Each state has the right to permit or prohibit the entry into its territory of any foreign citizens. And the one whose stay in the country is prohibited is undesirable, is called "persona non grata." What this phrase means for diplomats and ordinary people, we will discuss in our article.
What does persona non grata mean under the Vienna Convention
To resolve this issue, international rules were created, they were first applied mainly to representatives of the diplomatic corps. So, according to the 9th article of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, any state can declare a diplomat persona non grata at any time, without explaining the reasons. A person who finds out about his new status is forced to leave the country within the specified time, otherwise the state will refuse to recognize him as an employee of the mission. And in case of violation of the time of departure, it has the right to resort to declaring this diplomat a private person.
This punishment was invented as a means of influencing suspected espionage, as a sign of protest against the state represented by this person, or disagreement with any diplomatic statements.
How an ordinary citizen learns that he is a persona non grata
That this punishment befell him, an ordinary visitor, by the way, usually finds out only after being in the country and passing through passport control, since the lists of people who fall under the status of an “unwanted guest” are usually closed.
Most often, such measures are associated with public criticism of the government or government bodies of the visited country or disrespect for its customs and laws in which this visitor was noticed.
What does it look like in Russia
Every now and then in the domestic press there are notes about how an employee of a foreign embassy is detained on charges of espionage or recruitment. But a ban on entry into Russia can also be announced to persons suspected of insulting state symbols (this happened at one time with the rock band Bloodhound Gang), conducting subversive activities in the state (the case of the American journalist David Sutter), committing offenses or falsification of documents permitting stay on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Non grata persons in Russia, as a rule, are transferred to official representatives of the embassy of their country and are expelled outside the state without the right to enter it from 3 to 10 years. But there are cases of cancellation of status by the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In ordinary life, there is also persona non grata
That this phrase has successfully taken root not only as a diplomatic term, but also in ordinary speech, can be judged by the frequency of its use in almost all areas of life.
Now this is the name of any unwanted guest or someone with whom they do not want to maintain a relationship. Journalists are generously rewarded with such a definition of a person who is offended or disliked for some reason. Critics and publicists are no less prone to it: how many politicians, writers, actors, and just famous people have been declared undesirable anywhere! Yes, and the title sounds tempting and intriguing: "Person non grata!" What is it? And, most importantly, for what? The reader will immediately begin to review the note.
It remains to wish everyone not to fall under such a status!