Illegal Migration: Ukraine

Externalities of the EU Immigration and Asylum Policy: The Case of Ukraine

“…On the other hand, socio-political transformations in this post-Soviet country have liberalized its borders for the legal movement of people, and economic crises have pushed some Ukrainians to seek jobs and earnings abroad. Ukraine's long and poorly guarded frontiers 11 (with corrupt officials engaged in the illegal transportation of migrants) and the absence of readmission agreements with neighbouring countries make it a widely-used transit country (Uehling, 2004;Polyakov, 2004;ICMPD, 2005). After the May 2004 enlargement Ukraine's western border has become the eastern frontier of the strictly guarded European Schengen area.…”

“…12 Official statistics and estimates of the numbers of Ukrainian migrants and transit non-Ukrainian migrants vary greatly. Polyakov (2004: 18-19) Polyakov (2004) and Pidluska (2001) refer to government estimates of illegal entrants as high as 35,000 to 50,000 per year. Malynovska (2006), in turn, points out that between 1991 and 2003, Ukrainian border-guards detained about 100,000 illegal migrants trying to cross Ukraine's western border.…”

“…Further, Ukraine has no single government body responsible for all migration-related issues. Rather, migration-related responsibilities are divided among eight executive agencies (Polyakov, 2004). 14 Vachudová (2000) suggests that the EU builds relationships with its southern and eastern neighbours on a basis of "proximity policy" that accounts for their political and strategic importance as trading partners and as European 'buffer zones.'…”

“…Although the situation with immigrants in Ukraine has not yet been thoroughly studied, the issue of immigration is also interpreted by some officials and bureaucrats as a "security concern." Polyakov (2004), for example, emphasizes the criminal nature of transit illegal immigrants and describes them as a significant challenge for Ukraine:…”