DUSHANBE, March 25, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- New rules of granting labor permits to foreigners and persons without citizenship will come into effect beginning on April1, according to the migration service within the Ministry of Interior.

“Government’s resolution that is expected to be signed on April 1, 2009 will impose fines for illegal recruitment of foreign citizens and persons without citizenship,” said the source at the MoI migration service.  “Those who break the rules will have to pay a fee 30 to 50 minimum wages for ordinary citizens, 70 to 100 minimum wages for civil servants and 250 to 300 minimum wages for legal entities.”

Henceforth, labor permits will be granted to foreigners under the licensing document that is given to employer company, the source said.

Local independent expert Abdullo Qurbonov says the new rules will promote regulation of migration process, protection of domestic market and improvement control over foreign manpower in the country.

He further added that it could not be ruled out that because of rise in unemployment in the country Tajik authorities would reduce quota for foreign workers.  “20 percent of the Dushanbe population alone are now unemployed,” the expert said.

We will recall that quota for foreign workers for 2008 has been determined at 7,500 people.

According to the MoI migration service, some 30,000 foreign specialists arrived in the country in 2007, while in 2008, this figure increased to 62,000.  Among them are mainly nationals of China, Iran, Turkey, and Russia.  Last year, administrative actions were introduced against 968 foreigners.  They were punished for illegally staying in the country; 186 of them were deported from Tajikistan.