As many as 250,000 citizens of the Republic of Moldova, who returned home over the past five years, said they do not intend to go back abroad, shows the last migration survey of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” that was made public in the “Diaspora-NET” conference. In the event, Deputy Parliament Speaker Mihai Popșoi said the government makes effort to encourage the compatriots to return home by tax and customs concessions applying to goods taken into Moldova, IPN reports.
According to the survey, net migration the past five years was 180,000 persons. This means the number of those who left was by 180,000 higher than the number of those who returned to Moldova.
“Before 2015, the people left to solve the poverty problem, while in 2015 wealthier people who ran businesses started to leave, in search of a better life. According to our research, we now have 250,000 persons who said that they were abroad, returned and no longer want to leave. Over the past five years, 250,000 people came back, but 430,000 left. So, migration is anyway negative,” said “Viitorul” expert Veaceslav Ioniță.
The government says they encourage the return home of compatriots by offering tax and customs concessions. Parliament is considering President Maia Sandu’s proposal to exempt Moldovans from the diaspora from paying customs duties on personal belongings, home appliances, furniture and a vehicle per family that are brought into Moldova.
“Despite the budget-related difficulties, we will find the resources needed to offer the citizens of the Republic of Moldova the chance to return home without paying additionally for personal possessions. If we cannot help in a more generous way, we should at least not discourage our citizens from returning home,” stated Deputy Speaker Mihai Popșoi.
Representatives of civil society said they want to encourage, together with the government, Moldovans from the diaspora to invest in Moldova so as to create jobs and to contribute to the country’s economic development.
“The goal of the program launched in the summer of 2021 is to address the problems of the diaspora outside elections too. The diaspora attracts the interest of the public, the media only when its goes to elections or remittances. It is easy to motivate the people ahead of elections as it is something clear and heroic. But by this program we want to take the discussions on the diaspora out of the context of elections. The diaspora should be perceived as a development partner of the Republic of Moldova,” stated Alexandru Manole, program coordinator at the International Republican Institute (IRI).
The “Diaspora – NET” conference is part of the program “Linking Diaspora Advocates for Change” that is implemented by IRI Moldova and is financed by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
