Woomera, South Australia and Woomera was chosen as a site for such a facility. The establishment of the Woomera Immigration Detention Centre in 1999, through the refurbishment of the original Woomera Village construction camp at 'Woomera West', eventually brought in new permanent staff (as the Nurrungar people were leaving) to settle and maintain the village population at around 1,200. The immigration detention centre, however, proved to be a highly controversial facility and it closed in early 2003 after only about 36 months of operation, at which point the land and buildings were handed back to the Defence Department. Following the closure of the
Refugees and asylum in Russia and who are unwilling to return owing to fear of punishment for their illegal departure or for another offence committed in their home country, and; (6) the case of asylum seekers who illegally enter Russia and do not apply for refugee status within 24 hours from the moment of entry. In order for an individual to seek asylum in Russia, he must be designated by the Federal Migration Service as such. The FMS will conduct a substantive investigation, or Refugee Status Determination (RSD), once an asylum seekers application is registered. The 1997 Law on Refugees defines the term "refugee" as