Azernews.Az

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Emigration remains a topical problem for Armenia. It is impeding the development of the country. Growing outflow of the people greatly threatens the post-Soviet state.

The key reason behind the alarming emigration in Armenia is the economic decline which discourages almost every citizen of the country. Thus, vast majority of the country's population are too keen to leave their native land.

An expert from the Belgian External Affair Ministry's Migration Office, Kathy Verselen, believes that tough economic state is the major drive for massive outflows in Armenia.

Verselen said in an interview to Armenian 1in.am. that many Armenians have come to European Union countries - to Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and asked for asylum. "Residents leave Armenia not for political, but for economic reasons and subsequently fail to receive asylum. Thus, most of the appeals are rejected as they fall short of the principles of the Geneva Convention," Verselen noted.

According to the Geneva Convention, political asylum is granted based on five different criteria, including racial discrimination and the threat of persecution due to national, religious and political belongings. These five criteria apply to each person regardless of his or her nationality. All countries take these criteria as the main bases of each application.

That is why most Armenians in European countries change their nationality and present themselves as Kurds, Turks and Azerbaijanis.

Verselen said, in the initial stage of the procedure, the destination countries can't get essential facts about the applicant's nationality. But all true information come out in next stages, and consequently, they get negative response and are forced to go back to their country.

"Of course, your chance to get asylum is 100 percent if you are from Syria, as the whole world knows that the Syrian people are suffering a lot. But you have 0 percent chance to get asylum if you are from Armenia. We know that namely economic reasons push Armenian people to leave the country. It is not acceptable to grant political asylum due to economic reasons," Verselen noted.

Majority of Armenians leave their country for treatment. For instance, they say that medicine is free in Belgium, or even if it is not free, but certainly more affordable than in Armenia.

Verselen said this shows once again that Armenians are determined to leave their country for better life in Europe.

She noted there is not any asylum applications in Europe for treatment. "You can come to EU member countries given the problems with your health, but only if you have an entry visa. Furthermore, you can visit any European country for treatment if you have an illness, which can not be treated in Armenia and you know a doctor in any of these countries, who can treat that illness," Verselen said.

She added that one should submit his or her passport to the embassy and explain the purpose of visit. If the risk of illegal migration is detected, the applicant is asked additional questions to make clear whether he or she will come back or not. When the risk is proven and the presented arguments are not enough, the applicant fails to receive visa after negative response from the embassy. "Most of the Armenian residents have violated the legislation and miscarried to get visa."

2014 Index of Economic Freedom reveals that 19 percent of the population are unemployed in Armenia. Jobless citizens want to leave the country for better life and it gives an impetus to the growing emigration from the country. In addition, Armenia is marked with red flag in the International Migration Organization's map, which indicates a dangerous situation with emigration in the country.

According to official statistics, 80,000 people left Armenia in 2013 compared to the 49,600 in 2012.

Data presented by the Index Mundi, the source which contains detailed statistics, charts, and maps, shows that the emigration rate is -5.88 per 1,000 people in Armenia and confirms the disastrous emigration trend in the post-Soviet state.