More visas to be revoked -
The chief immigration officer said they were still going to cancel more visas that have been found to have been illegally granted to foreigners by some immigration officials.
MBABANE - More visas are still going to be revoked. The chief immigration officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Makhosini Goodwill Simelane, said they were still to cancel more visas that had been found to have been illegally granted to foreigners by some immigration officials.
Last week, Simelane confirmed that the ministry was in a move to cancel over 2 000 visas which were initially granted illegally by some immigration officials who had allegedly connived with police officials and foreign nationals to flout the process.
These, however, remain allegations until the Ministry of Home Affairs completes internal investigations that have been instituted to establish whether or not the visa application process was flouted and to identify the persons behind the act.
Meanwhile, the chief immigration officer pointed out that the cancellation will not end with the 2 000 visas as they wanted to totally eradicate any element of corruption associated with the processing of such documents.
The visas were issued to a multitude of foreign nationals from a number of countries, including Pakistani, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Somalia, India, Nigeria, Egypt, Congo and Cameroon.
destimed
These foreign nationals were all destined for Eswatini; in fact more of them are still on their way to the kingdom. Most of the foreigners from these countries use the King Mswati III International Airport to enter the country.
The Ministry of Home Affairs went to an extent sending a communique to the KMIII International of
Airport Manager dated April 14, 2022, containing the list of some of the foreign nationals, who were expected to arrive yet their visas had been revoked due to their illegality.
In the communiique, Simelane informed the manager that the right to entry previously granted to the foreign nationals had been withdrawn, as the ministry cited Section 7 of the Immigration Act as its basis for declaring these visas null and void.
He said the exercise had already started as three foreign nationals who were on the list were turned back to their native countries.
He pointed out that the ministry and the police were now working together to make sure that these foreign nationals were turned back as they posed a national security threat.
The chief immigration officer also noted that seemingly, most of these foreign nationals had no money in their bank accounts and also they possessed one-way ticket instead of having a return ticket.
He mentioned that these were the clear signs that the visa granting process was flouted.
appRove
“Who can approve a visa for someone who has no money or means to live in a foreign country?” wondered Simelane.
The chief immigration officer said the ministry was not apologetic in enforcing the law, protecting the country’s integrity and its international relations with the neighbours and the rest of the world.
He even invited any individual who felt aggrieved by the cancellation of the visas of the foreign nationals to come forward.
“He who feels hard done by, let him come forward and state his case; he who feels like litigating, that’s okay too, we