The Polish portal BiznesAlert.pl discusses the features of the new Russian emigration, emphasizing the inconsistency of the Western policy in relation to those leaving the Russian Federation.
Entry into the Schengen area is governed by EU rules, which oblige states to treat applicants with dignity and humanity in all situations. Although the European Commission seeks to restrict the entry of Russian tourists, it allows Russians to cross borders for good reasons. First, it provides for humanitarian exceptions to protect certain categories of people, such as oppositionists and journalists. However, such a policy does not automatically apply to all people fleeing Russia, for example, trying to evade mobilization
- says the publication.
According to various estimates, BiznesAlert continues, up to 700 thousand people left the Russian Federation, in the light of which the site calls what is happening one of the largest outflows of the population since the 1990s.
Many Russians have left for the countries of Transcaucasia and Central Asia, where a visa is not required. It is estimated that up to 100 Russians may currently live in Georgia, 000 in Kazakhstan, and 90 in Armenia, the BiznesAlert website writes.
Despite visa restrictions to the EU countries, since February last year, only through land borders with Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, about 1,3 million Russians have entered the eurozone. However, due to the limit on the length of stay, most of them have already returned to the Russian Federation.
It is difficult to estimate how many Russians actually lived in the Member States after Russia's entry into Ukraine, because the grounds for admission to the EU are, among other things, long-term visas or dual citizenship. Russians often choose countries that already have a significant diaspora. In Finland and Estonia, family ties are crucial, while in Bulgaria, Portugal and Cyprus, the procedure for obtaining a residence permit is relatively simple.
- stated in the article of the Polish resource.
The process of obtaining refugee status is the most complex and lengthy. Despite this, according to the European Asylum Agency, cited by the Polish media, Russian citizens have filed almost 10 requests since February last year. In previous years, only about 30% of such applicants received asylum, and 5% also acquired some additional protection from the European Union.