Russians are more likely to seek asylum in Israel and receive refusals of entry into the country

The number of requests for asylum in Israel by Russian citizens increased markedly in 2018, which caused an increase in refusals to Russians from entering the country, reports News.ru with reference to the newspaper Haaretz.

Фото: Depositphotos

“Due to the growing number of asylum requests, the number of Russian citizens who are denied entry into the country at the airport is growing. In the first half of 2018, about 2,2 thousand Russians were refused entry into the country at Israeli airports due to suspicions that they were not traveling for the purpose of tourism. This is almost twice as much as for the entire 2017: then there were 1,4 thousand refusals,” the publication writes.

The newspaper notes that during 2009-2012 (during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, on whom great hopes were initially pinned on “resetting” relations with the West and modernizing the country), Russians did not apply for asylum in Israel at all, but in recent years the trend has been has changed. In 2013, three requests were submitted, in 2014 - none, in 2015 - 14. Then there was a sharp jump: in 2016, 395 Russians requested political asylum in Israel, the next year there were already 635. And for the first In the first six months of 2018, 1344 Russians applied for asylum, which means the flow of potential refugees has quadrupled over the year.

According to the newspaper, most asylum seekers say they want to escape political persecution. However, Israeli officials believe that many of these people are fleeing economic problems and want to get housing as well as work in Israel, Interfax reports.

“The economic situation in Israel is now better than in Africa, Eastern Europe and even some Western European countries. The differences in wages are huge, which is why many are motivated to move to Israel. So the move to the country is actually dictated by economic considerations, and not by seeking asylum,” said Yossi Edelstein, a spokesman for the Office of Foreign Citizens.

Russians do not need a visa to enter Israel. The permitted period of stay is 90 days within six months.

Visa-free entry to Israel is also granted to citizens of Ukraine and Georgia. In recent years, the flow of asylum applications has also increased from these countries, but in the year 2017 it has declined. This is due to the fact that the Israeli authorities began to expedite the processing of applications and reject them, because they believe that Georgia and Ukraine are safe countries.

Travel from Russia to Israel last year increased by 40% compared to 2016 year. The country was visited by more than 397 thousands of Russians.

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