MPs approve Aliens Act change to expedite expulsion of foreign offenders, ease employment

The lower house of Parliament has approved an amendment to the Aliens Act that would make it easier to expel foreigners who have been repeatedly convicted of crimes in the Czech Republic.

The Minister of the Interior, Jan Hamáček (Social Democrats), who drafted the amendment, said it would speed up the expulsion process to at most six months, in part because the Supreme Administrative Court would have at most 90 days to appeal such an order.

Currently, proceedings to revoke a foreign offender’s residence permit can now last over two years, Mr Hamáček said, noting the case of a drug dealer that took six years.

Regarding the employment of foreign nationals, he said the Aliens Act amendment would also allow the government to introduce extraordinary work visas for a limited period of one year, thereby giving the government greatly flexibility to respond to market conditions.

Among other things, the draft would let the Cabinet set quotas for economic migrants or introduce compulsory integration courses for foreign workers.

Author: Brian Kenety