Kazakhstan Ratifies Agreement with Austria on Migrant Readmission

The Mazhilis, the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament, has ratified an agreement between the governments of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Austria concerning the readmission and transit of individuals residing illegally.

The primary objective of this bilateral accord is to establish a legal framework for cooperation between the two nations in managing the return and transit of persons who are present on their territories in violation of national immigration laws.

The document outlines specific rules and timeframes for each country to accept back irregular migrants or individuals who do not meet the conditions for stay or residence. It also defines a joint procedure for receiving, transferring, and facilitating transit.

This process applies not only to citizens of Kazakhstan and Austria but also extends to nationals of third countries and stateless persons. For third-country nationals, readmission involves their return to their country of citizenship. Stateless persons are subject to readmission to their country of last permanent residence or to the state that issued their travel documents.

This move follows a similar recent ratification by Kazakh parliamentarians of a readmission agreement with France.