CONTENTS. 1. Description and methodology Content and analysis Recommendations...17

Transcription

1 Draft Report on Analysis and identification of existing gaps in assisting voluntary repatriation of rejected asylum seekers and development of mechanisms for their removal from the territory of the Republic of Armenia Research paper Yerevan 2012

2 CONTENTS 1. Description and methodology Content and analysis Recommendations

3 1. Description and methodology The study of the repatriation process for rejected asylum seekers, identification of existing obstacles and shortcomings, review of international instruments, legislation and practices of foreign states as well as examination of requirements and spotting of legislation gaps in Armenian legislative instruments related to the organization of the expulsion process for rejected asylum seekers from the territory of the Republic of Armenia were carried out in a comprehensive fashion through a comparative analysis of international and national legislations and by applying legal, dialectical, comparative and analytical research methods. Reviewing how the repatriation process for rejected asylum-seekers is organized and spotting existing gaps made it possible to summarize the application of international and national legislations in practice and to solve pending issues; the deployment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees along with other organizations in assisting the repatriation of rejected asylum-seekers was also examined. The organization of the repatriation process was equally analyzed using a comparative analysis methodology through the study of established practices in EU and four CIS countries (Germany, Finland, Russia and Kazakhstan) and discussing the potential introduction of such practices in the Republic of Armenia. A special focus was placed on the need to establish expulsion procedures on a legislative level and to submit relevant recommendations. This research resulted in a comprehensive document on 18 pages which is presented below followed by some specific recommendations. 2. Content and analysis A significant aspect of migration management concerns how the removal of foreign nationals and stateless persons (expulsion, deportation) is organized and regulated, which must entail smooth and clear procedures to be established under Armenian legislation. 3

4 The legislation on refugee rights covers a series of conventions, laws and other legal instruments. It must be born in mind that international treaties adhered to by the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter: Armenia) become part of the national legislation and prevail over its provisions if in conflict. The Protocol No. 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocol No. 11 clarifies substantial points on the procedure of expulsion. According to Article 1 of the said Protocol, an alien lawfully resident in the territory of a State shall not be expelled therefore except in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law. He/she must be allowed: a. to submit reasons against his expulsion, b. to have his case reviewed, and c. to be represented for these purposes before a competent authority or a person or persons designated by that authority. The international refugee law also provides grounds for expulsion. Specifically, Article 32 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees provides that the contracting states must not expel a refugee lawfully in their territory save on grounds of national security or public order. The expulsion of such a refugee must be only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with due process of law. Except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, the refugee must be allowed to submit evidence to clear himself/herself, and to appeal to and be represented for the purpose before competent authority or a person or persons specially designated by a competent authority. The contracting states must allow such a refugee a reasonable period within which to seek legal admission into another country. The contracting states reserve the right to apply during that period such internal measures as they may deem necessary. Certainly, the said convention contains other provisions that prohibit expulsion. Namely: no Contracting State shall expel or return ("refouler") a refugee in any manner 4

5 whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. The benefit of that provision may not, however, be claimed by a refugee whom there are reasonable grounds for regarding as a danger to the security of the country in which he is, or who, having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of that country. The voluntary repatriation of rejected asylum seekers in Armenia is regulated by the Law on Refugees and Asylum of November 27, 2008 and the Law on Foreigners of December 25, Article 9 of the Law on Refugees and Asylum provides that the principle of non-refoulement means not to return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of the territories where his/her life or freedom would be threatened on account of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; or where external aggression, occupation, foreign domination, internal conflicts, massive violation of human rights or other serious events disrupting public order prevail. 1 According to Article 58 of the Armenian Law on Refugees and Asylum of November 27, 2008, asylum seekers and refugees have the right to appeal to a court of law against any negative decisions issued by the designated body to them in the course of the asylum procedure or any other administrative procedure based on the said law within 30 days after notification on such decision. If the application filed by the asylum seeker is rejected and he/she does not appeal against it in a court, he/she may continue to reside at the center for a period of up to 30 days. If the application of the asylum seeker is rejected and he/she appeals against this decision through an administrative procedure, he/she and his/her family members may continue to reside in the reception center until a decision is made regarding the administrative appeal. If the application of the asylum seeker is rejected and he/she appeals against such decision in a court, he/she and his/her family members may continue to reside at the reception center until the court ruling takes effect. In any event, refugees who were not granted asylum may continue to reside at the reception center 1 This is to say that an international norm was set forth in the current Armenian legislation. 5

