[House Document 105-200]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress, 2d Session  - - - - - - - - - - House Document 105-200


 
   EMIGRATION LAWS AND POLICIES OF ALBANIA, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, 
               TAJIKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, AND UZBEKISTAN

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

   AN UPDATED REPORT CONCERNING THE EMIGRATION LAWS AND POLICIES OF 
    ALBANIA, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, AND 
               UZBEKISTAN, PURSUANT TO 19 U.S.C. 2432(b)





  February 3, 1998.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and 
                         ordered to be printed


                                           The White House,
                                      Washington, December 5, 1997.
Hon. Newt Gingrich,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: I hereby transmit a report concerning 
emigration laws and policies of Albania, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as 
required by subsections 402(b) and 409(b) of title IV of the 
Trade Act of 1974, as amended (the ``Act''). I have determined 
that Albania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, 
and Uzbekistan are in full compliance with subsections 402(a) 
and 409(a) of the Act. As required by title IV, I will provide 
the Congress with periodic reports regarding the compliance of 
Albania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 
Uzbekistan with these emigration standards.
            Sincerely,
                                                 William J. Clinton


Report to Congress Concerning Emigration Laws and Policies of Albania, 
    Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

    Pursuant to subsection 402(a) and 409(a) of the Trade Act 
of 1974, as amended (``the Act''), I have determined that 
Albania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and 
Uzbekistan are not in violation of paragraph (1), (2) or (3) of 
subsections 402(a) and 409(a) of the Act. My determination is 
attached and incorporated herein.
    All current information indicates that the emigration laws 
and practices of Albania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, 
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan satisfy the criteria laid out in 
subsections 402(a) and 409(a) of the Act with respect to all 
matters covered in those subsections.
    Albania: The right to emigrate is enshrined in Albanian 
law, and Albania has had no emigration restrictions (including 
exit visa requirements) since 1991. Albanian citizens have 
exercised this right in great numbers (several hundreds of 
thousands of economic refugees) since the fall of the Hoxha 
regime. There have been no reports of denials of the right to 
emigrate.
    Kazakhstan: The constitution of Kazakhstan provides for the 
right to emigrate. The right is respected in practice. However, 
all intending emigrants must obtain an exit visa from the 
government before they are allowed to emigrate. Exit visas are 
only issued after a number of bureaucratic requirements have 
been met. For example, close relatives with a claim to support 
from the applicant must give their concurrence. Intending 
emigrants must also obtain evidence that they have no 
outstanding financial obligations before the government will 
issue an exit visa. There have been no reports of Kazakhstani 
citizens being denied permission to emigrate.
    Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyzstan does not yet have a law on 
emigration. The government currently is following procedures as 
outlined in a draft law on emigration, which the Parliament is 
expected to pass soon. This draft law is based on the 
emigration practices of the Soviet era. According to the draft 
law and current practice, citizens who wish to emigrate must 
present an application to the Office of Visa and Registration 
(OVIR). This application is filed on behalf of the intending 
emigrant by his/her parents or spouse and states that the 
person has the permission of the next-of-kin to emigrate. The 
applicant also must present legal documents concerning marital 
status, outstanding debts and other facts. The applicant should 
have an invitation from a relative living abroad. Once the 
appropriate documents have been filed with OVIR, the applicant 
must pay 750 soms, about U.S. $40.
    Reports from OVIR indicate that less than 10 percent of 
Kyrgyz citizens who applied for emigration in 1996 were 
refused, subject to compliance with the above listed criteria. 
Those refusals were based on the fact that the applicant or the 
inviting party had illegally emigrated or significantly over-
stayed a tourist visa. There have been no reports of denials of 
a significant percentage of emigration applications that comply 
with local laws.
    Kyrgyzstan has an agreement with other members of the 
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to ease emigration. 
This agreement allows for Kyrgyz citizens to move to any member 
of the CIS without having to go through the above mentioned 
