Disputes With Immigration Authorities
A
significant
part
of
current
P&I
Correspondent
activities
amounts
to
administrative
cases
including
disputes
with
Immigration
Authorities.
In
Ukraine,
administrative
cases
are
subject
to
several
laws:
the
Code
of
Administrative
Transgressions,
the
Customs
Code,
and
the
Immigration
Regulations,
to
name
a
few.
Under
the
Law,
administrative
matters
should
be
finally
settled
by
a
local
court.
A
Master
can
represent
Shipowners
in
the
court
together
with
a
local
lawyer
for
administrative
cases.
He
is
also
entitled
to
authorize
a
local
lawyer
to
represent
Shipowners
with
a
special
power
of
attorney.
Despite
a
relatively
small
amount
of
administrative
fine,
the
cases
may
entail
severe
sanctions
like
detention/administrative
arrest
with
consequent
deportation
of
crewmembers
without
valid
identifying
documents;
ship’s
detention/delayed
sailing
from
the
port,
etc.
Case
study
During
the
vessel
inspection,
immigration
authorities
have
found
that
the
Chief
Engineer
had
two
passports:
Russian
and
Ukrainian.
Both
of
them
were
legally
valid.
Double
citizenship
is
prohibited
in
Ukraine.
The
Chief
Engineer
was
a
resident
of
Sevastopol,
Crimea,
and
obtained
his
Russian
passport
after
the
annexation
of
Crimea
in
2014.
However,
he
kept
the
Ukrainian
passport
as
well.
Immigration
authorities
drafted
a
protocol
on
infringement
of
immigration
rules;
both
passports
and
a
seaman’s
book
were
seized.
All
materials
of
the
case
have
been
passed
to
the
local
court
together
with
both
passports
and
the
seaman’s
book.
Upon
Club’s/Shipowners’
request
we
discussed
the
case
with
the
Master,
agent,
and
the
Chief
Engineer
before
the
hearings.
As
a
result,
the
Chief
Engineer
was
well
prepared
for
the
hearings.
We
attended
court
hearings,
provided legal assistance, provided our explanations to the judge, and convinced the judge to return the passports and the seaman’s book.
P&I Correspondents’ recommendations
• Contact P&I Correspondents asap to avoid further complications
• Correspondent shall communicate with the ship’s agent and the Master, and get all necessary information about the case
• Collect all pieces of evidence, a crew list, protocol, and other documents
• Send regular updates to the Club / Shipowners and inform immigration authorities about our participation
• Discuss the situation with a crewmember before the court hearings to get his explanations in writing in form of relevant statement
• Accompany your crewmember in the court and explain your legal position to the judge
