IOM director general William Lacy Swing has called on the Dominican government to extend the registration period for regularizing the migration status of thousands of Haitian migrants under the General Migration Law 285-04. Although the law was issued in 2004, it was not implemented until ordered by Constitutional Ruling 168-13, giving foreigners 18 months to regularize their status.
“Too many of those concerned face serious difficulty in securing documents in the country, and thus need extra time and assistance to make their applications. We appeal to the authorities to continue to work with those subject to the General Migration Law and their employers beyond the Regularization Plan deadline,” Ambassador Swing said. Large-scale deportations must be avoided, he added, as reported by the IOM.
The registration period expired on 17 June 2015. In the final days, thousands of Haitians lined up at the offices to register.
The press release stated: “The IOM remains concerned that many applicants would not be able to complete their paperwork in time to qualify for a chance to remain in the country, many of whom support dependents either in the Dominican Republic or in Haiti, and in some cases, perhaps both.”
The main obstacle to the regularization of the Haitians has been the Haitian government’s failure to provide the documents their citizens need in order to regularize their status in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican regularization plan has been described as the most generous with free regularization provided as well as a minimum documents and proof of residency being required.
Minister of Interior and Police Jose Ramon Fadul described the plan as a success. He said that the procedure that ended at midnight on Wednesday, 17 June had resulted in the registration of 288,466 immigrants of 23 nationalities, of whom only 4,600 had fulfilled the requirements.
Fadul said that the procedure ends in 45 days when the paperwork submitted will be validated.
http://www.iom.int/news/iom-urges-dominican-republic-extend-deadline-migration-status-applications