Among illegal migrants in the Czech Republic, Ukrainians, Moldovans, and Vietnamese predominate
As reported by Radio Prague, the Foreign Police registered 4,992 cases of illegal stay in the Czech Republic, which is 254 more than in 2017. The number of refugees who used the Czech Republic solely as a transit zone increased by 19% last year, to 191 people.
"Illegals came to the Czech Republic mainly from Slovakia and headed primarily to Germany. The situation in the area of illegal migration in the Czech Republic has nevertheless stabilized. Our country is not a major transit or destination country for migrating foreigners," said Kateřina Rendlová, spokesperson for the Foreign Police of the Czech Republic. She noted that the overall statistics on visa violations do not differ much from the previous year.
"In the Czech Republic in 2018, 4,653 cases were identified (165 more than in 2017) where foreigners entered the Czech Republic legally but 'forgot' to leave the country in time," said the Foreign Police representative. "Among the 'overstayers,' Ukrainians predominated – 1,470 people, followed by Moldovans (567) in second place in this 'division,' and Vietnamese (312) in third. They are followed by Russians (273) and Uzbeks (157)."
In terms of the number of detected violations, raids at international airports were the most effective, where 18% of all foreigners illegally staying in the Czech Republic were detained. Law enforcement officers thus detained 339 people at Czech airports, more than a third higher than the same period in 2017. Moreover, four out of ten 'offenders' were identified in Prague – mostly guest workers. A significant percentage of those who exceeded the period of stay stipulated by Czech law were also employed in the South Moravian, Ústí nad Labem, and Plzeň regions, but in each individual region, the number of illegally staying migrants in the Czech Republic did not exceed ten percent."
As for separate statistics reflecting the dynamics of administrative violations in the practice of employing foreigners, according to an overview of currently available data, the number of verdicts concerning registered cases of illegal employment in the Czech Republic last year increased by 384 compared to 2017, reaching 3,495.
"Moldovans are mostly noted for abusing the visa-free regime between our states. As for Ukrainian citizens, among the violations they commit, cases of illegal employment using Polish work visas still prevail," informed the Foreign Police spokesperson.
Regarding document forgery and falsification, the number of such cases decreased slightly (by 193, to 1,122). "In some cases, one person committed a criminally punishable forgery of several documents. Police officers identified a total of 1,383 forged or falsified documents last year, which were presented on the territory of the country to legalize the status of illegal migrants. For a long time, illegals have been illegally using purchased or otherwise obtained identity documents of citizens of Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Italy, and Slovakia. Such passports were presented primarily by residents of Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, Serbia, Vietnam, Turkey, and Syria. On suspicion of aiding illegal migration in 2018, investigators interrogated 36 people, most often Czech citizens. 26 people were convicted due to criminal conspiracy and sham marriage. A year earlier, 35 people were accused of similar crimes. Two cases of false acknowledgment of paternity and five cases of human smuggling were recorded," said Rendlová.
According to the Czech Foreign Police, the unstable security situation and economic crisis in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Nigeria still pose a danger. This increases the risks associated with illegal transit migration of citizens from these areas. Migrants resort to the help of illegal refugee carriers, who also transport them in trucks, primarily to Germany.