Quota of economic immigrants to Moldova will be increased

The number of economic immigrants admitted to Moldova will be raised. The Parliament Thursday adopted amendments to the law on migration in first reading, Info-Prim Neo reports. Under the amendments, the phrase “immigration quota”, which shows how many foreigners are admitted to Moldova, including for reuniting the family, working and studying, will be replaced with the phrase “quota of economic immigrants”. The latter will represent the limited number of foreign citizens and stateless persons that will be allowed to come to Moldova to work. This number is fixed yearly, depending on the needs of the state. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Andrei Pogurschi told the Parliament that these legislative amendments will have a positive impact on Moldova’s image and will stimulate the attraction of foreign investments and the creation of new workplaces. The yearly immigration quota set by the Government makes up 0.05% of the total number of people settled in Moldova. The quota for 2007 was 2,070 people. According to the deputy minister, 847 persons of these have the right to immigrate to reunite with the family, 221 to study and 1,002 to work. If the amendments to the law are passed in final reading, the quota will refer only to the persons that immigrate with the aim of working. The reunification of family and the doing of studies in a foreign country are regulated by the international legislation, Andrei Pogurschi explained. By working out the given bill, the Government aimed to create a more flexible mechanism for regulating the flow of immigrants. The immigration quotas diminish every year owing to the decreasing Moldovan population. At the same time, the number of foreigners seeking the status of immigrant in Moldova is increasing. A number of 2,064 foreigners got the status of immigrant at yearend 2007. The immigration quota was 99.7% fulfilled.