MOST OFTEN ARMENIAN CITIZENS APPLY FOR ASYLUM IN FRANCE
ARKA
April 16, 2008
YEREVAN, April 16. /ARKA/. Most often Armenian citizens apply
for asylum in France, the Chief of Migration Agency of Armenia’s
Territorial Administration Ministry Gagik Yeganian said.
Of 3,925 applications of Armenian citizens for asylum abroad 1,924
applications were registered in France in 2007 against 1,680 in 2006,
Yeganian said. According to him, Austrian and Belgian authorities
received 400 applications for asylum each. So, the vector of the
migration is changed, he said.
In 90-ies, Armenians were applying for asylum most often to authorities
of Poland and Germany, later they started preferring more Western
countries and the north Low Countries, whereas now the vector shifted
to the East and South, such as Check Republic and Austria.
"Today France is the most popular country among Armenians, which is
an attempt to increase status and earning prospects," Yeganian said.
He stressed that most of the applications for asylum abroad are
turned down.
In 2007 Armenian citizens submitted 3,925 applications seeking asylum
in various countries, mainly in European countries and the USA,
which is 6% less that in 2006.
According to the UN Supreme Commissioner for Refugees, the number
of asylum applications increased 10% in 51 countries of the world
and totaled 338,300 in 2007. In 2000, the number of applications was
650,000.