On December 5, 2003 the Macedonian parliament adopted a new citizenship law that qualifies foreign nationals for Macedonian citizenship after eight years of legal residence instead of 15 years.  The parliament also voted down a proposal to give preferential treatment to ethnic Macedonians living abroad.

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Interior Minister Avraham Poraz plans to change Israel’s immigration policy to allow certain foreigners who are ineligible for citizenship, (such as an individual who separated from his/her Israeli spouse), to obtain Israeli citizenship.  Poraz also wants to grant citizenship to individuals who have contributed to Israeli society in certain ways, such as athletes, artists or scholars.

Poraz believes these changes are necessary and will “resolve the distress of many of the new immigrants and their families, and of veteran Israelis who are married to foreign spouses.”

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The migration of Russians from the Far East to the West seeking higher standard of living has transformed the demography of the Russian Far Eastern region.  Many North Koreans are moving into that area in order to revive the economy. The local politicians and President Putin support the opening of the Far Eastern border of Russia and allow a certain number North Korean to immigrate to the area.

Putin is supported by some U.S. officials who believe this to be a humanitarian act, and more importantly, that this move could create a reasonably affluent group of North Korean society who may eventually help force a change in the North Korean regime.