An increasing number of refugees prefer to stay and live in Belarus

December 13, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. An increasing number of foreigners granted refugee status prefer to stay in Belarus. Belarus is transforming from a transit country into a country of residence, stated Natalia Sokolovskaya, chief specialist of the Department for Citizenship and Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus, at a roundtable meeting "Integration of Refugees in the Republic of Belarus: Employment and Social Protection Issues," as reported by a BELTA correspondent. If by 2005, out of 700 individuals granted refugee status since 1997, 300 remained in Belarus, then in 2010, out of over 800 refugees (since 1997. - BELTA note), 600 chose Belarus as their country of residence. According to the department, since 1997, over 3.5 thousand people have applied for refugee status recognition, and 819 have been granted refugee status. During this period, 117 people lost their status due to obtaining citizenship of the Republic of Belarus. "Obtaining citizenship is a legal stage of refugee integration into society," emphasized Natalia Sokolovskaya. A significant portion of applications for refugee status recognition comes from citizens of Afghanistan - about 60%, approximately 11% are from citizens of Georgia, followed by citizens of Tajikistan. Among those who wish to obtain refugee status in Belarus, citizens of Russia and Ukraine have recently appeared. They account for 3% and 2% of applications, respectively. Currently, there are over 500 recognized refugees in Belarus. The largest number of such citizens are in Minsk and the Minsk region - 433 people, in the Gomel region - 66, Mogilev region - 35, Vitebsk region - 25, Grodno region - 14, Brest region - 9. -0-