[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.