52 foreigners applied for refugee status in Azerbaijan in 2020

By Vafa Ismayilova

Some 52 foreigners applied for refugee status in Azerbaijan in 2020, head of the State Migration Service Vusal Huseynov said in an online news conference on January 14. 

He noted an 87-percent decrease in applications for refugee status in 2020 compared to 2019 due to COVID-19

"In 2020, 409 people received Azerbaijani citizenship, eight people were restored to citizenship. As previously reported, Azerbaijani citizenship was also granted to the mothers of three martyrs," Huseynov said.

Later Vusal Huseynov made public the main statistics of 2020. He noted a drop in the number of foreigners arriving in Azerbaijan and in the number of appeals to the Service due to restrictions on entry and exit from the state border during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that compared to 2019, the number of foreigners and stateless persons entering the country in 2020 decreased by 4 times, registration of foreigners at the place of residence by 4.7 times, their temporary residence by 16 percent, permanent residence by 18 percent and work permits by 9 percent. In addition, there was an 87-percent decrease in applications for refugee status, a report posted on the website of the State Migration Service said.

He added the period of stay of 59,963 foreigners in the country was extended without their application for pandemic-related reasons.

Huseynov noted appeals by migrants, who contacted the service via the call centre (919), were immediately considered and arising problems were solved.

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