Schengen entry sees rise in immigration system abuse

The Czech Republic’s entry into the Schengen border-free zone has accelerated immigration abuse, according to the head of the Czech Foreigner’s Police Vladislav Husák. The Czech Republic joined Schengen at the end of 2007, effectively ending border checks. According to figures cited by Mr Husák, around 3400 illegal immigrants had been discovered in the country between January and November 2008. Further, the police of other EU nations had handed over 300 more migrants that in 2007 to the Czech authorities because of expired Czech visas. Czech authorities also increasingly view the Czech Republic as a target destination for illegal migrants, as opposed to just a “gateway” or transit point into the European Union. Ukrainians form the largest group of legal immigrants, with numbers around 132,000 – 1428 Ukrainians have been revealed to be staying illegally in the country in recent months. On the upside, the Czech Foreigner’s Police has announced that fears of a rise in crime in connection with the country’s Schengen entry have proven to be largely unfounded.