One of the problems signaled by the refugees in Moldova is the fact that the travel document they obtain as refugees does not enable them to travel visa-free to European states, as the Moldovan citizens do. In a news conference at IPN, the head of the Asylum and Integration Division of the Ministry of the Interior’s Migration and Asylum Bureau Iulian Popov explained that when the liberalization of the visa regime was negotiated, they discussed the visa-free travel only for Moldovan citizens, not yet for refugees.
“As regards visas, the refugees and those who benefit from humanitarian protection should go to the embassy of the country where they want to travel and apply for a visa. Here everything depends on the bilateral agreements between Moldova and the countries with which it has a visa-free regime, and it is not about the EU only,” stated Iulian Popov. He noted that each state has the sovereign right to decide who to admit to its territory and in what conditions. Usually, when the liberalization of the visa regime is negotiated, the principle of reciprocity is applied.
The head of the Asylum and Integration Division said that since 2001, when Moldova signed the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee, things developed a lot. Emphasis is now placed on the integration of refugees into society, which means access to studies, to a job and to medical services. Currently, the refugees enjoy the same rights and benefits as the citizens of the Republic of Moldova do. By taking an active part in community life, the refugees contribute to the country’s development.
World Refugee Day is annually observed on June 20. According to the Head of the National Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Republic of Moldova Traian Turcanu, this is an occasion for rendering homage to the Agencies and persons that contributed to building the asylum system and to the refugees who managed to start everything from zero in another state and also to those who remained in their native countries and those who didn’t reach the destination.
The number of persons who seek asylum or the status of refugee in the Republic of Moldova has decreased during the last two years. About 200 applications a year were submitted earlier, but in 2017 the figure declined to 74, with 43 application being filed during the first five months of this year. Even lower is the number of persons who received protection in the Republic of Moldova, of only 12 in 2017.