6 with the formal permission of the State Migration Service until they leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia. According to Article 11 of the Law on Refugees and Asylum, а foreign citizen or stateless person, is not considered a refugee, if there are serious reasons to believe that: 1) he/she has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, 2 or a crime against humanity, according to the international instruments drawn up to make provisions in respect of such crimes; 2) he/she has committed a serious non-political crime outside the Republic of Armenia, before he/she became an asylum seeker in the Republic of Armenia; 3 3) he/she has been guilty of acts contrary to purposes and principles of the United Nations. Asylum may be denied to any refugee, who arrives from a safe third country, where he/she does not fear persecution, human rights violation, or refoulement in the sense of Point 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 6, and Article 9, Paragraphs 1 and 3 of the said Law, or external aggression, occupation, foreign domination, internal conflicts, or other events seriously disrupting public order in the sense of Point 1 of Paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the present Law, and he/she can lawfully return to that country. The policy of some European countries expulsing persons to their countries of citizenship or permanent residence, where they may be exposed to tortures or other forms of cruel or inhuman treatment draws heavy criticism from Amnesty International. In any event, the asylum seeker having filed a request for asylum may not be expelled from the territory of Armenia until a final decision is made (such period is not limited by law). Apart from the expulsion, there is also the concept of a collective (mass) expulsion. Both terms are defined in Article 3 of the Law on Foreigners dated December 25, 2006, 2 Armenian legislation lacks a definition for the concept of a war crime, which may give rise to problems in interpreting this term. 3 In Armenia, this is done based on international treaties: the offender is extradited to the country where the offender is wanted based on a extradition request. In Armenia, this issue is regulated by law. 6

7 which stipulates that the concept of expulsion implies a forcible removal of a foreigner from the Republic of Armenia in case of absence of legal grounds for his or her stay or residence in the Republic of Armenia, while the concept of a collective expulsion represents an expulsion of a group consisting of at least two foreigners, without a decision adopted based on objective and reasonable consideration which takes into account the personal data and special situation of each member of the group. Collective expulsions are prohibited by law. Therefore, the rejection of the asylum request and expulsion must be carried out in compliance with the principle of individual consideration and distinction taking proper account of individual reasons to seek asylum and the specifics of each case. The expulsion carries certain negative implications, including ones related to legal aspects. For instance, Article 8 of the Law on Foreigners states that the issuance (extension of the term) of an entry visa to a foreigner is to be refused, the issued entry visa is to be revoked, or the entry into the Republic of Armenia is to be banned, if he or she has been expelled from the territory of the Republic of Armenia or has been deprived of residence status, and three years have not elapsed upon the entry into force of the decision on expulsion or deprivation of residence status. The decision to refuse a refugee status and asylum is made only by a competent authority following procedures set forth by law. As indicated above, voluntary leaving is set forth in Article 30 of the Law on Foreigners, which stipulates that a foreigner is obliged to voluntarily leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia, if: а) the validity period of his or her entry visa or of residence status has expired; b) the entry visa has been revoked; c) his or her application for obtaining a residence status or extending its term has been refused; d) he or she has been deprived of residence status on grounds specified by law. In practice, persons applying for residence status or seeking an extension of their residence status and whose requests are declined, as a rule, do not choose to leave 7

8 Armenia of their own accord and pose various obstacles for those responsible for enforcing any such decision. Proceedings must be instituted in respect of a foreigner who fails to leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia in cases specified in the aforesaid article where police authorities institute any such proceedings and bring the matter before a court of law. Circumstances precluding the expulsion of foreigners are the same as the ones cited above. Apart from those circumstances, it is prohibited to expel a foreigner residing in the Republic of Armenia, if he or she: - is a minor, and his or her parents legally reside in the Republic of Armenia; - has a minor under his or her care; - is above 80 years of age. Foreigners have certain rights and obligations in the course of proceedings instituted against them. In particular, a foreigner subject to expulsion from the Republic of Armenia may benefit from all rights provided under Armenian legislation for judicial protection, i.e. can be considered a full party to a trial with all ensuing implications. Specifically, they are entitled: 1) to familiarize themselves with the materials of the case, to make notes, to obtain copies of the materials, considering the requirements of closed session hearings; 2) to motion to recuse himself/herself; 3) to present evidence and to participate in its examination, considering the requirements of closed session hearings; 4) to ask questions, to make motions, to give explanations and testimony to the court; 5) to advance proposals and arguments regarding all issues that emerge during the trial; 6) to object to motions and arguments made by other persons involved in the case;. 7) to file appeals against court rulings; 8) to benefit from other procedural rights reserved for them. 8

