John reacts to visa change

The Interior Ministry is defending amendments to the Foreigners Act that took effect Jan. 1 amid criticism that the changes were hastily implemented, causing confusion for those applying for visas and residency permits in the weeks just before and after the transition.

The ministry says the laws are a work in progress and that when the dust settles, the system will be faster, easier and more convenient for everyone.

The main change to the immigration system brought about by the amendments was the transfer of the majority of work previously under the auspices of the Foreigners Police to the Interior Ministry. The ministry now handles all long-term visas and residency permits, and officials say the transfer of the applications received in the closing months of 2010, of which there were more than 10,000 in Prague alone, has been the biggest difficulty.

At a press conference held Feb. 4, Deputy Interior Minister for National Security Jaroslav Salivar put the increased workload into context, saying the ministry had taken more than 95 percent of the responsibilities of the Foreigners Police, but only 59 percent of the staff.

"We are still in the middle of the process," said Interior Minister Radek John, who emphasized how the new law will help curb corruption, which he says was rampant in the Foreigners Police. Applicants now have to appear in person to apply for visas and residence permits, a rule that Salivar says will prevent foreigners from being at the mercy of "parasites," as he calls the middlemen who demand large amounts of money from foreigners to sort out their legal stay in the country, some of which they use to bribe police to expedite the proceedings.

"This reform was conceived in such a way that the foreigner never sees the person who will be deciding his case," said John. "There is no point in trying to influence anybody with sweets and flowers because there is no one to give them to."

The ministry is also publicizing its anti-corruption line, which foreigners can call to report corruption of any kind at the Foreigners Police or Interior Ministry, though they say no one has used the service yet.

"Our goal is that if someone offered to sort out someone's permanent residency for money, all the other foreigners in the Czech Republic would laugh because they would know it isn't possible," said Tomáš Haišman, director of the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy at the Interior Ministry.

Despite the prevalence of corruption, many foreigners awaiting their documents are more concerned with the lack of communication skills of government officials than with the pervasive corruption. Stuart Greer, a recently arrived Canadian-British journalist, says he has been waiting for his residence permit for nearly three months. At one point, he was told the permit was ready and he could come pick it up, but was turned away at the Interior Ministry in an apparent mix up.

Greer says he has again been told his permit is ready.

"I find it baffling that the [officials] only speak Czech and have no signs in other languages," Greer said. "I'd figure they'd at least have a few people able to handle questions in Russian, German and English."

Ministry representatives say they hope the situation will improve as a result of their information campaign, which includes brochures outlining the changes to the law in several languages. Applicants can also now reserve a timeslot to meet with an official about their documents; something the ministry says should cut down on lines and repeat visits.

There will also be a training program implemented starting in March for the 250 employees at the Interior Ministry who have been transferred from the Foreigners Police. Organized in cooperation with Slovo 21, an NGO focused on the integration of Roma and foreigners into the country, the trainings will last for two days and will include lectures from representatives of immigrant communities, sensitivity training and activities to build intercultural competence.

"The changeover of responsibilities from the Foreigners Police to the Interior Ministry in my opinion brings with it only positive signs for foreigners," said Bulgan Rico, representative of Slovo 21. "The main one being that for any application for long-term stay, [applicants] no longer have to go to the police. They can instead deal with an official at the Interior Ministry who can treat them on a human level."

- Klára Jiřičná and Michaela Zahradníková contributed to this report.

Emily Thompson can be reached at
ethompson@praguepost.com