Migration - The Times Of Central Asia

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Labor migrants

Turkmen Migrants Face Deportations as Russia Escalates Crackdown

Russian authorities are intensifying their deportation of foreign nationals under a sweeping crackdown on irregular migration, with Turkmen citizens increasingly targeted, according to Turkmen News. Deportation Without Trial Under new rules introduced in February 2025, Russian police and migration officials can summarily expel foreign nationals without awaiting court decisions. The measures coincide with a significant uptick in Turkmen migration: nearly 90,000 Turkmen citizens entered Russia in 2023, triple the number recorded in 2022. Now, reports of deportations are mounting. In July alone, media outlets across several Russian regions reported hundreds of foreigners, many of them from Turkmenistan, being forcibly removed. Key figures include: Astrakhan Region: 200 people Nizhny Novgorod Region: 518 people Republic of Dagestan: 260 people Stavropol Krai: 127 people Raids have also been carried out in other areas, though officials often refrain from disclosing detainees’ nationalities. For example, in early July, Moscow police raided hostels and prayer houses, detaining over 500 foreigners. More than 30 were later expelled for immigration violations, according to Kommersant. A recent case in Saratov Region highlighted the situation. On July 30, the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) announced the deportation of three Turkmen citizens for violating migration laws. Among them: a 27-year-old former student who overstayed his registration in Kazan, a 55-year-old man whose legal stay had expired in 2024, and a 47-year-old businessman who failed to obtain a work permit. All three cited lack of funds to return home. They were escorted to a Moscow-area airport and deported, receiving five-year re-entry bans. According to Turkmen News, they will also be placed on a "no-exit" list upon return, barring them from leaving Turkmenistan in the near future. Tougher Migration Regulations Millions of Central Asians live and work in Russia, forming the backbone of the country's migrant labor force. Official figures indicate that nearly 4 million citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan currently reside in Russia. An additional 670,000 foreigners are believed to be in the country without legal status. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan account for the largest share of migrant laborers. In 2023, over one million Tajik citizens entered Russia for work. However, the overall number of Central Asian migrants has been declining, driven by tighter restrictions, growing xenophobia, and fears of forced conscription. In 2024 alone, Russian authorities expelled around 15In 2025, Moscow introduced a new set of migration regulations aimed at curbing irregular migration. These measures authorize law enforcement to carry out deportations without judicial review, establish a centralized registry of undocumented foreigners, and set a deadline of September 10, 2025, for migrants to legalize their status. Those who fail to comply will face deportation and multi-year bans on re-entry. These efforts build on previous policies, including mandatory fingerprinting and photographing of all incoming migrant workers, reducing visa-free stays from 180 days to 90, and expanding the list of deportable offenses. The crackdown intensified following the March 2024 terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, which was allegedly carried out by suspects of Central Asian origin. The incident sparked a...

Migration

Kyrgyzstan Launches “Mekenim 1+1” Program to Support Returning Migrants

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration has launched a new pilot initiative, Mekenim 1+1 (“My Homeland 1+1”), aimed at helping returning labor migrants reintegrate into the national economy by co-investing in local business ventures. The program introduces a matching investment model: for every som invested by a returning migrant, the state will provide a concessional loan of equal value. The combined funds must be used to start businesses in priority sectors including light industry, tourism, education, IT and innovation, manufacturing and processing, transport, warehousing, and logistics. The pilot phase will run from 2025 to 2026 in the Batken region, a remote area with high levels of labor migration. If successful, the program will be scaled up nationwide. Russia remains the primary destination for Kyrgyz labor migrants. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, approximately 600,000 Kyrgyz citizens currently live abroad, with nearly 380,000 registered with Russian migration authorities as of the end of 2024. However, Russia’s ongoing economic challenges, restrictive immigration policies, and rising anti-immigrant sentiment are prompting many Kyrgyz migrants to explore alternatives in countries such as Turkey, South Korea, and various parts of Europe. At the same time, a growing number are returning to Kyrgyzstan, making reintegration efforts like Mekenim 1+1 increasingly timely and significant.

