Immigration and citizenship in Velikoslavia

The Hellenic Empire has strict citizenship and immigration policies owing to its strict border protection policies put into place in 1980 after the rebellion of Almadis from the Empire. At the behest of Markos I, the Grand Synod of the Tarsas set forth a new immigration bill called the Diasynoriakís Prostasías, which was released later that year. The code was later updated under Markos II in 1985 to include a comprehensive list of categories for potential immigrants and tightened up quotas on who is allowed.

Hellenic Citizenship has been a concept since the earliest days of the state under Arga I, who built upon the concept that was introduced by Latium during Latin rule of Tarsas. Hellenic society has distinct privileges for those who gain citizenship and there are only a few ways to gain citizenship. It has become harder and harder to live as a non citizen in the Hellenic empire in recent years with the introduction of tighter citizenship laws. The tighter laws have reduced incoming immigrants significantly.

Immigration Regulations

Immigration and customs in Tarsas is managed by the Grafeío Teloneiakís Metanástefsis, or Customs and Immigration Office. The GTM is the largest subdivision of the Ypourgeío Esoterikón, or Interior Ministry. It is responsible for management of all airports, international railway terminals, ports, and border checkpoints. The GTM has sweeping judicial authority to detain anyone they find suspicious around the direct border regions of the nation. Within the interior, the GTM may request a warrant from a local lord or judge and search a premises for illegal aliens. A GTM officer also has the authority to stop a foreigner on the street and ask for identification should he so desire, though this rarely happens anywhere outside of the border regions where most of the GTM's personnel are located. All Hellenic border entry points are militarized by GTM personnel.

Tarsas allows immigration from most countries though several nations are on an immigration blacklist, such as Marad and Rietumimark. Several key trading partners enjoy reduced immigration restrictions, such as Yisrael and Latium.

Peerage Exception Permit

A Peerage Exception Permit is the highest immigration permit awarded in the nation. The short list of requirements are to not be from a blacklist nation and to have a valid form of identification or a letter from a valid authority denoting the requester as one of noble birth. Those who are awarded these permits are granted permission to stay within the borders of the Tarsan Empire for an indefinite period of time. This provision was created to allow for foreign nobility to visit friends and relatives within the Tarsan Empire easily due to the various foreign marriages between noble families. Though the bearer of the permit isn't awarded all of the privileges of a citizen, they are granted the privileges of their station and can easily apply for citizenship, should they meet criteria. Because of the nature of these documents, fabricated PE Permits have been known to appear on the black market.

Peer Sponsorship Permit

Another highly sought after permit is the Peer Sponsorship Permit, where a title holder of the nobility of the Tarsan Empire can sponsor an applicant and fast track them through the immigration process. Sponsorship permits require a payment of 5,000 harkans from the sponsor and they also must show that the candidate will be given assistance in finding a place to live and work. Exceptions can be made should the lord provide income for the sponsored, though this rarely arises. In the event of the sponsored candidate committing a crime, the sponsor is held partially responsible and required to pay a significant fine.

Church Sponsorship Permit

Similar to a Peer Sponsorship, a Church Sponsorship is issued for those who live and work in Tarsas for the Tarsan Orthodox Church. All Church Sponsorship Permits must be issued by a Municipal Bishop or higher, who must provide proof of income and employment for the applicant. An exception to this rule is a Patriarch Sponsorship Permit, which is a sub-class of this permit. The Ecumenical Patriarch's sponsorship bypasses the income and employment requirements. As with the PSP, the sponsor is held partially responsible in the event of a sponsored committing a crime.

Class A Permit

Class A permits for full immigration and are only awarded to 50,000 people per year and have an extensive list of requirements to obtain. A university degree at an accredited facility is required and a diploma demonstrating completion of the program must be shown. A contribution of at least 6,000 harkans must be made in order to apply for the permit. The applicant cannot have a criminal background and must not be from a country on the blacklist. All those who apply need to be fluent in Hellenic.

Most applicants are required to show some form of employment within the nation at the time of application. Some exceptions are made for those with desirable professional skillsets, such as engineers and doctors. Class A permits permit an accepted applicant to live and work at these jobs on a permanent basis and apply for citizenship provided they fulfill citizenship criteria upon application. Those who cannot pass a basic physical and do not possess proper immunizations may not apply. The strict criteria are reduced for applicants from favorable nations and blacklist nationals cannot apply.

Class B

The class B permit is strictly for temporary visitors for business or pleasure. These are the most common permits issued to those who travel to Tarsas. They may be granted in either B1 form (business) or B2 form (pleasure). B permits have adjusted refusal rates where the number of applicants from a specific country will increase the rate in which applicants are refused. The permits are also set to expire at different times based on the holder's nationality. Permits issued to those from Vannois are valid for a longer period of time than permits issued to those from Mutul, for example.

Class C

A class C permit is strictly issued to those who are travelling through the Hellenic Empire to another nation. These are only required if the mode of transit stops within Hellenic borders, such as if a train stops at a station or an aircraft lands and the passengers disembark, with the exception of emergency situations. Sub type permits are also issued to diplomats. A C2 permit is issued to those travelling into and out of the country. This includes commercial airline pilots and flight attendants, captain, engineer, or deckhand of a sea vessel, service staff on a cruise ship and trainees on board a training vessel.

Class D

Treaty Trader (D1) and Treaty Investor (D2) visas are issued to citizens of countries that have signed treaties of commerce and navigation with the Hellenic Empire. They are issued to individuals working in businesses engaged in substantial international trade or to investors (and their employees) who have made a 'substantial investment' in a business.

Class E

Permit for those seeking education at accredited Tarsan educational facilities. These are some of the most commonly issued and easy to acquire permits. They severely limit what employment the permit holder can obtain and do not allow the acquisition of domestic credit or loans. The permit is good for the duration of the student's education and requires a 2.5 GPA to be permitted to stay in the country. If the GPA of the student falls below 2.5, a one semester grace period to bring it back up is provided. The student must depart within 30 days of the last day of the grace period semester if the GPA is not brought up. All Class E permits are managed by the Education Ministry.