Real investors do not acquire visas illegally - Minister Manqoba
Mthat.” BABANE - “It is criminal to obtain visas illegally and investors don’t do
This is the statement from the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo, in the wake of the Ministry of Home Affairs having instituted investigations into the cancellation of over 2 000 visas granted to foreign nationals who claim to be investors.
Khumalo said it was criminal to obtain visas through illegal means and that as a ministry they did not encourage or support potential investors who wilfully avoided following the appropriate legal channels to obtain visas.
Instead, he said, they always encouraged all potential investors to follow the laid down laws.
After the Chief Immigration Officer, Makhosi Goodwill Simelane’s suspicions were aroused, he immediately wrote to the KMIII International Airport Manager and revoked over 2 000 visas belonging to foreign nationals whose destination was Eswatini.
Granted
In the letter, he stated that these foreign nationals had previously been granted visas by the ministry, but after realising that the procedure could have been flouted, Section 7 of the Immigration Act of 1982 was used as a basis of the revocation.
Simelane 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 possessed oneway tickets instead of having return flight tickets.
He mentioned that these were clear signs that the visa granting process was flouted.
“Who can approve a visa for someone who has no money or means to live in a foreign country?” wondered Simelane.
Minister Khumalo advised anyone willing to travel to Eswatini and believed they are potential investors should utilise the Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA), so that they do not encounter problems when they come to Eswatini.
“An investor is any person who injects local or foreign capital into the country legally in order to start a business. The EIPA exists to facilitate local and international investors setting up in Eswatini, and always advises them on all legal requirements that should be fulfilled as they set up, including immigration laws.
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“We do not encourage or support potential investors who wilfully avoid following the appropriate legal channels, but we always encourage all investors to follow the laid down laws in all the land,” Khumalo advised.
The minister said the EIPA remain available to provide any guidance that investors from all walks of life may seek.
Some of the relatives of the foreign nationals from Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Nigeria and India, who were being turned back by the Ministry of Home Affairs, had argued that they were investors who had left Eswatini in haste after the COVID-19 scare at the beginning of 2020.
The relatives of the foreign nations even went on to demand that these foreign nationals, whose visas had been cancelled should be reimbursed of the money they used when acquiring them.
Some of the foreign national in an interview with this publication threatened to take the matter up with the courts of Eswatini.
However, the chief immigration officer said as a ministry they had various concerns before they actually decided to cancel the visas belonging to these foreign nationals.
Concern number one was that, a huge number of these foreign nationals had only bought a one-way tickets, whereas the prerequisite for the acquisition of the visas which is stipulated in the International Travelling Policies required one to purchase a return flight ticket that can be activated according to the validity of the visa of that traveller.
Stipulated
It is also stipulated in the International Travelling Policies that one needs to be financially prepared as they would be travelling to a foreign country.
Another concern that was raised by the chief immigration officer was that of the national security, as allowing these foreign nationals could antagonise the relations between the neighbouring countries of Eswatini such as the Republic of South Africa and Mozambique.