Turkmenistan Implements Travel Monitoring and Restrictions for Former Officials and Students
Turkmenistan’s government has launched a program to monitor former law enforcement officials and restrict their travel abroad. The Ministry of Justice is collecting data on retired officers, while students enrolling in universities must surrender their passports. These measures reflect the government’s attempts to prevent emigration and monitor its citizens more closely.
Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Justice has initiated a program to gather data on former law enforcement officials to monitor those who have left the country. This action reflects the government’s ongoing efforts to regulate and limit citizens’ travel capabilities.
Since February 2025, the Ministry of Justice has been compiling information on retired officers with rankings of major or higher, who served from 1991 to 2024. In coordination with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of National Security, the Migration Service, and the Prosecutor’s Office, they aim to identify retired personnel who have relocated overseas by the end of April.
Several theories regarding this initiative’s motives have surfaced. One theory suggests that inspections have revealed former officers settling abroad, while another links the actions to the recent controversy with Rustam Inoyatov, the former head of Uzbekistan’s National Security Service, who obtained Vanuatu citizenship.
In a focused effort, the authorities are particularly scrutinizing those who were professionally associated with Inoyatov. Retired officers must now provide reports detailing their current living situations. Relatives of deceased officers are also required to present documentation related to the individual, including death certificates and burial locations.
New directives dictate that retired law enforcement personnel may leave the country solely for medical reasons, which necessitates authorization from the Ministry of Health. This is part of a broader trend in increasing restrictions on travel.
Earlier, reports from September 2024 indicated that public sector employees were being forced to surrender biometric passports or provide verification of non-ownership. Observers suggest these tight restrictions correlate with rising emigration as citizens seek employment or residency abroad and the involvement of some in military efforts in Ukraine.
Furthermore, travel restrictions extend to students, with reports indicating that new entrants into Turkmen universities since the fall of 2024 must surrender their passports. Non-compliance can result in rejection from admission.
This policy has reportedly been in effect for two years, with passports being retained by university faculty during the students’ tenure. While officials have not clarified these measures, the intent seems to be to deter large-scale youth migration, escalating from earlier regulations that only required receipt acknowledgments.
In summary, Turkmenistan has intensified its monitoring and restrictions on the ability of former law enforcers and students to travel abroad. Initiatives are being undertaken to track retired officers who relocate internationally and to impose passport surrender policies on students enrolling in universities. Such measures are believed to be a response to increasing emigration rates as citizens seek better opportunities abroad.
Original Source: timesca.com