Afghan Refugees

Tajikistan Escalates Deportations of Afghan Refugees Amid Growing Concerns

Afghans who fled to Tajikistan are keeping a low profile lately. Tajik authorities have started the latest wave of deportations, and this one looks to be bigger than the previous sweeps. “You Have 15 Days” At the beginning of July, Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers in Tajikistan received an SMS warning them to leave the country within 15 days or else they would be forcibly deported. Tajikistan’s government has not commented on these messages, but the detention of Afghans started not long after the messages were sent. So far, the only two places mentioned where Afghans were being apprehended were the Rudaki district outside of Dushanbe and the town of Vahdat, 26 kilometers from Dushanbe. Hundreds of Afghan refugees are known to be living in these two areas. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi, reported that journalists who went to the houses of Afghan refugees in Vahdat were stopped and turned away by men in military uniforms outside the homes. Some Afghan refugees in Vahdat spoke with Ozodi under the condition of anonymity and said that on July 15, several vans arrived and took away “dozens” of Afghan men, women, and children. One said Afghan refugees are staying inside their homes, fearing that if they go out, they will be detained and deported. Police “take the documents from Afghans and set a date for them to leave the country,” the refugee said, “For more than 20 days we have practically not stepped outside at all.” Local Tajiks confirmed that Afghans were being taken away and that many of those who remained were searching for new places to live to avoid being apprehended. The Tajik authorities did not say anything about the deportations until July 19, when the state news agency Khovar posted a text from the Press Center of the Border Troops of the State Committee for National Security. The statement said some “foreign citizens” had entered Tajikistan illegally, and a “certain number” of them engaged in illegal activities such as “narcotics trafficking, [spreading] the ideas of extremist movements,” or providing false information or documents to acquire refugee status. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that as of the end of 2024, there were 9,902 Afghan refugees registered in Tajikistan. However, Afghans have been fleeing their homeland and coming to Tajikistan for many years, and some estimates for the number of Afghans in Tajikistan run as high as 13,000. Something else which remains unclear about the Afghan refugees in Tajikistan is how many are ethnic Tajiks. Ostensibly, most of them could be since the ethnic Tajik population of Afghanistan is mainly found in areas adjacent to Tajikistan. Many who came to Tajikistan 10 or 15 years ago have assimilated and are likely not refugees or asylum seekers, but may not have obtained Tajik citizenship. It is unclear how many Afghan citizens have been detained and deported since the start of July, but they are just the latest to be sent back to...

Migration

Kazakhstan Deports 10,000 Foreigners Amid Crackdown on Migration Violations

Nearly 10,000 foreign citizens have been deported from Kazakhstan since the beginning of 2025, according to First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Baurzhan Alenov. The announcement was made during a recent government meeting addressing migration trends and enforcement measures. Alenov noted a consistent rise in the number of foreign arrivals to the country. In the first half of 2025 alone, more than 7.5 million people entered Kazakhstan, while 7.2 million departed, a net increase of 600,000 compared to the same period in 2024. Approximately 90% of those arriving are citizens of post-Soviet states. “It is important to note that 97% of foreign citizens comply with migration laws. However, more than 200,000 individuals have faced administrative penalties,” Alenov stated. “Of these, 46,000 were fined for violating residency rules, and nearly 10,000 have been deported with a five-year ban on re-entry.” In addition, over 2,000 employers were fined for the illegal employment of foreign workers. Seven criminal cases have been opened against repeat offenders. Migration Patterns and Permanent Residency As of mid-2025, approximately 212,000 foreign nationals reside in Kazakhstan on a permanent basis. The largest concentration is in Almaty (42,000), followed by the Almaty region (32,000), and both Astana and the Karaganda region (17,000 each). Over the past three years, the number of permanent foreign residents has risen by 42%. Kazakhstan also hosts around 430,000 temporary foreign residents. Of these, 360,000 are labor migrants, 17,000 arrived for family reunification, 8,000 for educational purposes, and 44,000 for tourism or private matters. Government Response and New Initiatives Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov emphasized the need for stricter enforcement of migration laws. He highlighted that over 7,000 violations were detected in May alone during nationwide operations. “Such incidents must be addressed promptly. We need to actively implement digital tools. The introduction of migrant ID cards, issued at border entry points, must be accelerated to improve monitoring and regulation,” Bektenov said. He instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to tighten administrative oversight and called on the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection to enhance regulation of private agencies involved in sending Kazakh citizens abroad for work. “These agencies currently operate without accountability or oversight. By year’s end, legislative amendments must be proposed to require licensing of such activities. Additionally, I instruct the Ministry of Labor to submit a draft Concept of Migration and Demographic Policy by October 1. This document should align with the Concept of Regional Policy being developed through 2030,” Bektenov concluded. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, the majority of foreign labor migrants in Kazakhstan in 2025 have come from China, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and India, working primarily in the construction sector.

