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Proposals of legal amendments for facilitating migrant integration
Alexandra Mănăilă - Reporter
16 December 2014
A seminar was held in Bucharest at the beginning of December within the project "Migrant in Intercultural Romania", now at its third stage (July 2014 - June 2015). Georgiana Rentea, representative of ADIS (Asociaţia pentru Apărarea Drepturilor şi Integrare Socială - the Association for the Protection of Rights and Social Integration) presented at this event the proposals for legal amendments made by the partner organisations in the project (Institutul Intercultural (Intercultural Institute) in Timişoara, Liga pentru Apărarea Drepturilor Omului – Filiala Cluj (the League for the Defence of Human Rights - Cluj Branch), Centrul pentru Resurse Civice (the Centre for Civic Resources) and ADIS), following the events which brought together migrants, cultural mediators and representatives of local authorities, for discussions on topics related to migrant integration.
5 proposals for the amendment of legislation...
As it is not a trifle for organisations to be able to push things forward so that certain proposals should come to life and change the legislation in Romania, we present you below the legislative proposals made within this project and submitted to the competent central institutions. Based on several information sources, such as: the quarterly seminars held within the Migrant in Intercultural Romania project in Timişoara, Cluj, Iaşi, Constanţa and Bucharest; the Migrant in Romania magazine; the national conference and the local and national activities initiated by the network of intercultural mediators, the project partner organisations made five proposals for legislative changes:
1. Informing citizens with respect to the legal framework in force
– Proposed changes: The state should fully ensure the citizens' right to free information. The result of adequate information of citizens will be that every citizen will know and abide by the law.
This need of migrants was partly solved by the legal portal administered by the Ministry of Justice http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/Acasa, recently launched, which allows the free access of any citizen. Georgiana Rentea informed us that the final version of the legal portal will be launched on 31.01.2015 (the project of the Ministry of Justice is the result of non-reimbursable funding from the European Social Fund, through the Operational Programme Administrative Capacity Development).
2. Modifying the procedure for extending the temporary right to stay for studies for pupils and students
- Proposed changes: granting a visa for the entire period of the study cycle and setting a higher tax, calculated in relation to the period for which it is granted. In case the student is expelled from school and interrupts their studies, the education institution shall notify IGI.
Status (response from IGI): OUG 92/2002 was amended by OG 25/2014, thus art. 58, par. (1) letter a) of OG 25/2014 stipulates the following with respect to extending the temporary right to stay for studies:
”(1) Aliens who come to Romania for studies may apply for an extension of their right to stay, as follows:
a) In the case of students or pupils, for a period equal to the total duration of the studies, provided that:
(i) they are registered in a state or private education institute, which is accredited or provisionally authorised, according to the law, for full-time courses, including for their participation in doctoral courses based on an approval of the competent ministry;
(ii) they bring evidence of their means of support, at the level of at least the minimum basic gross salary at country level, guaranteed for payment, fort at least 6 months."
3. Simplifying the procedures for business activities
- Proposed changes: simplifying the procedures would eliminate bureaucracy and costs for the foreign citizen and would simplify the activity of state institutions.
Status: The General Inspectorate for Immigration provided the following response regarding this legislative proposal:
The OUG (Government Emergency Ordinance) 96/2012, for establishing reorganisation measures within the central public administration and for amending certain legal acts, dissolved the Romanian Centre for the Promotion of Trade and Foreign Investments (the institution which took over the responsibilities of the former ARIS - Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments) and its responsibilities were taken over by the Ministry of Economy and the Department for Infrastructure Projects, Foreign Investments, Public-Private Partnerships and the Promotion of Exports.
No other state institution has issued the document certifying that activities are performed according to the business plan (provided in OUG 194/2002, art. 55 par. (3) letter b)).
