Immigration Laws: August, 2000 - Number #14

Austria. In July 2000, 14 European Union governments established a panel of "three wise men" to determine whether Austria is abiding by "common European values" such as respect for the rights of minorities and immigrants. France has led the campaign against Austria, warning that legitimizing the presence of a far-right party in a European government would prove infectious and soon lead to the adoption of xenophobic policies and human rights abuses across the continent.

Poland. About 25,000 Poles emigrate each year, while 10,000 return, including many well-educated Poles who had moved to Germany or elsewhere in Europe. Many of those returning to Poland are ethnic Germans returning to the Silesia in the southwest, which has the largest number of dual nationals in Poland. There are about five million residents of Silesia and 500,000 emigrated in the 1980s.

In July 2000, the upper house of the Polish parliament, the Senate, approved a draft law to specifically recognize dual citizenship. The Senate proposal would also allow former Polish citizens who freely or were forced to emigrate after World War II to reclaim Polish citizenship. Foreigners who resided in Poland for less than five years would be allowed to receive Polish citizenship under the draft law. About eight million Poles and potential dual citizens live abroad.

Czech Republic. Some 200,000 foreigners illegally crossed Czech borders between 1993 and 1999, including 30,377 in 1999.

Russia. The Russian Federal Border Service estimated that there were a million illegal migrants in the country, most from China; between January 1999 and June 2000, 1.5 million Chinese entered Russia, and only 237,000 were legally registered. However, the Federal Migration Service said that there were not one million Chinese in the country, saying that most of the Chinese are shuttle migrants who buy and sell goods, and do not remain in Russia.

Russia and China share a 500-kilometer border in Siberia and the Far East.

China said that its migrants who are working and trading in Russia are spreading prosperity on both sides of the border. Local Russian officials counter that the migrants contribute little to the local economies, dodge taxes and are increasingly involved in illegal timber and scrap metal exports. The FMS says that the Chinese send home more than six billion dollars a year.

In a poll cited by ITAR-TASS, nearly 44 percent of Russians are opposed to issuing work permits to jobless migrants, with 28 percent backing a reduction in immigration. The Russian government issued about 200,000 work permits in 1999 most for those from the Ukraine, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Moldova and Azerbaijan.

"Polish Senate approves dual citizenship bill," Agence France Presse, July 21, 2000.
"Chinese refugees flood into Russia," Bangkok Post, July 13, 2000.
"One million illegal Chinese immigrants residing in Russia," Agence France Presse, July 9, 2000.
Konstantin Pribytkov, "CIS wants international cooperation on refugees be continued," ITAR-TASS, July 13, 20000.
"Russia migration service forecasts increase in illegal migrants from China," ITAR-TASS, July 10, 2000.
"Official: Number of illegal immigrants in Russia growing," Associated Press, June 27, 2000.