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Punjab
migration worries Germany
WSN Network
New Delhi: There is massive immigration
pressure from Punjab and about 5,000 individuals are refused visa
every year on the grounds of forged or improper documentation.
Germany appreciates that a restrictive visa regime does not go hand
in hand with strategic partnership but it has its own compulsions.
It does not want immigrants to come in only to enjoy the social
benefits paid for by a German tax-payer.
Germany will prefer a readmission agreement so that illegals can be
identified and repatriated, India's The Asian Age newspaper reported
quoting diplomatic sources. "Some kind of arrangement would be
helpful, then at least there is a chance to send unwanted people
back," a German diplomatic source said. The German diplomatic
sources referred an arrangement between India and the United
Kingdom, whereby the Indian authorities help the UK in identifying
immigrants, to state that Germany wants to put in place a similar
mechanism with India.
The issue is likely to be discussed during German Chancellor Angela
Merkel’s first visit to India next week. She will visit New Delhi
and Mumbai on her four-day state visit starting from October 29.
Germany joins a chorus of countries seeking a mechanism to regulate
illegal immigration from India. The European Union and Russia have
in the past made similar suggestions to New Delhi.
A sizeable number of illegal immigrants are living in Germany today
who are profiting from the system of social benefits and burdening
the financial liability of the agencies dealing with this system,
the sources explained. They clarified that Germany does not have a
problem if the immigrants conform to rules or are willing to return
to India but unskilled people should not come in only because of the
social benefits that are offered.
"Germany and certain other countries are facing a shortage of
qualified workers like engineers and would really like to attract
intellectual potential so that they can make a contribute to
national innovation and strength," the source added.
According to the sources, immigration and visa are hotly debated
issues in Germany today. "There is a debate raging on," a source
said, before going on to cite the arguments put forth by the pro-
and anti-immigration groups. Trade unions want Germany to exercise
caution in opening up its borders to foreign labour when the
unemployment rate is at nine per cent. Others argue that the more
intellectual potential Germany attracts, the better it will be for
the country.
The International Organisation for Migration has said that India is
among the top three migrant-sending countries. The United Nations
office on drugs and crime, in turn, says that many of the illegal
immigrants hail from Punjab.
7 November, 2007
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