Number of people residing in country with refugee status increase by 23pct

By Azernews

By Sara Israfilbayova

The number of foreigners arriving in Azerbaijan increased by more than 10 percent.

Head of Azerbaijan’s State Migration Service Vusal Huseynov said made the remarks at an event dedicated to the results of the Service’s activities in the first half of this year.

He noted that in the first six months of this year, 827,352 foreigners and stateless persons arrived in Azerbaijan.

“This shows a 10 percent increase in the number of foreigners in the country,” Huseynov said, adding that this figure was 747,107 people in the same period last year.

He added that in the first half of this year, 347,767 foreigners and stateless persons were registered at the place of their stay.

“This also means a 10 percent increase compared to last year,” Huseynov said.

He stressed that during the reporting period, a 25-percent increase was observed in the number of foreigners and stateless persons who received a permit for permanent residence in Azerbaijan.

He went on to say that during the first half of 2018, 322 inquiries were received in respect of 640 persons in connection with the readmission of Azerbaijani citizens living abroad.

This year the readmission of 206 Azerbaijani citizens was carried out, that is, they returned to the country, according to Huseynov.

Further, the head of the service stated this year the number of people residing in Azerbaijan with refugee status increased by 23 percent.

The head of the State Service noted that currently there are 75 people residing in Azerbaijan with refugee status, against 61 in the past year.

Huseynov said that the State Migration Service made a decision regarding 9,603 foreigners and stateless persons, including Azerbaijani citizens who violated the requirements of the migration legislation.

“This means a two per cent increase compared to the previous period,” the head of the State Service explained.