Azerbaijan punishes over 2,000 foreigners
By Nigar Orujova
In July, Azerbaijan identified 2,323 foreigners who violated residence legislation and rules of temporary or permanent stay in the country.
The State Migration Service reported that 15 of them were issued new documents for temporary or permanent residence in Azerbaijan replacing a lost residence document, and 167 were fined and then their residence was legalized.
Moreover, it was decided that 1,635 foreigners must leave the country within 48 hours, while were 506 foreigners expelled from the country in an administrative order.
In general, 9,762 foreigners addressed the State Migration Service this month for work permits and other issues. Some 86,639 requests for residence permits were made in July.
In addition, violations of the rules to qualify for paid work in Azerbaijan by of foreigners and stateless persons have been identified in 12 of 13 business entities.
Azerbaijan, with its stable economy, attracts migrants from the region. Labor migrants mostly come to Azerbaijan from Turkey and Georgia.
The Land of Fire still needs foreign specialists and highly skilled labor. The country facilitates their stay by providing registration for residence at the post offices and online.
Based on a law from April 2013, any foreigners and stateless persons arriving in Azerbaijan for a period exceeding three days should register with the Migration Service.
For this purpose, the parties receiving foreigners at hotels, apartments, and other public places, should submit an application form for registration and submit the copy of the person's ID to the Migration Service personally, via mail or email within 3 days.
The service is free and application forms are available at the Migration Service, post offices, and at www.migration.gov.az. E-applications must be sent to [email protected].
Upon receiving the application, the Migration Service immediately registers the foreigners upon place of their stay and presents written notification to the receiving party within 1 working day. Foreigners can be registered for the period of their stay in their visa, or for 90 days for foreigners arriving under the visa-free regime.
After changing the place of residence, registration must be renewed. These easy steps can exempt visitors from penalties and deportation.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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