process with OVIR. These citizens may simply move to another 
CIS member, then check in with the local OVIR office of that 
country and the Kyrgyz Embassy. The citizen will be expected to 
renounce his/her citizenship upon establishing residence in 
another country.
    Tajikistan: The November 1994 constitution guarantees the 
right to emigrate. However, since no new legislation has been 
adopted on emigration since independence, the 1991 Soviet law 
remains in effect. In practice, the government has not raised 
any significant obstacles to emigration. Persons who wish to 
migrate within the former Soviet Union must simply alert the 
Ministry of Internal Affairs to their departure. Persons 
wishing to migrate beyond the borders of the former Soviet 
Union must receive the approval of the relevant country's 
embassy prior to the issuance of an international passport. The 
charge for Tajikistan citizens to obtain an international 
passport is around U.S. $15, and an exit visa for the purpose 
of emigration costs around U.S. $100. There have not been 
reports of a significant percentage of denials of emigration 
applications that comply with local laws.
    Over 90% of Tajikistan's 20,000-strong Jewish community are 
estimated to have emigrated since 1990, mostly to Israel. As a 
result of conflict, instability and a depressed economy, an 
estimated 150,000 ethnic Russians or Russian-speakers and 9,000 
ethnic Germans left Tajikistan in 1992 and 1993.
    Turkmenistan: The Turkmen Constitution of 1994 guarantees 
the right of citizens of Turkmenistan to emigrate, and Turkmen 
citizens are permitted to emigrate without undue restriction. 
Many Turkmen citizens have already emigrated to other 
countries,including other former Soviet Republics, Israel and 
Germany.
    Turkmen citizens who wish to emigrate must obtain 
permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Required 
documents are an application, invitation from the country of 
intended travel, evidence of freedom from debts and financial 
obligations, and written consent from parents. If the applicant 
is divorced, and either taking or leaving a child, an affidavit 
from the former spouse consenting to emigration is also 
required. Those with military obligations must de-register with 
the Ministry of Defense.
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is legally mandated to 
process the application and documents for emigration within 
three months. The fees for Turkmen passports and exit visas are 
reasonable and denials for permission to emigrate have been 
rare. Prior to emigration, Turkmen citizens must submit their 
internal passports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Russia 
and Turkmenistan have a bilateral agreement giving favorable 
treatment to citizens emigrating to the other country. For 
example, exit visas are waived, they have the right to sell 
their property privately, and customs taxes are reduced.
    Uzbekistan: The constitution of Uzbekistan guarantees 
citizens free movement across the country's borders and this 
right is generally respected in practice. Passports are 
generally available to all citizens and are not limited by 
country of destination. Exit permission is required, but the 
process has been vastly simplified, and permission is valid for 
multiple exits within two years. Potential emigrants who can 
find a host country willing to accept them are able to leave 
the country. Since independence, several hundred thousand 
people (chiefly ethnic Russians, but also Jews, Tatars and 
Germans) have emigrated. Although possession of state secrets 
technically is still a ground for refusal of exit permission 
under the law, embassies of major western emigration 
destinations (United States, Israel, Germany) report no 
instances of applicants being denied permission to emigrate. 
Fees associated with emigration are not excessive. There have 
not been reports of a significant percentage of denials of 
emigration applications that comply with local law.


                 [Presidential Determination No. 98-7]

                                           The White House,
                                      Washington, December 5, 1997.
Memorandum for the Secretary of State.

Subject: Presidential Determination Under Subsections 402(a) and 409(a) 
        of the Trade Act of 1974, as Amended--Emigration Policies of 
        Albania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 
        Uzbekistan.

    Pursuant to the authority vested in me by subsections 
402(a) and 409(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2432(a) 
and 2439(a) (the ``Act'')), I determine that Albania, 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 
Uzbekistan are not in violation of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) 
of subsection 402(a) of the Act, or paragraph (1), (2), or (3) 
of subsection 409(a) of the Act.
    You are authorized and directed to publish this 
determination in the Federal Register.

                                                William J. Clinton.

                                
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