9 They are expected to enjoy their procedural rights and fulfill their procedural responsibilities in good faith. At the same time, they may authorize a proxy to appear before the administrative court on their behalf. Representation by a proxy (attorney) in itself does not preclude their own involvement in the proceedings. After examining an expulsion case, the court makes a ruling on expelling or refusing to expel a foreigner. A court ruling on expulsion must include the following facts: Day of expulsion of the foreigner; Route of expulsion of the foreigner; State border crossing point; Coverage of expulsion costs; His/her place of residence prior to leaving Armenia; Obligation to regularly appear before a corresponding subdivision of the Police of the Republic of Armenia; Ban on leaving the place of residence without permission; Keeping under arrest or releasing prior to expulsion when arrested; Responsibility of the Police to grant temporary residence status. Article 18 of the Armenian Constitution states that everyone is entitled to effective legal remedies to protect his/her rights and freedoms before judicial and other public bodies. According to Article 35 of the Law on Foreigners, a ruling on expulsion may be appealed by a foreigner as prescribed by law. If appealed, a ruling on a foreigner s expulsion is to be suspended. The appeal is brought before Armenian courts of all instances as and when prescribed by law. If such appeal proves of no avail, the person denied asylum is expelled. A note of expulsion is made in the foreigner s passport, and the ruling on expulsion of a foreigner is executed by the Armenian Police that conducts a separate registration of expelled foreigners by entering their details into the data bank. Within a period of three days, the diplomatic mission or consular office of the state of origin of a foreigner to be expelled or of another state representing the state concerned 9

10 is informed of the expulsion by the police. Expulsion costs must be borne by the Republic of Armenia state budget in case they are not covered by the foreigner himself/herself. Article 37 of the Law on Foreigners provides that where it is impossible to return a foreigner to the state of origin or to the state where he/she came from, foreigners who have arrived at a crossing point of the state border of the Republic of Armenia without a passport, with an invalid passport, or who have been refused an entry visa at a crossing point of the state border of the Republic Armenia, or who have not obtained an entry authorization from the body responsible for border control, may be detained in a transit area or in another place in a reception center provided for that purpose. 4 If the person concerned is a minor under 18 years of age traveling unaccompanied by a parent or legal representative, he/she may not be placed in a reception center and must be immediately taken to a parent (parents) or a legal representative. Within 24 hours after placing a foreigner at the reception center, the competent body responsible for border control must bring the matter before a court to obtain an authorization to detain the foreigner for a period of up to 90 days. For a court ruling to be issued, the foreigner in question must be brought before а court, accompanied by a representative of the authorized body responsible for border control. If the repatriation of a foreigner cannot be completed within 90 days from the date of the court ruling, the police authorities issue a temporary permit for a maximum of one year until the removal of the person in question from the country can be completed. In practice, it may sometimes prove necessary to place the rejected asylum seeker in custody and perform other enforcement actions in his/her respect to follow the court ruling in effect. Article 38 of the Law on Foreigners states that a foreigner may be arrested and detained at reception center as prescribed by the Law, if there are sufficient grounds to suspect that he or she will abscond till the case on expulsion is examined in the court or till the execution of the ruling on expulsion which has taken legal effect. The police 4 This will be further detailed when discussing the Governmental Decree N127-N of February 7,

