Sometimes a person is faced with different situations when he needs to travel to another country. However, for some reason, he has to go back to where he came from. This is related to the migration policy of states and is called readmission.
The procedure protects its own citizens so that a person can preserve rights with legitimate interests. Further in the article, you can get acquainted in detail with the conditions and the process of passing the return procedure.
What is the procedure?
Readmission is a procedure for the return of a citizen who is subject to departure from the host country to the State where he was last present. At the same time, this process may affect not only a person who is considered a full-fledged citizen of the country.
In this case, there is enough information about residence in the country that must accept the citizen to be deported.
Readmission refers to a mutual mechanism providing for the conclusion of an agreement between the two countries. This document must contain all the organizational aspects that relate to the responsibilities of States and the movement of migrants.
The Russian Federation has more than 30 similar agreements with different countries. This list includes representatives of the European Union with neighboring countries.
There are 2 ways for foreign citizens to return to the territory of citizenship or permanent residence:
| Return option | Features |
| Voluntary | A citizen may voluntarily leave the territory of the State and return home, provided that he has not violated the permissible period of stay in the country. At other times, entry may be prohibited if a foreign guest violates the legislation of the country. |
| Forced | The forced return of a citizen to the country from which he came may take place without his consent. |
Several concepts are associated with the forced return of a foreign citizen in the form of:
- readmissions;
- deportations;
- administrative refund.
The latter concept implies a measure of punishment of an administrative type. Only those people who have violated the law can be expelled from the country. As a result, the person will be returned to the country in which he regularly resided or whose citizenship he has.
According to the law, the mechanism of this procedure should not provoke a violation of the legislation of other States or the rights of deportees. The main purpose of the procedure is to protect the interests of each party.
After being expelled for certain reasons, a citizen will be under the close supervision of the migration service of the country that accepts him. Due to this, security is enhanced, for example, if the returned person has a serious pathology or had problems with the law.
This procedure is considered a civilized control of illegal migration, which has been legalized at the official level. At the same time, the process maintains a balance in interethnic politics and is a necessary measure for a state that actively cooperates with other countries.
What is the difference from deportation?
Readmission should not be confused with deportation, because these two procedures are completely different from each other. In the first case, a person is sent to the country from which he came. In the second case, the citizen will be returned to the country of which he has citizenship. Unlike deportation, readmission does not take much time, because you do not need to wait for a decision from the party that accepts.
Additionally, readmission, unlike deportation, is considered not a very costly process, because the state does not need to keep a foreign citizen on its own territory for a long period of time.
Deportation can be challenged at trial, and readmission is the final decision of a higher authority, which cannot be appealed.
In this case, the second type of procedure can be carried out exclusively under a special agreement, which has an international standard. A preliminary agreement is not needed to carry out the deportation.
The difference between readmission and deportation and expulsion
Foreign citizens can be expelled only to those countries with which certain obligations have been signed for the implementation of this process. If deportation is carried out, a person can be sent to the country that required the implementation of this process.
Readmission is characterized by a complex legal mechanism in which lawyers and lawyers must be involved to represent the interests of migrants and agent States. Initially, when an application from the State migration Service is submitted and processed, the citizens who are subject to return are classified into 2 groups: citizens of the state and foreign persons.
A resident can be transferred if all the conditions necessary for the procedure have been met. However, the use of readmission to a person will depend not only on the requirements of the country’s migration service.
Additionally, there are several factors that relate specifically to the population and for which this process can be canceled or postponed for some time, according to the legal side.
Conditions
Readmission can be performed only if the two parties have concluded an agreement that has a legitimate basis and has entered into force.
The terms of the agreement have several points in the form of:
- time frame;
- evidence base on the need to return a person to the country of permanent residence;
- protection of personal data of a foreign person;
- the list of people who need to be returned;
- conditions for the violator’s movement;
- financial support of the procedure.
This type of agreement clearly spells out all the features that relate to the process. The list of conditions will depend on the agreements, so the requirements between different states may be different.
Readmission and visa-free regime
Readmission can be applied in case of violations related to the visa. For example, if this document is missing or the person has exceeded the period of stay in the country, which is clearly stated in the visa. You can also take into account a person’s belonging to third countries. If there is a separate visa-free regime, the countries will be overflowing with illegal immigrants.
At the same time, it may be difficult to send foreign citizens to their former territory of residence. In this regard, visa-free travel is often considered a mandatory requirement for readmission.
