100 foreigners sought refugee status in 2008
About 100 foreign nationals have applied for refugee
status in Azerbaijan so far this year, with most asylum-seekers
being from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, immigration authorities
said.
Arzu Rahimov, the head of the State Migration Service, told a news conference last week that the applications had been reviewed and only one was approved.
Rahimov emphasized that the number of migrants in the country has quadrupled in comparison with 2007 with 4,200 of them being engaged in legal work.
Foreigners coming to Azerbaijan are mostly labor migrants from European, Asian and other CIS states. Rahimov explained this increased migration being caused by the dramatic economic development of the South Caucasus republic in recent years and the opening of numerous jobs in the country.
The head of the migration service refuted allegations that Chinese citizens account for most of the migrants in Azerbaijan.
"Simply, people confuse citizens of Asian countries, as they look very much alike," he said, adding that the number of immigrants from China has not reached alarming levels.
According to the Interior Ministry department in charge of passport registration, 935 migrants have been detained this year for breaking the law, while 381 others were deported and 467 were issued warnings and fined. 144 of the detained persons were released when their documents were found to be in order.
The UN estimates that there are currently over 200 million migrants in the world. In most cases, these people face problems with their own security.
Arzu Rahimov, the head of the State Migration Service, told a news conference last week that the applications had been reviewed and only one was approved.
Rahimov emphasized that the number of migrants in the country has quadrupled in comparison with 2007 with 4,200 of them being engaged in legal work.
Foreigners coming to Azerbaijan are mostly labor migrants from European, Asian and other CIS states. Rahimov explained this increased migration being caused by the dramatic economic development of the South Caucasus republic in recent years and the opening of numerous jobs in the country.
The head of the migration service refuted allegations that Chinese citizens account for most of the migrants in Azerbaijan.
"Simply, people confuse citizens of Asian countries, as they look very much alike," he said, adding that the number of immigrants from China has not reached alarming levels.
According to the Interior Ministry department in charge of passport registration, 935 migrants have been detained this year for breaking the law, while 381 others were deported and 467 were issued warnings and fined. 144 of the detained persons were released when their documents were found to be in order.
The UN estimates that there are currently over 200 million migrants in the world. In most cases, these people face problems with their own security.
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