A homeless and mentally ill Russian man who has been living in Nha Trang, a famous beach city in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa, is now refusing to be repatriated despite the efforts of local authorities.

The provincial Department of Foreign Affairs convened a meeting with the relevant authorities on Monday to discuss measures to take Kunznetsov Oleg, a 45-year-old Russian national, back to his home country.

The Khanh Hoa Center for Social Protection continues to take care of Oleg after he was treated at the province’s psychiatric hospital.

Oleg had been staying at the social center since early December last year, before he was taken to the infirmary on May 9 when his mental condition deteriorated.

The Russian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City has issued a temporary passport for Oleg that is valid until June 6, as he had previously lost all of his personal documents.

Representatives from the Khanh Hoa foreign department and local immigration police arrived at the social protection center on Monday, asking Oleg to return to Russia.

However, the foreigner refused and demanded that he continue to be allowed to stay in Nha Trang.

Oleg does not want to return to the European country, claiming that he had no home nor relatives to return to.

Reports showed that Oleg arrived in Nha Trang in 2012 with an Immediate Relative Immigrant Visa registered by his mother, Tamara Kunznetsova.

Kunznetsova had run a small business in the Vietnamese city to support herself and Oleg before passing away after a heart attack in 2013.

Following the death of his mother, Oleg’s relatives in Nha Trang cut all contact with the man as they refused to look after him.

He stayed at local hotels until becoming homeless when all of his money was spent, and began making a living as a beggar at local resorts.

Knowing of Oleg’s situation, officials of the Khanh Hoa Department of Foreign Affairs contacted him and gave some support.

The Russian was later diagnosed with various mental disorders and transferred to the province’s hospital for psychiatric treatment.

After the treatment, Oleg was sent to and cared for at the social protection center, awaiting his repatriation case to be processed.   

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