4. Drafting a law on the responsibilities of public administration in relation with citizens' requests
– Proposed changes: avoiding the administrative bureaucracy, so that citizens would no longer have to submit the same documents to different institutions; they would not be requested to submit various documents issued by other institutions, and the activity of public officers in relation with citizens would be significantly simplified. In many cases citizens, including foreign citizens resident in Romania, are requested to submit a number of documents which they have to obtain from other public institutions. These requirements are particularly difficult to fulfil by foreign citizens who have difficulties in understanding in detail the institutional structure, the responsibilities and operating methods of various structures.
Status: the proposal has been sent to the competent institutions.
5. Exerting the physician profession by foreign citizens
- Proposed changes: Completing Law 95/2006 on public health reform and the subsequent legislation, as follows:
Par. 1 of art. 370 shall be completed with a new letter, “g”, with the following content:
“g) third country nationals, provided that they completed a residency programme in Romania or in a European Union Member State, in a state of the European Economic Area or in the Swiss Confederation”.
There are currently two conditions to be met for exerting the physician profession in Romania: on the one hand, being a Romanian citizen or holding a long term residence permit, and on the other hand being registered in the Romanian College of Physicians. Foreign citizens, graduates of a residency programme in Romania, cannot register in the Romanian College of Physicians unless they hold a long term residence permit or they fulfil the conditions for obtaining such permit.
Status: the proposal has been sent to the competent institutions.
Ordinance 25/26 August 2014 on the employment and secondment of aliens in Romania and for amending and completing certain legal acts on the regime of aliens in Romania became effective on 28 November 2014. The act amends Government Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of aliens in Romania, republished, as subsequently amended and completed, and annuls two other legal acts:
- Government Emergency Ordinance no. 56/2007 on the employment and secondment of aliens on the territory of Romania, as subsequently amended and completed;
- Governmental Decision for establishing the contingent per category of newly admitted workers on the labour market.
The main objective of the project "Migrant in Intercultural Romania" is to create an adequate intercultural environment for facilitating aliens' integration in Romania and strengthening social cohesion, by maintaining certain consultation mechanisms of alien communities (created since 2009). The target group consists of third country nationals with a legal stay in Romania. The project beneficiary is the Intercultural Institute in Timişoara and the partners are: the Association for the Protection of Rights and Social Integration (ADIS), the League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADO), Cluj Branch, the Centre for Civic Resources - Constanta.
Sources:
The presentation "Proposals of legal amendments for facilitating migrant integration", Georgiana Rentea, ADIS.
http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/160962
5 proposals for the amendment of legislation...
As it is not a trifle for organisations to be able to push things forward so that certain proposals should come to life and change the legislation in Romania, we present you below the legislative proposals made within this project and submitted to the competent central institutions. Based on several information sources, such as: the quarterly seminars held within the Migrant in Intercultural Romania project in Timişoara, Cluj, Iaşi, Constanţa and Bucharest; the Migrant in Romania magazine; the national conference and the local and national activities initiated by the network of intercultural mediators, the project partner organisations made five proposals for legislative changes:
1. Informing citizens with respect to the legal framework in force
– Proposed changes: The state should fully ensure the citizens' right to free information. The result of adequate information of citizens will be that every citizen will know and abide by the law.
This need of migrants was partly solved by the legal portal administered by the Ministry of Justice http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/Acasa, recently launched, which allows the free access of any citizen. Georgiana Rentea informed us that the final version of the legal portal will be launched on 31.01.2015 (the project of the Ministry of Justice is the result of non-reimbursable funding from the European Social Fund, through the Operational Programme Administrative Capacity Development).
2. Modifying the procedure for extending the temporary right to stay for studies for pupils and students
- Proposed changes: granting a visa for the entire period of the study cycle and setting a higher tax, calculated in relation to the period for which it is granted. In case the student is expelled from school and interrupts their studies, the education institution shall notify IGI.
