Landed immigrant status in Themiclesia

Landed immigrant status in Themiclesia gives the holder an indefininte right to enter, live, and work in Themiclesia. To become a landed immigrant, the alien needs to obtain an Immigrant Visa from the Foreign Office and a Certificate of Landing from the Border Administration. After obtaining these two documents the alien is legally considered a landed immigrant and is eligible for the Landed Immigrant Identification, an identity document for landed immigrants.

The landed immigrant has effectively the same rights and duties as Themiclesian citizens except the right to vote and stand for office: they are eligible for the National Pension Plan and all social and health benefits and are also required to make contribute to such plans as if they were citizens.

History

Immigration prior to 1881

Prior to 1868, Themiclesia had few border controls, and foreigners may generally enter and live in Themiclesia indefinitely without restrictions on where and for whom they work and live. In the context of the early 19th century, there were barely any rights proper to citizens in the modern sense. Protections from punishment without trial and unjust seizures applied to foreigners as much as Themiclesians, and the right to sue was explicitly provided for foreigners as early as 1691. The political rights—to vote, stand for election, hold civil offices, serve on juries—were regulated at a local level, and most Themiclesian people did not enjoy these rights. Foreigners therefore were on equal footing with most Themiclesians until the early 1900s, when political rights expanded with a more modern sense of citizenship.

Economically, foreigners were not allowed to own land or to inherit a Themiclesian person's property, but the disability to own land and to inherit was overcome routinely by an act of Parliament.

On Jan. 9, 1868, due to the fear of spies from Camia, Themiclesia enacted its first semi-modern nationality law, the Debarrment of Aliens Act, creating the legal categories of "subjects" and "aliens". Aliens under this law were banned from entering Themiclesia without explicit permission from the government, and those who entered after Jan. 10, 1868 were subject to deportation if discovered. Aliens who obtained permission to enter and live in Themiclesia were termed "denizens" (borrowed from Tyrannian law), while those who did not obtain permission were still "aliens". Most denizens were businessmen who required frequent access to Themiclesia, rather than immigrants in the modern sense. Foreigners whose intended stay in Themiclesia was inherently limited, e.g. diplomats, were separately regulated, though this was not a common situation.

In 1871, the Debarrment of Aliens Act was abolished, and once again foreigners could enter, live, and work in Themiclesia without any permission, though the same restrictions on foreigners' economic rights were still present. Children born in Themiclesia to alien parents retroactively became natural subjects in 1872.

Encouraging immigration: 1881 – 1907

In the 1880s, the Themiclsian government began a decades-long effort to colonize the great interior that was deemed wild, though nomadic societies are now understood to have been firmly established there culturally and economically. The government offered free or deeply discounted passage, land, and materials to attract settlers.

To ensure orderly settlement after their arrival, fraud apparently being common, immigrants were required to obtain a visa from a Themiclesian consulate, register at the port of arrival, make payment (if required), and take ownership of their plots of land. These controls were deemed necessary to prevent communicable diseases and the arrival of "unproductive persons". After the immigrant guaranteed they will finish opening their lands in nine years and start paying taxes, the Certificate of Landing was granted, and the alien became a landed immigrant (既內者) on the Immigrant Registry.

It should be noted that during the 1880s there was no legal requirement for aliens to obtain permission to live in Themiclesia. The procedure of landing immigrants was only relevant to those who wished to claim the government subsidy for settlement of the interior. Immigrants who intended to live elsewhere could simply arrive and start working in Themiclesia, until they wished to buy land, when denization would be requisite.

In 1895, the Debarrment of Aliens Act was revived due to a widespread belief that foreigners en route to the interior were somehow responsible for the Cholera epidemic that ravaged through Kien-k'ang in 1894 and killed at least 10,000 people. As an exception to the Debarrment of Aliens Act, in 1897 the Visitor Act allowed the government to grant various types of visas for visitors like academic faculty, students, clergymen, tourists, and businessmen, who would previously have needed denization to enter Themiclesia while the bar on aliens was in force. To obtain these visas, it was generally necessary to obtain an invitation from a relevant authority in Themiclesia.

Though the idea that foreigners caused the Cholera epidemic was soon exposed as nonsense, the 1895 act was retained in the interest of stabilizing the labour market, which was awash with labourers after the epidemic subsided. After 1895, it became necessary for individuals who wished to settle in Themiclesia permanently to become landed immigrants even if they had no intention of colonizing the interior. In general, individuals who voluntarily forewent the government grant still needed to obtain an immigrant visa for passage to Themiclesia but automatically obtained the Certificate of Landing upon landing, upon affirming it was their intention to seek employment.

In 1906, the right to vote was granted to all Themiclesian men over 25 and women over 30. The issue thus became moot whether landed immigrants were "Themiclesian men and women" or not. Eventually it was decided that landed immigrants may become naturalized to Themiclesian nationality two years after obtaining the Certificate of Landing and not any earlier, as it was feared that immigrants concentrating in some constituencies may become an unexpected political force, and a "period of learning" would encourage them to become used to Themiclesian politics.

Limiting immigration: 1907 – 1924

The policy of interior settlement was suspended in 1907 due to faltering government finances caused by an economic depression. However, Themiclesian consulates still issued immigrant visas for settlers on the understanding that the government will not give them benefits for immigration. In 1909, higher standards of mental and physical health, as well as some degree of financial wherewithal or professional skill, were imposed on immigrants seeking passage to Themiclesia. In 1912, quotas for immigrant visas were first established

Mass immigration: 1946 – 1966

At the end of the Pan-Septentrion War in 1946, Themiclesia had experienced a domestic labour shortage due to the fact that a considerable part of the workforce was employed in the armed forces. After a short depression in 1945 – 46, the economy entered a period of rapid expansion that not only soaked up demobilized soldiers but demanded even more workers. As a result immigrant quotas were lifted. The Foreign Office instructed Themiclesian consulates to advertise for immigrants in many countries. Surprisingly the immigrant visas were most in demand in Dayashina, some of whose population felt a great sense of disillusionment with the government.

In 1946, 4,000 immigrant visas were issued in Dayashina; in 1947, 8,500; in 1948, 17,200; in 1949, 35,100 Dayashinese people demanded immigrant visas, creating a great deal of alarm in the Foreign Office, which had not anticipated such a skewed distribution of immigrants. By 1955, over 200,000 Dayashinese people had immigrated to Themiclesia.

During the dying days of the Republic of Menghe in 1963, immigrant visas to Themiclesia came under demand at the Sunju consulate; however, the Government firmly instructed the consulate to withhold immigrant visas to most and instead offer temporary worker visas to the migrants.

See also

• Themiclesia