We shall today comment upon a piece of news that regards Rumanian citizens, this piece of news somehow exemplifies the effects of actual borders policies, which harmonize methods of borders controls. This harmonization is mandatory to all countries that wish to become part of EU, but we are sure that such measures will soon become unpopular.
Past August Rumanian borders authorities withdrew more than 4,000 Rumanian passports. This happened to citizens that came back home on holyday. Why did this happen? Because of EU directives against clandestine immigration.
Rumania is supposed to enter EU next January 1st 2007 and EU is asking this country to strengthen control and security measures against clandestine immigration. Rumanian government respected EU conditions and during past summer it enforced strict – probably absurd – measures against its own citizens. This is a consequence of the process that will probably allow Rumania to be part of European Union: the process may imply provisional dispositions and even after January 2007 Rumanian citizens may still be considered non-EU citizens for a term that could last up to seven years.
Therefore the quoted new measures lead to the fact that Rumanian citizens that come back to their own country of origin from abroad are systematically and thoroughly controlled the length of their stay abroad.
Rumanian citizens have been allowed to freely move around EU without visas since January 2000, of course only in case of tourism and with valid passports and enough money on them.
Example – A Rumanian citizen that come to Italy on basis of tourism (a maximum 90 days stay is permitted) does not need to apply to entry visas at Italian embassy. Once he/she is in Italy, he/she must refer to police headquarters within 8 days in order to have tourism visas issued by qualified authorities.
Today when Rumanian citizens stay abroad more than 90 days (on basis of tourism or on basis of matters that are imply the issuing of residence papers), authorities suspend and take away their passports, suspension lasts between one and five years.
This law passed in 2003 but put into practise in summer 2005
The quoted provision is not new, it passed back in 2003. EU persistent demands lead Rumanian citizens to the enforcement of this crushing measure in August 2005. Romania needed to preserve its own public image. Unfortunately citizens were not informed that the law was put into practise and on they return to their country of origin they saw their passports confiscated.
Rumanian authorities had to prove Bruxelles that they doing something against illegal immigration, that their police is not corrupt (as rumours say) and that law is seriously respected.
The new law we are today studying clashes with well-known facts: Rumanian citizens, since entry visa is not anymore mandatory, do travel around EU and habitually work without any residence papers (if they are not stopped by police) and as a consequence they send money back home to their families.
In Italy about 250,000 Rumanian citizens regularly live in Italy, but numbers seems to really reach a million citizens… Data of course are not official and they cannot be cannot be proved.
We need no comment upon this piece of news, just keep in mind that no solution has yet been found nor thought. After a week of protests at borders, Rumanian Home secretary declared that passports won’t anymore be withdrawn. Though we still do not know whether passports will not anymore withdrawn or the quoted measure will be applied time to time and uncertainties do worry citizens.
How are passports returned?
According to Rumanian authorities, citizens are going to have their passports returned. They just to present justifications, this means that they have to give in documents that show the reason why they stayed in Schengen areas for more than 90 days (if documents are written i.e. in Italian they need to be of course officially translated).
In addition to this Rumanian government declared that citizens that will spend more than three months abroad will be denied freedom of expatriation.
The paradox is evident: citizens has been using the chance of leaving the country without visas to find jobs abroad and to send money back to Rumania and authorities were well aware of this fact.
Unnecessarily strict rules
Rumanian authorities are preparing some other novelties: from October 1st 2005 Rumanian citizens willing to enter Schengen countries will need to show either invitations or hotel bookings, in case this is missing they will need to prove that they have: return tickets, medical insurance and 100 Euro a day for the whole length of their stay abroad.
If such requisites are missing, citizens won’t be allowed to leave Rumania.
Rumanian government is setting minimal means of subsistence that are higher that the ones Italian government established in respect of Schengen treaty. Foreigners that come to Italy on basis of tourism – or for a short stay – is much lower, as a Home Office directive issued March 1st 2000 provides for.