Lower house passes bill to improve asylum holders' position

Prague, Feb 19 (CTK) - The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Czech parliament, Tuesday passed an amendment improving the position of people who are granted asylum or additional protection in the Czech Republic.

On the contrary, foreigners may be stripped of permanent residence permit if they committed crimes, primarily the drug production and distribution, under the new legislation.

The bill is now to be assessed by the Senate, the upper house.

Under the amendment, asylum holders might receive the rights of a long-term resident after a five-year stay in the Czech Republic. It would enable them to travel all over the EU like other foreigners legally staying in the Czech Republic.

The Chamber of Deputies security committee proposed that the reasons for which foreigners can lose their residence permits be changed in reaction to the rising drug crime in the Czech-German border areas.

At present only the foreigners who are sentenced to over three years in prison for a wilful crime can lose their long-term visas.

The government amendment is to transpose two European directives into the Czech legal order with the aim to create the joint European asylum system that should secure the same asylum policy to be applied in all EU member states.

The amendment is also to secure a better protection of asylum holders or people with additional protection that is provided for foreigners who are threatened with torture in their homeland.