Status (response from IGI): OUG 92/2002 was amended by OG 25/2014, thus art. 58, par. (1) letter a) of OG 25/2014 stipulates the following with respect to extending the temporary right to stay for studies:
”(1) Aliens who come to Romania for studies may apply for an extension of their right to stay, as follows:
a) In the case of students or pupils, for a period equal to the total duration of the studies, provided that:
(i) they are registered in a state or private education institute, which is accredited or provisionally authorised, according to the law, for full-time courses, including for their participation in doctoral courses based on an approval of the competent ministry;
(ii) they bring evidence of their means of support, at the level of at least the minimum basic gross salary at country level, guaranteed for payment, fort at least 6 months."
3. Simplifying the procedures for business activities
- Proposed changes: simplifying the procedures would eliminate bureaucracy and costs for the foreign citizen and would simplify the activity of state institutions.
Status: The General Inspectorate for Immigration provided the following response regarding this legislative proposal:
The OUG (Government Emergency Ordinance) 96/2012, for establishing reorganisation measures within the central public administration and for amending certain legal acts, dissolved the Romanian Centre for the Promotion of Trade and Foreign Investments (the institution which took over the responsibilities of the former ARIS - Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments) and its responsibilities were taken over by the Ministry of Economy and the Department for Infrastructure Projects, Foreign Investments, Public-Private Partnerships and the Promotion of Exports.
No other state institution has issued the document certifying that activities are performed according to the business plan (provided in OUG 194/2002, art. 55 par. (3) letter b)).
4. Drafting a law on the responsibilities of public administration in relation with citizens' requests
– Proposed changes: avoiding the administrative bureaucracy, so that citizens would no longer have to submit the same documents to different institutions; they would not be requested to submit various documents issued by other institutions, and the activity of public officers in relation with citizens would be significantly simplified. In many cases citizens, including foreign citizens resident in Romania, are requested to submit a number of documents which they have to obtain from other public institutions. These requirements are particularly difficult to fulfil by foreign citizens who have difficulties in understanding in detail the institutional structure, the responsibilities and operating methods of various structures.
Status: the proposal has been sent to the competent institutions.
5. Exerting the physician profession by foreign citizens
- Proposed changes: Completing Law 95/2006 on public health reform and the subsequent legislation, as follows:
Par. 1 of art. 370 shall be completed with a new letter, “g”, with the following content:
“g) third country nationals, provided that they completed a residency programme in Romania or in a European Union Member State, in a state of the European Economic Area or in the Swiss Confederation”.
There are currently two conditions to be met for exerting the physician profession in Romania: on the one hand, being a Romanian citizen or holding a long term residence permit, and on the other hand being registered in the Romanian College of Physicians. Foreign citizens, graduates of a residency programme in Romania, cannot register in the Romanian College of Physicians unless they hold a long term residence permit or they fulfil the conditions for obtaining such permit.
Status: the proposal has been sent to the competent institutions.
Ordinance 25/26 August 2014 on the employment and secondment of aliens in Romania and for amending and completing certain legal acts on the regime of aliens in Romania became effective on 28 November 2014. The act amends Government Emergency Ordinance 194/2002 on the regime of aliens in Romania, republished, as subsequently amended and completed, and annuls two other legal acts:
- Government Emergency Ordinance no. 56/2007 on the employment and secondment of aliens on the territory of Romania, as subsequently amended and completed;
- Governmental Decision for establishing the contingent per category of newly admitted workers on the labour market.
The main objective of the project "Migrant in Intercultural Romania" is to create an adequate intercultural environment for facilitating aliens' integration in Romania and strengthening social cohesion, by maintaining certain consultation mechanisms of alien communities (created since 2009). The target group consists of third country nationals with a legal stay in Romania. The project beneficiary is the Intercultural Institute in Timişoara and the partners are: the Association for the Protection of Rights and Social Integration (ADIS), the League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADO), Cluj Branch, the Centre for Civic Resources - Constanta.
Sources:
The presentation "Proposals of legal amendments for facilitating migrant integration", Georgiana Rentea, ADIS.
http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocument/160962
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