Immigration Policy Needs Review

Kazakstan’s immigration policies discriminate against various groups and therefore need modification, experts say.



Since 1991, the government has pursued a policy of encouraging ethnic Kazaks from other countries to take up permanent residence in Kazakstan. More than 430,000 had taken advantage of the offer as of 2005, and the influx of “oralman” – the term used for people returning from the diaspora – is still increasing, as more and more ethnic Kazaks move from neighbouring republics to this oil-rich country in search of a better life.



The number of Kazaks streaming into the country far exceeds the official annual quota set for immigration. Last year alone, more than 30,000 families applied for resettlement, compared with a quota of only half that figure. Thus far in 2006, the number of oralman arriving from China has reached 1,500 families, when the annual quota envisages only 500.



At a recent meeting devoted to migration, a representative of the World Association of Kazaks reported that over the next two years approximately 15,000 families will be resettled, 11,000 of them from Uzbekistan.



Those who come in under the quota receive housing subsidies, travel costs, and assistance in finding employment and getting an education. The 2006 government budget earmarked more than 11 billion tenge, or 88 million US dollars, to cover resettlement costs.



But critics maintain that the repatriation system functions poorly. Anyone not included in the official quota does not receive benefits, while the system is also open to abuse. For example, on August 24, the financial police announced that the migration department of the Northern Kazakstan region had paid out over 23 million tenge to oralman with fake documents, many of whom actually live in Uzbekistan. Analysts say this is partly a consequence of changes to the immigration law allowing oralman to apply for Kazak citizenship without supplying proof that they have relinquished any former citizenship.



In addition, the repatriation policy has caused some dissatisfaction among people who belong to other ethnic groups, but who were born in Kazakstan and would like to return there. Kazak law does not provide for any benefits or priority access to citizenship for former residents not of ethnic Kazak origin. These people, who stand a good chance of integrating well, have to fulfill the same tough residence requirements as any other foreigner.



A review of the immigration laws would help provide a counterweight to Moscow’s policy of actively encouraging ethnic Russians to move to Russia, which observers believe could lead to an exodus of Russians from Kazakstan.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)