Migration

Kyrgyzstan Expands Labor Cooperation with Japan to Promote Safe Migration

Kyrgyzstan is strengthening labor migration ties with Japan as part of a broader strategy to diversify employment opportunities for its citizens abroad. The Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration is working to establish safe, legal, and skills-based pathways for Kyrgyz workers to access the Japanese labor market, in line with international labor standards and Japan’s workforce demands. On July 2, officials from the Ministry’s Center for Employment of Citizens Abroad met in Bishkek with representatives from the Japan Association for Construction Human Resources (JAC), an organization that facilitates the recruitment of specified skilled workers in Japan’s construction sector. The two sides discussed plans to create a specialized training center in Kyrgyzstan to prepare construction professionals according to Japanese industry standards. They also agreed to develop free Japanese language courses to enhance the employability of Kyrgyz job seekers. In May, Kyrgyz Minister of Labor Ravshanbek Sabirov held talks with Hitoshi Kanamori, President of IM Japan, the largest Japanese organization overseeing the technical intern training program. The discussions focused on expanding structured employment pathways for Kyrgyz nationals in Japan. The Kyrgyz side reiterated its commitment to training workers in fields currently in high demand in Japan, including IT, social services, hospitality, and skilled trades such as welding. Both parties stressed the importance of integrating vocational training with Japanese language instruction. Minister Sabirov also emphasized the need to ensure labor protections for Kyrgyz citizens working abroad. “It is important that Kyrgyz specialists not only secure employment but also have access to social insurance, legal protection, and consistent communication with Kyrgyz government bodies,” he said. While Russia remains the primary destination for Kyrgyz labor migrants, recent years have seen growing interest in alternative destinations such as Turkey, South Korea, Japan, and parts of Europe.

Eurasian Economic Union

At EAEU Forum, Kyrgyzstan Calls for Integration in Trade, Logistics, and Migration

At the 4th Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, marking the 10th anniversary of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Kyrgyzstan highlighted ongoing internal barriers that continue to hinder its development. Chief among them are trade delays, logistical bottlenecks, and persistent challenges in labor migration. Deputy Minister of Economy Sultan Akhmatov reaffirmed Kyrgyzstan’s commitment to Eurasian integration and strengthening economic ties with other EAEU member states. According to the ministry’s press office, Akhmatov emphasized the need for deeper investment cooperation and expressed confidence that enhanced integration would bolster regional stability and mutual economic growth. He also advocated for expanded academic exchanges, the development of digital and vocational education, and the creation of joint research platforms across the EAEU. Yet, alongside these ambitions, Akhmatov pointed to systemic obstacles. He urged the removal of trade and customs barriers that burden importers and exporters at border checkpoints. He also emphasized the importance of mutual recognition of quality certifications and ensuring labor mobility within the Union. Labor Migration: An Economic Lifeline Labor migration remains a crucial pillar of Kyrgyzstan’s economy. In 2024, remittances from Kyrgyz migrants, most of whom live and work in Russia, reached $3 billion, equivalent to 24% of national GDP. This figure nearly matches the country’s total exports of $3.8 billion during the same period. However, the number of Kyrgyz labor migrants in Russia has been steadily declining. First Deputy Prime Minister Daniyar Amangeldiev attributed this trend to both domestic economic improvements and new restrictions introduced by Russian authorities, including changes to migration law. As of 2024, foreign workers in Russia are required to sign one-year contracts with employers, a condition that has created legal uncertainty and discouraged long-term employment. “I Left Moscow Because the Rules Changed” Aziret Abdiev, a Kyrgyz welder who worked in Moscow for nearly a decade, shared his reasons for leaving: “I didn’t leave because I disliked the work. I spoke fluent Russian, had a steady job, and was valued for my skills. But over the past year, the pressure increased, inspections, bureaucracy, hostility. It became clear I couldn’t continue. Now I’ve applied for a Schengen visa and will be heading to Lithuania to work in a metal factory.” Expert Opinion: Migration as a Core Integration Priority Kyrgyz experts argue that labor migration is central to the country’s national interest. Raising the issue at the Minsk forum, they contend, was both pragmatic and necessary. “For Kyrgyzstan, labor migration is more than an economic category. It is a matter of social stability, foreign currency inflows, and the future of entire generations,” political analyst Bakyt Baketaev told The Times of Central Asia. According to official statistics, up to one million Kyrgyz citizens work abroad, primarily in EAEU member states. This makes mutual recognition of qualifications, access to social protections and healthcare, and the safeguarding of migrant rights critical priorities for Kyrgyz policymakers. Baketaev believes progress is possible, if Kyrgyzstan acts consistently and professionally while building coalitions within the EAEU. He notes that other member states face similar challenges: “There is room...