Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has authorized new regulations for foreign citizens entering and staying in the country and exit visas for Turkmen citizens, a source with the Turkmen government told Interfax on Friday. Starting on March 1, entry visa applications will be forwarded from Turkmen diplomatic missions abroad and the Foreign Ministry consular department to a special visa control and issuance commission. This will be responsible for checking the applications and making a decision on issuing or denying a visa. The commission will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov. Turkmenistan will also introduce migration cards from March 1, which foreign citizens will have to fill in while crossing the border. There will be three categories of such cards - regular, simplified, and transit. In addition, Turkmen citizens will have to apply for exit visas and will be subject to new border crossing regulations starting on March 1. Turkmen law can temporarily restrict the right of certain persons to exit the country. In particular, these could be \"people knowing state secrets,\" persons against whom criminal cases have been opened, and others. Speaking on national television in early February, the Turkmen president noted that free exit from the country enabled certain criminals to escape responsibility by fleeing abroad. (Interfax)