Moldovan cabinet approves amendments to legislation to facilitate admission, stay of foreign investors in Moldova

Chisinau, 12 September /MOLDPRES/ - The cabinet of ministers, at a today’s meeting, approved amendments to the legislation for the further optimization of the procedures of entrance and stay of foreign investors and immigrant workers in Moldova.   

The draft proposes to introduce legal provisions due to remove difficulties in getting stay permits through optimizing the procedure of getting these permits, as well as systematization of the legal provisions through a single law, so that Moldova eventually becomes a much more attractive state in terms of foreign investments.

Thus, both the representations of the foreign legal entities and private persons carrying out entrepreneurial activity will have right to start the procedure of getting the right to stay on the purpose of labour. At present, these categories of beneficiaries are not provided for as subjects who can submit petitions for getting stay permits on labour purpose for foreign employees.   

Under the draft, private people paying business visits from those 164 member states of the World Trade Organization will also have facility right of provisional stay in Moldova. The term of stay for the professional seller will be extended from 90 days to six months, cumulatively calculated during one year. Applicants will no longer be obliged to immediately inform the competent authority for foreigners about the entrance in the country of the professional seller, provider of contractual services or of independent professional, if they stay during a period of up to 90 days.  

The investors and migrant workers will be able to ask Moldova’s diplomatic missions from abroad for a D-type long-say visa. The term of consideration of the application for the providing of extension of the right to provisional stay on labour purpose will be shortened from 25 to 15 calendar days. The draft clearly enumerates, for each category of migrant worker, the documents due to be submitted to the authority in charge of foreigners and the number of acts needed to be submitted by the beneficiary-applicant will be cut from 10 to 6.    

Also, decision-makers plan to simplify the procedure of employment of seasonal workers at agricultural works and of border workers. The National Employment Agency of Moldova of the Health, Labour and Social Protection Ministry will be excluded from the procedure of approval, coordination and verification of files submitted by foreigners, in order to give migrant workers the right to labour and right to stay.   

The draft law is to be submitted to parliament for consideration.

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor M. Jantovan)