Moldovan foreign and European ministry's assistance for Moldova's citizens from abroad

Chisinau, 18 March /MOLDPRES/ - The pandemic with Coronavirus (COVID-19) has triggered a crisis in the social and economic systems from many states. At the same time, more countries declared emergency situations, closing the borders for the travels of foreign citizens, in order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 infection, the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry’s (MAEIE) press service has reported.   

In these conditions, the MAEIE’s priority is to inform and provide assistance to Moldova’s citizens from abroad. The ministry undertakes all possible actions to help the Moldovan citizens at risk abroad, in order to identify solutions, with priority for the emergency and humanitarian cases, including by facilitating their return to Moldova.  

Thus, MAEIE and Moldova’s diplomatic and consular offices made official petitions to more states, by providing needed assistance and facilitating the travels of the citizens blocked at borders, including: 83 citizens in Austria, 191citizens in Ukraine, 37 trucks in Slovenia, three citizens evacuated from China, three citizens evacuated from the cruise ship from Japan, hundreds of citizens who transited Romania, etc.      

A crisis cell works at the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry, which coordinates the actions of the diplomatic missions and consular offices, in order to assist the Moldovan citizens from abroad, on this difficult period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and more and more restrictive measures of travel in many states.  

MAEIE will further take sustained measures, in order to assist Moldova’s citizens from abroad. We rely on the understanding by the citizens of the quite difficult present situation, as well as of the unordinary circumstances in which the state’s authorities work.    

The Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry reiterates the call to Moldova’s citizens from abroad to avoid travels as much as possible, especially in the regions hit by the spread of the COVID-19 infection and attracts the attention to the fact that many states apply restrictive measures of travel, characterized by the ban of the access of entry and exit from/to certain regions, as well as the closing of some border crossing points or establishing a compulsory quarantine period.  

This fact might result in the blocking of citizens in certain states and, respectively, might generate the exceeding of the limit of 90 days of stray in the Schengen area states, which is considered an infringement of the regime of stay and is liable to administrative responsibility. Therefore, in order to avoid situations of blockage outside Moldova and consequences of infringing the regime of stay in other states, we reiterate the appeal to Moldova’s citizens to avoid travels to regions hit by COVID-19 and if they cannot be avoided, to familiarize themselves about the measures instructed by the authorities of the transit/destination states, in the context of the limiting of the spread of the COVID-19 infection.    

The ministry recommends that the Moldovan citizens who are in difficult situations and/or need consular assistance abroad, contact the embassies and consulates of Moldova in the concerned country or call the MAEIE Call Centre, phone +373 22 788722 (https://mfa.gov.md/ro/content/centrul-de-apel).

Information and updated information on the alert of travels as to the conditions of entry and transit from the accreditation states can be found on the webpages and Facebook profiles of Moldova’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Diplomatic Missions and Consular Offices.