More and more foreigners seek permanent residency in ČR

Zlin, South Moravia/Prague, July 19 (CTK) - The number of foreigners' applications for permanent residency in the Czech Republic has been considerably rising, Vit Dvoracek, head of Zlin's foreigner residency section of the Interior Ministry's asylum and migration policy department, has told CTK.

In the second quarter of 2012, the Interior Ministry clerks dealing with the agenda registered over twice more applications for permanent residency compared to the same period last year.

Mainly Ukrainians are behind the rise. They allegedly react to rumours about prepared changes to the respective Czech legislation that are spread by various mediators, Dvoracek pointed out.

From April till the end of June last year, 4331 foreigners sought permanent residency in the Czech Republic, while this year it was 9166.

"We suppose that certain rumours among foreigners from third (non-EU) countries are behind it. They say the Interior Ministry is not issuing permanent residency permits any more or they will be issued only until June or a new law restricts their issuance or they will be issued only after a ten-year continuous stay. These pieces of information are untrue. The ministry is not preparing a change, it (permanent residency permit) will still be (issued) after a five-year stay," Dvoracek noted.

Foreigners are under the pressure exerted by mediators who want to gain money from foreigners for their "help" with applications for permanent residency. They demand up to 20,000 crowns for their service, Dvoracek said.

Some two-thirds of applications for permanent residency in the Czech Republic are from Ukrainians, he added.

The evidence of the rumours can be found, for instance, on the www.cizinci.wordpress.com server for foreigners living in the Czech Republic, he said.

The permanent residency permit is very advantageous for foreigners, for example, if they seek jobs. A foreigner with a permanent residency need not have a work permit from the labour office.

The Interior Ministry is preparing an information campaign among foreigners to prevent further spreading of disinformation.

The campaign leaflets will address foreigners at offices and via NGOs. The ministry will thereby explain to them that it is not preparing any changes in this respect, Dvoracek said.

The leaflets in Czech and Russian should be spread in the Zlin region first within a pilot project.

In 2001, 16,430 foreigners sought permanent residency in the Czech Republic, while the Interior Ministry registered 13,929 applications in the first half of 2012 alone.

Over 400,000 foreigners live illegally in the 10.5-million Czech Republic, according to the Interior Ministry's data.

Three-fifths of them come from Slovakia, Ukraine and Vietnam. Many of them intend to stay in the Czech Republic for long.

Moreover, up to 400,000 foreigners live in the country illegally, experts, from Prague's Charles University, estimate.