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ALMATY – Kazakhstan will no longer allow nationals Russia to stay in that Central Asian country indefinitely. Kazakhstan enforces so-called walking visas every three months, according to a government directive published this week.
As Reuters reported, Tuesday (17/1/2023), Astana will ban the practice from January 26. The regulations require Russian citizens and citizens of other member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, a post-Soviet bloc, to leave the country for at least 90 days after being allowed to stay for three months.
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The Interior Ministry, which proposed the reform, said it would give the state more control over immigration.
Tens of thousands of Russians, mostly young and middle-aged men, moved to Kazakhstan last year as Moscow, which is embroiled in the Ukraine conflict, launched its first conscription campaign since World War Two.
Russian is widely spoken in Kazakhstan and the two countries share the world’s longest land border, making Kazakhstan a popular choice among Russians fleeing conscription.
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The ability to stay in the country de facto indefinitely – by leaving it and re-entering it every 90 days – is another important factor.
However, the country has struggled to cope with the Russian influx. Authorities in Kazakhstan said the unusually large inflows contributed to inflation, which soared to more than 20% last year, the highest since the 1990s.
The war in Ukraine has also strained relations between Moscow and Astana as Astana refused to support its former Soviet ruler and called for peace.
(esn)
