Lawmakers passed amendments to several laws relating to migration and asylum at Parliaments an extraordinary session on Monday. The bill was submitted by Interior Minister Sándor Pintér last week and passed with 151 votes in favour and 42 against.
The new legislation will speed up procedures for assessing the claims of asylum-seekers and will allow for economic migrants to be turned back as quickly as possible. Under the amendments, the current two-tier asylum process will be simplified by combining the two phases of investigating the asylum-seeker’s identity into a single step. The proceedings would last until a final decision is made on the request, meaning that the asylum-seeker would be detained during the entire process.
A new regulation allowing asylum-seekers to be questioned at the place of confinement also aims to speed up proceedings. The legislation will also limit the rights for those who have submitted asylum requests multiple times to stay in Hungary while their requests are being processed.
The law on immigration of citizens from third countries was amended by allowing the immigration authority to demand payment equal to the costs of damage caused by the migrants to the state.
Also under the fast-tracked legislation, immigrants arriving from “third countries” would be able to work in public employment. The amendments made in the act provide legal grounds for building a fence on the Serbian border.
