Correspondents of “Radio Azatlyk” in Dashoguz report that age restrictions for imposing a travel ban on Turkmenistan nationals has been raised to 40 years.
According to residents, when they contacted the Migration Office in an attempt to obtain a permit required for obtaining a tourist visa, the officials refused to provide a certificate explaining that a new age restriction of up to 40 y.o. had been introduced by higher-ranking authorities.
When asked for the reasons behind the ban, the residents were informed that there is no able-bodied employment pool left in the velayat.
On 20 April “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” reported that young people under 30 y.o. were prevented from boarding international flights in Ashgabat airport without any reasons.
The next day the official website of Turkmenistan’s Migration Office published an announcement which runs that “no citizen of Turkmenistan can be deprived of the right to enter and exit the country”.
At the same time, the first report published by Turkmenistan’s Ombudsperson highlights that “a black list of residents, temporarily barred from exiting the country” exists in the country.