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Geopolitics behind Russiaâ€™s visa-free CIS policy

27 January 2012 04:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Geopolitics meant that Russia could not introduce a visa regime with its neighboring countries despite the large number of illegal immigrants arriving from these countries, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced at a meeting held at the Federal Migration Service on Thursday, APA reports quoting themoscownews.com website.

Nationalists have been calling for authorities to slash illegal immigration by introducing a visa regime with these countries as they produce the highest numbers of the worst repeat offenders.

â€œFor well-known political reasons, we cannot introduce a visa regime among CIS countries, because if we introduce it, we finally lose them all,â€ Interfax quoted Putin as saying.

Alternate solutions

Stricter rules and more international cooperation was what was needed to being some order to Russiaâ€™s migration policies. Putin suggested barring rule-breakers from Russia for longer periods as one example.

â€œClosing entry to Russia for a period of five to 10 years is proposed, and, perhaps, a longer period for those who are repeatedly caught in fraudulent breach of immigration laws or expelled by a judicial decision,â€ RIA Novosti quoted Putin as saying.

Those who gave shelter to illegal immigrants or gave fictitious registration to migrants should also face stiffer penalties.

â€œI think that we need to look closely at the existing registration system, there are obvious inconsistencies and legal gaps. A case in point â€“ the emergence of the so-called rubber flats, where in a few square meters are registered hundreds of people,â€ Putin said. â€œStrict liability for homeowners who are clearly abusing their property rights needs to be introduced â€“ as it does for parasitical officials who offer fraudulent registration. Moreover, this responsibility, unfortunately, needs to be defined as of a criminal nature.â€

International cooperation

The prime minister also spoke of international cooperation in the form of increased educational preparation abroad for potential working migrants.

â€œI think the compulsory study and subsequent examination of Russian language is a prudent solution. It will require major organizational work and changes in the law,â€ Putin said. He said education centers could be set up to educate potential employees in Russian-language, basic law, cultural norms and traditions prior to their arrival in Russia.

Qualified specialists

Addressing migration officials about the highly qualified specialist scheme that simplifies the employment of foreign employees who earn over 2 million rubles a year, Putin said it was yet to show its full potential.

â€œYou known it better than I do â€“ from July 2010 to now, only 14,500 such permits have been issued. In the general scheme of things thatâ€™s a drop in the ocean, but these are the very people that we need,â€ Interfax quoted Putin as saying