Immigration News and Updates

Mozambique
Mozambican officials have begun conducting audits of employers in Cabo Delgado province in an effort to find violations of immigration and labor law.
Mozambique recently tightened several laws on foreign work permits, and the government is conducting regular employer audits that may be scheduled or unannounced.
Further to the recent inspections undertaken in Maputo Province, the General Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor has now extended its site visits to Cabo Delgado province, initially focusing on mining and construction companies that are based there.
Employers may be fined for employing a worker without a work permit where one is required, and repeat offenders may have their facilities closed. Fines are determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the type of violation involved. In addition, the government will publish the details of noncompliant companies and foreign workers in the local media. Foreign nationals working without a work permit may be fined and are frequently deported.

Morocco
Foreign nationals applying for or renewing residency permits are now required to fill out a new form with additional personal details and submit it to the main police station in Casablanca.
The form is comparable to a resume in asking about educational background and work experience, but also seeks information about the applicant’s family members, religion, political membership and previous travel.
To avoid delay, all pending and future applications for residence permits should include the new form.

South Africa
South African authorities have said they will put recently announced changes on the validity period of visas on hold pending further discussions.
Visas will remain valid beyond the expiration date of a visa holder’s passport and, pending further notification, authorities will continue to recognize the transfer of an existing visa from an old passport to a new passport. A Department of Home Affairs instruction that had aimed to change these rules has been scrapped.
South African authorities said earlier this month that visas would automatically expire 30 days before the expiration date on a visa h
older’s passport, regardless of for how long the visa was initially issued. BAL has learned, however, that the government has put this change on hold and will discuss the matter further. This means that for visas issued with a validity period that extends beyond the validity period of a passport, authorities will allow visa holders to travel into South Africa with their expired passport, their visa and their new passport. Those already in South Africa can transfer their visa from an old passport to a new passport.
South Africa’s reversal on a policy that would have created extensive administrative burdens on employers and visa holders is welcome news. That said, officials appear to be reviewing the policy, and additional change is still possible.

Kenya
Kenya has made it easier for stateless persons, migrants and their descendants to obtain citizenship.
A new regulation allows authorities to waive fees and documentation requirements for stateless persons, migrants and their descendants who are applying for citizenship and meet other qualifying criteria.
The change was made to provide the right to obtain citizenship to residents of Kenya who would otherwise be eligible for citizenship but who lacked proper documentation and, in some cases, the ability to pay the required government fees. After the regulation was issued, for example, members of the Makonde community, who have lived in Kenya for more than 50 years but were considered stateless persons, are now able to obtain citizenship.
The change will not have much of an impact on business, other than to facilitate evidencing the right to work of formerly stateless employees, but the eased processes are welcome news for those in Kenya who have had trouble obtaining citizenship because of a lack of supporting documents.

This information was sourced from balglobal.com