Scrutiny of labor migrants from Tajikistan is intensified by Kazakhstan

According to Eurasianet, Kazakhstan scrutiny of labor migrants from neighboring Central Asian nations, Tajiks in particular, has been intensified after the late-March Krasnogorsk terrorist tragedy.
As Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service reported on May 7, a security sweep has been carried out across the country by Kazakh police.
A Tajik citizen who has been working in Kazakhstan for six years said that the situation for natives of Tajikistan has worsened: the police carry out raids are deport many people, even those with a temporary residence permit.
A data from a security operation carried out in the central region of Ulytau, during which 16 Tajik and Uzbek nationals were taken into custody for not having required work authorization was revealed by Kazakh police earlier in May.
Eurasianet reports that security inspections in shopping malls, markets and other venues where large crowds congregate have been conducted to ensure they have plans to contend with possible terror attacks. They had inspected 1,800 establishments for security procedures by the end of April and filed 180 administrative cases for regulatory violations.
Substantial numbers of guest workers from neighboring states, especially Uzbekistan, has traditionally been attracted by Kazakhstan, one of Central Asia’s most prosperous countries. International Organization for Migration (IOM) statistics report that almost 725,000 foreign nationals migrated to Kazakhstan between 2020-2023, mainly for work purposes. The majority of migrants during the four-year period was comprised by Uzbeks. The next two largest national groups of migrants were comprised by Russians and Tajiks.
A 2023 academic study, titled Perspectives on Labor Migration: Insights from Kazakhstan, reports that regulatory pace with the influx of guest workers has been kept up by the authorities.
According to the study, pressing challenges are being experienced by Kazakhstan’s labor migration management: a disparity between attracting labor migrants and effectively regulating their flow, a lack of tools to assess regional demand for skilled foreign workers, and inadequate systems to monitor migrant movement and placement.
Other gaps in the country’s labor migration framework, including violations of labor laws by migrants and employers, the employment or hiring of low-skilled foreign citizens without an employment contract, were highlighted by a separate 2023 academic study, Labor Migration: A view from Kazakhstan. The fact that that some guest workers endured “restriction of personal freedom” and “wage discrimination was also noted by the study.
Tajik citizens going to Kazakhstan got a caution to be prepared for heightened security measures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan on May 7.

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