11 must, within 48 hours after arresting and placing a foreigner in reception center, apply to court to obtain a ruling permitting to detain the foreigner for a period of up to 90 days. Within 24 hours at the latest, the diplomatic mission or consular office of the state of origin or another state representing the state concerned and/or the foreigner s close relatives in Armenia must be informed of any such arrest by the police authorities. A foreigner so arrested may be held at a reception center until such time as the court ruling on expulsion case takes effect for a maximum of 90 days. Once the court ruling takes legal effect, the foreigner is expelled under the procedure above. Rights of arrested or detained foreigners: Know the reasons for his/her arrest and detention in a language he/she understands or with the help of a translator; Appeal against any court decision rendered in relation to himself or herself; Visits by an advocate or other legal representative (including nongovernmental organizations), an official of the diplomatic mission or consular office of the state of origin; Apply to court to request his/her release; Receive necessary medical care. To apply the legal provisions described above, the Armenian Government has passed decrees to establish special procedures and mechanisms. Particularly, the Governmental Decree 48-N on Approving Procedure to Assist Persons (Asylum Seekers or Refugees) Applying for Voluntary Repatriation to Obtain Necessary Travel Documents and Visas to their Country of Citizenship or Permanent Residence or Any Potential Third Country of Transit, of January 21, 2010, established the procedure to assist persons (asylum seekers or refugees) who apply for voluntary repatriation to obtain travel documents and visas required to return to their country of citizenship or permanent residence or any potential third countries of transit, including interactions related to the assistance in obtaining required travel documents and visas. Asylum seekers or persons recognized as refugees in Armenia are required to file a formal application to a competent public authority on migration (hereinafter referred to 11

12 as Service) in order to obtain assistance with necessary travel documents and visas to return to their countries of citizenship or permanent residence or potential third country of transit. Asylum seekers may also petition a competent authority for the suspension of administrative proceedings on their asylum request in Armenia, while persons recognized as refugees may proceed likewise and petition for the termination of their status. Within a period of three days from the date of any such petition, the Service is to give asylum seekers a written notification to the effect that administrative proceedings regarding their request for asylum are terminated upon their voluntary repatriation. Within a period of three days from the date of any such petition, the Service is to give persons recognized as refugees in Armenia a written notification to the effect that their status is terminated unless they return to Armenia within 3 months upon voluntarily leaving the country and withdraw their voluntary repatriation application. Within a period of 20 days upon accepting a voluntary repatriation application, the Service is to take appropriate action to obtain detailed and unbiased information on the current situation in asylum seekers' or refugees' countries of citizenship or permanent residence. Any such information is obtained by the Service on its own initiative and using its own resources (from websites, the press and publications by other mass media) as well as in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees, IOM, non-governmental organizations and other agencies: all such information is made available to asylum seekers or refugees. If any such information gives the Service reasons to believe that repatriation of asylum seeker or refugee to his/her country of citizenship or permanent residence may prove unsafe, the Service must inform him/her of any such risks and assist him/her in obtaining required travel documents or visas only if the asylum seeker or refugee gives an informed written consent for voluntary repatriation to his/her country of citizenship or permanent residence, notwithstanding reports of related risks. Within three days following the submission made by the Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must contact diplomatic missions of asylum seekers' countries of citizenship or permanent residence to secure their assistance in obtaining necessary travel 12

13 documents for persons referred to above. If repatriation to country of citizenship or permanent residence of such asylum seeker or refugee is possible only through a third country of transit, following a submission made by the Service, within three days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must contact the diplomatic mission of the third country of transit to have a visa issued to the person in question. Within a period of three days, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs the Service on results of its action to assist asylum seekers or refugees in obtaining necessary travel documents or visas to enter their countries of citizenship or permanent residence or any potential third country of transit. Within a period of three days upon receiving such notification, the Service provides asylum seekers or refugees with relevant counseling and refers them to competent authorities to obtain travel documents and visas. It follows from the above that the voluntary repatriation in Armenia is closely regulated, while refoulement or expulsion still remain loosely regulated (lack of legislation, specification of procedures, etc.). Expulsion procedures for rejected asylum seekers in other countries were closely examined and analyzed to produce a most comprehensive review of the issue. Sometimes, terms of such expulsions are in conflict with international standards and generally quite inhumane. For instance, Russian Federation orders regular and collective expulsions for citizens of Central Asian countries, namely Uzbekistan and Tajikistan only based on their ethnicity. Recently, in November 2012, another pretext was found to expel aliens (as yet) in the capital city of Moscow related to their HIV positive status and provoking a storm of criticism at international level. The cost of expulsion is borne by the state which expels a foreign citizen or stateless person; however, some special legal techniques enable some states to cover such costs from other sources. In Czech Republic, for instance, such costs are to be paid by the person responsible for the invitation that enabled a foreign citizen or a stateless person to gain entry into the country. 13

