24. Legal status of repatriate

Repatriation is defined most broadly as the process of return to one’s “place of origin.” Sometimes called "migrations of ethnic affinity," repatriation flows are controlled by receiving states which have special provisions for this in their immigration and citizenship policies. In international law, repatriation policy is referred to as the manifestation of a “right of return,” or the right granted to every person to relocate to the country they deem to be their home country, codified in the Universal Declaration of Human rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. There are approximately 40 countries that can be considered to have implemented repatriation legislation or programs. Such countries include Germany, Greece, France, Armenia, Ireland, Poland, Russia, Kazakhstan, Israel, Turkey, and India, among others. Most of the time, these policies apply to the titular ethnic group 2 and encourage the return of emigrants “back” to their “countries of origin. The case of Kazakhstani return migration has been addressed in the works of Natsuko Oka (2013), BibiziyaKenzhebekovnaKalshabaeva and SeisenbayevaAkbotaSenbayevna (2012), Holly Barcus and Cynthia Werner (2010), and IsicKuscuBonnenfant (2012), among others. In theory, after obtaining permanent residency, which one can do through buying property or obtaining permanent registration in one’s place of residence, a resettler can apply for fast-track naturalization and acquire citizenship in less time than other foreign applicants. In practice, acquiring permanent residency proves to be a nearly impossible task for resettlers due to bureaucratic and financial hindrances: it is significantly easier to buy property or obtain a registration at a place of residence if one is a citizen, but for a resettler to obtain citizenship they must own property or be registered at their place of residence.

Since independence, one of the most difficult problems is the problem of the return of Kazakh repatriates, for whatever reason, at different times fled their homeland. One reason for the interest of the state in this issue is to improve the demographic situation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main direction of the state policy in the field of migration in Kazakhstan - a repatriation of ethnic Kazakhs from the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Baltic States and CIS countries. Kazakhs are an integral part of a single Kazakh ethnic group and most of them have a high level of national consciousness. Practice shows that many foreign Kazakhs, especially those living in China, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, have extensive experience in agriculture. Accordingly, repatriated Kazakhs will be a great help in the development of agriculture in Kazakhstan with their many years of experience in the field and under similar climatic conditions. One can not fail to take into account the mentality of Kazakhs. Foreign Kazakhs have kept the Kazakh language, which is important for the development of the Kazakh language in Kazakhstan. However, the process of adaptation of Kazakh returnees in Kazakh society is constrained by negative factors. This lack of knowledge of the Russian language, lack of skills, lack of education, ignorance of the law, psychology, mentality and culture of the local population. Kazakh repatriates can theoretically apply to repatriate to any province of Kazakhstan, but their settlement is regulated by regional quotas which are determined on an annual basis by a Presidential decree and reflect population, economic and budgetary considerations specific to each region of the country. Applicants who were rejected by regional committees can either reapply the following year or choose to move as regular immigrants, thus foregoing some of the benefits repatriates who arrive within the quota can receive. When Kazakhstan celebrated the 20th anniversary of its independence the number of returned Kazakhs from near and far abroad was estimated as about one million who settled in their “historic” homeland - the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the data found out in the expert report of the Commission on Human Rights under the President of Kazakhstan on repatriates, refugees and stateless persons in Kazakhstan issued in June 2012: “From 1991 to October 1, 2011 221, 3 thousand families or 860, 4 thousand ethnic Kazakhs have returned to their historic homeland. There are 127, 7 thousand families were resettled on migration quotas, and 94, 2 thousands independently without quotas”. Today the returned compatriots represent 10 % out of the Kazakhstan population. The first piece of legislation directly regulating the legal status of migrants was the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Immigration", dated 26 June 1992, which at that time was the legal basis for the regulation and organization-oriented software migration to the republic of ethnic Kazakhs. Law of the Republic of on Population Migration was entered into force in 13 December, 1997. It contents 7 chapters and 41articles. The non-material help and privileges from the state repatriate

According to the Law on Population shift repatriate certain privileges, compensations and other types of the public assistance are provided:

1)  free adaptation and integration services in the adaptation and integration centers repatriate which include:

• provision of information and help services;

• training in a state language, at will - to Russian;

• carrying out training courses on history, culture and traditions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, bases of the legislation and opening of small business;

• carrying out various cultural actions;

• rendering a legal assistance;

• provision of services on transfer;

• help in employment, professional training, retraining and advanced training;

• assistance in providing the guaranteed amount of free medical care;

• assistance in receipt of the government address public assistance;

• assistance in questions of acquisition of the Kazakhstan nationality and documentation;

2) medical care according to the Republic of Kazakhstan legislation in the field of health care;

3) in places at schools and the preschool organizations on an equal basis with citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, possibility of education according to an allocated quota on receipt in the educational organizations technical and professional, after secondary and higher education in the quantity determined by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

4) social protection on an equal basis with citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

5) assistance in employment according to the Republic of Kazakhstan legislation

The main problem is that citizens and oralmans can’t find common language and oralman group getting close to each other don’t communicate a lot with local citizens.