Most of the foreigners caught in the first 11 months of this year trying to illegally leave the country through Arad County had come to Romania to get a job, so their right of residence was revoked and they were returned to their countries of origin, with a ban on returning for up to five years.
Representatives of the Arad Accommodation Centre for Foreigners Taken into Public Custody, a structure of the General Inspectorate for Immigration, told a press conference on Wednesday that approximately 600 foreigners were taken into custody in the first 11 months of the year, most of them being from Bangladesh (118), Nepal (115), Sri Lanka (100) and Pakistan (73), the others being from other states, such as Ethiopia, India, Egypt, Vietnam, Morocco or Syria.
"The checks carried out by the immigration police revealed that most of the foreigners entered Romania legally, for the purpose of employment, and were later detected in an attempt to fraudulently cross the state border. In this context, their right of residence was revoked, and decisions of return under escort were issued in the names of the foreigners. Also, until the formalities of removal from the territory of Romania were completed, they were placed in the public custody centre," said Chief Police Commissioner Pitea Filimon, the head of the centre.
In all cases in which the foreigners were taken into public custody, upon leaving the country, a measure was ordered prohibiting their entry into the territory of the European Union, the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation, for periods ranging from 6 months to 5 years.
Also in the first 11 months, 676 foreigners were removed from the centre, with a view to their removal from the territory of Romania.
Currently, 43 foreign citizens are accommodated in the Arad Public Custody Accommodation Centre, with a occupancy rate of 27%.