place of work in a specified time. Also the term is shortened during which he/she is obliged to leave Ukraine after adoption of decision on deportation. Before this term comprised 30 days, so now it is 5. At the same time foreigner cannot be sent back to the country where he can be subjected to tortures or his life can be threatened with danger.
Sanctions for illegal transportation of the foreigners through the state budget of Ukraine have also been intensified. Before, the punishments for such actions were in the form of imprisonment for the period of 2 to 5 years, so now this term is from 3 to 8 years. For the violation of the rules and terms of registration a fine is now foreseen in the sum of 200 to 500 tax-exempt minimums (from 3400 to 8500 UAH), before it was 20-40 tax-exempt minimums (340-680 UAH).
All-Ukrainian Association (AUA) “Svoboda”, the political programme of which contains an item about naturalized Ukrainians’ deprivation of citizenship in case if they commit a crime, regards the accepted measures to be insufficient. “How can you speak about some intensification as we still have open borders with Russia and Belarus, where the main flow of migrants come from?” – declared the deputy of the head of AUA “Svoboda”, Andriy Mokhnyk. He thinks that the main problem in the field of migration legislation is “bribes in the system of MOI and closeness of the system of Ukrainian citizenship granting”.
Press-secretary of UNHCR in Ukraine Maksym Butkevych expressed his regret that Ukrainian side did not take into account recommendations of UNHCR concerning the specified document. “Law in its present form does not approach Ukraine neither to European nor to international standards in the field of protection of human rights but it rather creates a danger to violation of human rights who arrive to Ukraine in the search of asylum”, – he declared.
Iryna Fedorovych, coordinator of project “No borders” of organization “Centre Social Action” keeps the same opinion. According to her words, law can be used aiming at “intimidation and harassment of foreigners’ rights”.”Power should not shake air showing that it solves the problems of migrants well, but learn international experience on this issue”, – I.Fedorovych regards.