Azerbaijan: The procedures for obtaining passports, whether there are restrictions on the issuance of passports to political opponents of the government and, if so, whether the restrictions have been circumvented by the bribing of government officials (January 1999 - April 2001)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 3 April 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | AZE36761.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Azerbaijan: The procedures for obtaining passports, whether there are restrictions on the issuance of passports to political opponents of the government and, if so, whether the restrictions have been circumvented by the bribing of government officials (January 1999 - April 2001) , 3 April 2001, AZE36761.E , available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be0f4.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The 14 June 1994 "Law of the Azerbaijan Republic: About Exit from the Country, Entry into the Country, and about Passports," which is posted on the University of Bremen Website and attached to this Response, is the law that "determines the rules of issuing passports to the citizens" and contains clauses on the application for passports, the examination of application for passports, and the reasons for which Azerbaijani citizens may be temporarily preventing from leaving the country.
For information on whether a police check is conducted before an international passport is issued, please consult AZE36136.E of 28 February 2001. No additional information on the procedures for obtaining passports in Azerbaijan, nor on whether there are restrictions on the issuance of passports to political opponents of the government, could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, a 23 June 1999 Turan article refers to the government rejection of passport photos, although without a reference to the political allegiance of the holders of the photos:
The Nasimi [district] court [of Baku] today ruled in favour of a case brought by nine women with Azerbaijani citizenship. The women had filed a suit over the refusal of the Visas and Registration Department [VRD] of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to accept their passport photos which they had taken with their heads covered. The VRD cited legal reasons for their decision. Although the prosecution had advocated ruling against the women the court took the opposite decision. Following today's court decision, further cases are expected to be brought. Lawyers believe this issue should be settled through legislative measures to rule out such misunderstandings in future.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
LexinfoSys: Information System on Legal Development in Transition States [Bremen, Germany]. "Law of the Azerbaijan Republic: About Exit from the Country, Entry into the Country, and about Passports."
Turan [Baku, in Russian]. 23 June 1999. "Women Win Passport Suit." (FBIS-SOV-1999-0630 23 June 1999/WNC)
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB databases
Internet sites including:
Armenia Assembly of America
Azerbaijan on the Internet
Caspian Crossroads
Eurasianet.org
Government on the WWW: Azerbaijan: Ministry of Internal Affairs
Hokkaido University Slavic Research Centre
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
MINELRES
Political Resources on the Net - Azerbaijan: Parties and Organizations
Transparency International
World News Connection