Restrictions of a legal and administrative nature to block the free movement of people between countries may result in statelessness for the persons concerned, or a reduction or annulment of their legal rights either in the country of origin or in the country of residence or transit.
Although the communist revolution was intended to liberate the masses from oppression and to be carried out with their full approval, many communist countries closed their frontiers to those who wished to leave and often to foreigners who wished to enter; movement between communist countries was often difficult and expensive; and movement within the country itself was restricted owing to the difficulty of obtaining housing. Holidays to non-communist countries were restricted by the refusal to issue foreign currency (which means that the people who take such holidays must have friends or relatives abroad) or refusal to issue travel documents. The denial of freedom of movement led some people to make clandestine and very dangerous attempts to leave their country, which sometimes ended in their death if they were not successful. The denial of foreign entry to certain countries created a lack of international understanding and contact which caused conflict, while restriction of movement within the country retarded social development and makes economic readjustment difficult.