14 Often, the expulsion may carry more serious implications than envisaged by asylum seekers. Particularly, expulsion from Finland (as well as other Schengen States) automatically entails an entry ban to all Schengen States, since they share a common information system (Schengen Information System), and data on the person expelled will necessarily appear in the system. Besides, some Schengen States extend the duration of the entry ban by introducing relevant changes in the Schengen Information System. Finland has established a flexible arrangement for expelling persons and rejecting asylum requests as it forwards them to another state in any of the following events: Person previously applied for asylum in the state concerned; A family member of the person in question is a recognized refugee in the state concerned; Asylum seeker holds an entry visa or a residence permit issued by the state concerned; The person in question gained illegal entry into Finland from the same state concerned or by eluding border control. Relevant sources in other languages make a distinction between expulsion and deportation with deportation referring solely to expulsion by a court ruling (administrative removal). Presently, foreign legislations refer to deportation also as a type of administrative expulsion representing an administrative sanction. The legislation of Republic of Kazakhstan on the matter is particularly interesting. Within a period of 5 days after their arrival in Kazakhstan, all foreigners are required to register with local migration police by producing their identification documents. Such registration procedure can be completed only by the receiving party as foreigners are allowed to do so on their own only when visiting the country as tourists. Russian and Ukrainian nationals make exception and are allowed to stay in Kazakhstan without registration for up to 30 and 90 days, respectively. If expulsion becomes necessary at a later stage, the migration police can take appropriate action. Germany pursues strict expulsion policies: criminal proceedings are brought against rejected asylum seekers who fail to leave the country and elude expulsion as such 14

15 conduct is contrary to the terms of their residence permit and is punishable by fines or imprisonment. From January 1, 2013, upkeep and expulsion costs for persons to be expelled from Russian Federation are payable from the budget of a constituent entity. Previously, such costs were paid from the federal budget, and persons to be expelled were kept in custody at special reception centers reporting to the Ministry of the Interior. Indeed, this is a costly procedure. For instance, an allocation of RUR 38,735,000 is to be made from the regional budget of Krasnodar only. Russian Governmental Decree of October 24, 2002, makes an explicit distinction between the terms deportation and administrative removal. The said decree states that deportation refers to refoulement of aliens from Russian Federation in the absence or upon termination of legal grounds for their stay in the country, while administrative removal refers to forced and controlled expulsion of aliens or their controlled but voluntary departure from Russia as prescribed by the Russian Code of Administrative Offences. Therefore, the main distinction consists in the exercise of control, so if the above terms are transposed to the Armenian legislation, it becomes clear that administrative removal is a matter of a wide discussion in Armenia but lacks legislative formulation. In Russia, the state pays for travel documents of expelled or removed aliens and that of public officers legally required to accompany them. The state also meets the cost of keeping such aliens at border crossing points and is responsible for other documents required for their expulsion or administrative removal. If aliens subject to expulsion or administrative removal crossed the border and already entered the territory of Russia, they are to be temporarily held at reception centers reporting to the police authorities. In Armenia, expulsion is viewed as a form of administrative sanction and as such is referred to in Article 23 of the Armenian Code of Administrative Offences providing for the following administrative sanctions: 1) Formal warning; 2) Fine; 15

16 3) Compensated forfeiture of the item used as a direct tool or instrument of administrative offence; 4) Forfeiture of the item used as a direct tool or instrument of administrative offence; 5) Forfeiture of any special rights (driving license, hunting license). It becomes obvious that the above list fails to include expulsion (administrative removal), and therefore administrative sanctions cannot be applied to aliens for similar offences. Apart from this, a rejected asylum seeker who stays in Armenia automatically becomes an offender under the Armenian Law on Foreigners which represents an administrative offence and is punishable by a fine under Article 201 of the Armenian Code of Administrative Offences. Such approach is inadvisable. Namely, some terms (administrative removal, exclusion, etc.) must be ascertained and refoulement procedures must be reviewed to reach a successful solution. 16