Most States consider such issues in a short period of time. For example, several years ago, readmission agreements were signed between the EU and the Russian Federation, as well as to simplify the issuance of visas.
In this case, the agreement on the return of a person to his former place of residence consists in the bilateral fulfillment of conditions in order to carry out every process of movement of illegal persons, starting from compliance with international law and ending with the financial part of the issue.
Readmission in different countries
Many developed countries are trying to give readmission a special status so that the procedure can control this branch of life. However, some countries do not want to introduce this process on their territory, because they deliberately want to create their own national group in other states to form social institutions.
For this reason, departing persons may be denied the documents they need to return. For example, China adheres to a similar policy.
The Russian Federation has concluded a readmission agreement with several States in the form of:
- Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine;
- Bosnia and Herzegovina with Mongolia, Germany and Greece;
- Hungary with Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania;
- Denmark with Spain, Italy and Cyprus;
- Kyrgyzstan with Vietnam, Armenia, Bulgaria and Poland;
- Liechtenstein with Luxembourg and Malta;
- Netherlands with Norway, Portugal and Finland;
- Tajikistan with Turkey, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan;
- France with Switzerland, Sweden and the Czech Republic;
- Estonia with Austria, Serbia and Belgium.
There are also several countries that do not sign readmission agreements because they do not prohibit foreign illegal citizens from being on their own territory. These countries attract a large number of migrants. At the same time, the embassies of these states refuse to re-admit their own people so that they create diasporas abroad.
For example, China deliberately refuses this procedure for several reasons. The country wants to increase the number of its own citizens outside the territory, because there are serious demographic problems within the state. In this case, there is overpopulation in the country.
The readmission process
At the initial stage of the procedure, representatives of the State must submit a petition stating that some persons have violated the migration regime. In this regard, the country asks for their return. After processing, all documentation is subject to processing.
Citizens who are subject to return are divided into 2 groups:
- citizens of the host country;
- foreign persons for the receiving party.
In each case, countries must provide documentary evidence that, according to the legislation of the expelling State, a person has violated the migration regime. With regard to foreign persons, an evidence base must be provided that they came from the country to which they are to be returned.
When this procedure is completed, the receiving party may agree to the return of the citizens included in the list, or refuse. In the latter case, the person cannot be sent to the former territory of residence.
Readmission can be assigned for several reasons, for example:
- border crossing that is illegal;
- forgery of documents;
- employment that is contrary to the law.
Such situations must be documented at the documentary level in order for a foreign person to fall under this process.
If a foreign citizen falls under this procedure, they are registered. In this case, the person must take a picture and undergo fingerprinting. In many countries, this process is under the control of special departments that keep records of foreign citizens and, if necessary, provide them with premises so that they can live in normal conditions.
The services should also provide any assistance to the wards if they need it (for example, referral to a medical institution, consulate or appeal to the court).
If a foreign citizen who is detained has expressed a desire, he can receive:
- the opportunity to apply for an appeal against a court decision in accordance with the established procedure;
- medical care;
- a formal request that he be granted asylum;
- support from a lawyer.
In some cases, when establishing the possibility of escape, a foreign person who is subject to return as part of readmission may be in a specialized room under the control of special services.
However, this rule does not apply to families with young children, unaccompanied minors, people with disabilities, and citizens who have entered the country as victims of human trafficking.
Before the procedure for returning a person to their previous place of stay is completed, the time must be agreed with the place of this process. At the time when foreign persons are in the country, the executive authorities monitor the observance of their rights.
If it is necessary to return a foreign citizen who has not reached the age of majority and is unaccompanied by adults, initially the receiving party must provide an evidence base that can provide them with protection.
When the readmission can be cancelled or delayed
There are several factors that can cancel this procedure:
- voluntary return of a foreign person to the country from which he came;
- if a foreign citizen who was subject to this procedure has died;
- if a person is recognized as missing at the official level;
- if a person who is subject to expulsion has been granted temporary asylum;
- The status of an illegal person has been replaced by the status of a refugee.
In some cases, this procedure may be suspended for a while if:
- the citizen is in custody;
- A foreign person has submitted an official request to obtain refugee status or asylum;
- a foreign person takes part in the investigation or judicial process;
- a person is faced with certain circumstances (for example, a fire, a natural disaster, and others);
- the person who is to be returned to the country of permanent residence has become seriously ill.
In many countries, readmission is considered a necessary procedure because it helps protect the interests of its own citizens, preventing their deportation in certain cases. This procedure takes place under a voluntary agreement between the two countries and at some points may be completely canceled or postponed for some time.
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