Moldovan authorities ease employment procedure for Ukrainian refugees

CHISINAU. March 2 (Interfax) - Moldova has simplified the procedure for employing refugees from Ukraine, Economy Minister Sergiu Gaibu said.

"Ukrainian citizens will be exempted for the period of the state of emergency from the need to undergo standard procedures when recruiting foreigners to work in Moldova. Now they will not have to go to the Bureau for Migration and Asylum to get a job. We have received many requests for this from both refugees and economic agents willing to hire them. For the duration of the state of emergency, Ukrainian citizens will be able to go directly to economic agents to enter into individual contracts and get to work," Gaibu told reporters on Tuesday.

The only obligation of the entrepreneur will remain to notify and provide documents (a copy of the employment contract, identification number, which refugees receive when crossing the border, and a copy of the passport) to the Bureau for Migration and Asylum within five days after employment, he said.

The procedure of opening a bank account for refugees has also been made easier, he said.

About 89,000 Ukrainian citizens arrived in the country after hostilities began, Moldovan Government Secretary General Dumitru Udrea said. "From February 24 to March 1, 88,750 Ukrainian citizens entered Moldova. During the same period, 46,984 Ukrainians left the country. Thus, as of the morning of March 1, 41,766 Ukrainian citizens have stayed in Moldova," Udrea said.

As many as 650 Ukrainian citizens applied to the Bureau for Migration and Asylum for assistance, he said.

The Moldovan parliament declared a state of emergency in the country for 60 days due to the tense situation in Ukraine.