Azerbaijan tightens terms for granting temporary residence permits to foreigners

Azerbaijan tightens the conditions for granting temporary residence permits to foreigners and stateless persons on its territory.

This is reflected in amendments to Azerbaijan’s Migration Code approved by President Ilham Aliyev, Caliber.Az reports.

Foreigners and stateless persons are granted temporary residence permits on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan under Article 45.1.6-1 of the Migration Code if they hold the position of the head or deputy head of a legal entity registered in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the founder or at least one of the founders of which is a foreign legal entity or individual.

In practice, there are instances of this article's provision being abused. Not all foreigners who have established a legal entity intend to engage in entrepreneurial activity; their goal is to obtain a temporary residence permit in the country or travel to third countries using its territory. This change is expected to result in a new approach and improved regulation in this area.

The new version of Article 45.1.6-1 tightens the conditions for issuing a temporary residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan to foreigners and stateless persons residing in the country for at least one year. Thus, the list of persons who have received a temporary residence permit on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, who own state securities or investment securities of legal entities, 51 per cent or more of whose shares belong to the state, is sent by the relevant executive authority within three working days to the National Depository Centre, in the event of a fall in the total nominal value of investment securities, including government securities owned by these persons, below 100,000 manats [$58,844]. The National Depository Centre will provide information about this to the relevant executive authority within three working days after the transfer of manats or the alienation of these securities.