17 3. Recommendations We would like to formulate specific recommendations based on facts described above and to summarize the results of our research. Some recommendations are exclusively technical in nature, while others call for legislative changes or amendments. Determining directions of the migration policy is a top priority to elucidate the main provisions and enforce them in the Republic of Armenia. Overall, it can be said that current Armenian Legislation regulates matters related to the voluntary repatriation of rejected asylum seekers, but leaves their refoulement procedures (expulsion, deportation) unregulated. The recommendations formulated in this research can be briefly summarized as follows: 1. Residence criteria for rejected asylum seekers and refusal criteria for the entry of aliens must be viewed. 2. The revision and appeal procedure for rejected asylum requests must be reviewed; specifically, rejected asylum seekers must be offered a free legal counseling, some aspects of the administrative procedure must be clarified, this type of cases must be prioritized where possible. 3. The terms expulsion and administrative removal must be defined under Armenian legislation along with clear enforcement procedures. 4. Special allocations must be made in the state budget to cover expulsion costs. This issue is critical as current legislation provides alien removal procedures only if the person in question lacks funds, while in practice funds must be allocated for this purpose from the outset to enable a prompt and definitive removal of aliens. A temporary (until appropriate changes are planned) solution to this problem can found by turning for assistance to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Organization for Migration and other international organizations. 17

18 5. International standards require contracting states to allow enough time for rejected asylum seekers to obtain a legal entry into another country. Armenian legislation lacks any such provision; therefore, the national legislation must be aligned with international law. For instance, a period of 30 days will be reasonable. 6. Armenian legislation contains the same excluding clauses for expulsion of aliens as prescribed by the international law. Apart from such excluding clauses, expulsion of an alien is prohibited, if he/she is a minor, his/her parents legally reside in Armenia, has a minor child to his/her care or is above 80 years of age. This listing fails to include disabled persons and caretakers or guardians of persons belonging to the above categories, which would be humane and desirable. 7. The court ruling on expulsion must contain a notice on who must bear the costs of the expulsion. As financial issues are not explicitly regulated and the state budget provides no allocations to this effect, an inclusion of such a clause in a court ruling may lead to its non-enforcement. 8. A court ruling on the expulsion of a rejected asylum seeker must specify his/her place of residence prior to leaving the territory of the Republic of Armenia. This clause can be applied if a rejected asylum seeker has any place of residence available; otherwise, there is no institution that may be responsible for carrying out such a duty. 9. Under current legislation, a rejected asylum seeker is subject to expulsion, if his/her appeal before a court of law is dismissed. A note of expulsion is made in the foreigner s passport, and the ruling on expulsion of a foreigner is executed by the Armenian police authorities that conduct a separate registration of expelled foreigners by entering their details into the data bank. Тhis procedure calls for a revision given the involvement of the Compulsory Enforcement Service (CES) in the process. We have been informed by the Armenian police authorities that the act of expulsion in practice leads to institution of executive 18

19 proceedings as CEF and regional police units join efforts to actually perform the expulsion. 10. Targeted action is required to enforce the Governmental Decree N127-N on Establishing the Operation Procedure for Border Crossing Points and Transit Zone Shelters and Harboring of Aliens and set up clear enforcement mechanisms. 11. Though premature, a provision of Finish legislation concerning expulsion and rejection of asylum requests may be envisaged to forward requests for asylum to another state, if one of the following conditions is met: - Person previously applied for asylum in the state concerned; - A family member of the person in question is a recognized refugee in the state concerned; - Asylum seeker holds an entry visa or a residence permit issued by the state concerned; - Asylum seeker holds an entry visa or a residence permit issued by the state concerned; 12. Rejected asylum seekers may be offered to follow an expulsion procedure of voluntary repatriation or if they decline, may be subjected to an administrative removal in compliance with the Armenian Code on Administrative Offences. Relevant changes will be certainly required in the said Code to include the administrative removal in the list of administrative sanctions. 13. The prohibition for re-entry for aliens who have committed offences in Armenia or stayed illegally in the country must be longer than for aliens who stayed illegally in the country for a period of six months. This means that a segregated approach must be employed in respect of such aliens. 14. Creation of migration police must be considered in Armenia to be entrusted with most of suggested changes as well as other related functions. 19

20 15. It is technically necessary to set up a procedure for expelled aliens and in some cases for accompanying public officers to obtain travel documents, to cover the upkeep cost of aliens at border crossing points, to pay expenses of preparing other documents required for the expulsion or administrative removal of aliens etc. It must be added that the recommendations formulated above are not absolute in nature and can be reviewed depending on the direction of migration. 20