Tag Archive for: tanzania

Andrew Stegmann

New Tanzanian SIM Card Regulations In Effect

This information is courtesy of FB Attorneys (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania).

In a bid to ensure proper regulation, monitoring and identification of SIM card users in Tanzania, the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications has issued detailed procedures for registration of SIM cards via the Electronic and Postal Communications (SIM card Registration) Regulations 2020 (SIM card Registration Regulations) which came into force on 7 February 2020.

Regulation 4 of the SIM card Registration Regulations lists a number of requirements to be complied with by owners and people who intend to use detachable SIM cards in Tanzania. The Regulations require all users and owners of SIM cards to register bio-metrically with their respective licensees (mobile network operators) or authorized distributors, agents or dealers. It should be noted that the bio-metric registration will be conducted by using a National Identity Card (NIDA card) or a National Identity Number (NIN). Also, the Regulations prohibit persons to register any SIM card by using any other person’s NIDA card.

Further, the Regulations recognize bio-metric SIM card registration for minors as well. In doing the said registration, a parent or a guardian is required to present a minor’s certified copy of birth certificate or adoption document or valid passport with valid visa and minor’s portrait photo. Moreover, the parent/guardian will be required to present their NIDA card for finger print verification of the parent. However, after attaining the age of majority, the minor shall be required to re-register using his or her NIDA card, failure of which will result in the deactivation of the SIM card.

Apart from minors, the Regulations prescribe different registration procedures for visitors, foreigners, refugees and diplomats as follows:

  • For visitors, a passport with a valid visa will be required then other normal registration procedures will be observed
  • For foreigners and refugees, NIDA identity will be required followed by normal registration procedures
  • For diplomats, a passport and diplomatic identity will be required with no fingerprints to be taken during registration.

Furthermore, the Regulations stipulate an alternative registration procedure for persons with defaced fingerprint or have no fingers at all. The alternative registration demands a customer to obtain NIDA’s approval for such kind of registration. In doing so, NIDA is supposed to generate verification questions in their system in the form of questions, and these will be used by the operator to verify and register a customer with physical challenges.

Also, the Regulations oblige users and owners of SIM cards to report any change of ownership or possession of a registered SIM card. Regulation 12 makes it clear that any change of information submitted for the purposes of registering a SIM card, should be reported within 15 days from the date of occurrence of any such change.

Furthermore, the Regulations make it mandatory for owners of registered SIM cards to report loss or theft of SIM card and obtain a loss report or preliminary investigation report within 7 days from the date of loss or theft. The loss report shall be submitted to the service provider when requesting for a replacement of a SIM card.

It is worth noting that individuals are prohibited from owning/using more than 1 SIM card from the same operator for use on voice, short message and data services. On the other hand, an individual is allowed to own/use a maximum of 4 SIM cards from different operators for use on machine to machine communication. In case of a company or an institution, the Regulations prohibits owning of more than 30 SIM cards from the same operator and not more than 50 SIM cards from different operators for use on machine to machine communication. However, a customer may be allowed to register/own more than the maximum specified number of SIM cards upon being granted an approval from Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority.

Additionally, the Regulations impose punishment for contravening the above requirements. In case of individuals, the punishment is a fine of not less than TZS 5M or imprisonment for a term of not less than 12 months or to both, and plus a fine of not less than TZS 75,000 for every day during which the SIM card was used or possessed. For companies or institutions, the punishment is a fine of not less than TZS 50M, plus additional fine of not less than TZS 175,000 for everyday during which the SIM card was used or possessed.

It is also important to note that the Regulations provide a grace period up to 30 June 2020 for customers who own more than the required number of SIM cards to accordingly choose SIM cards that are to remain active and abide by the Regulations. Lastly, unused SIM cards for 90 consecutive days will be deactivated.

To read the SIM card Registration Regulations, 2020, click here.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Immigration changes in Tanzania

The Tanzanian Immigration Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs has recently imposed significant additional company document requirements on foreign employees applying for residence permits. Applicants for Class A and B residence permits should take note that the Immigration Department is now requiring the following corporate documents from their sponsoring employers:

  • Letter stating the current status of shareholders from the Registrar of Companies of the Business Registration and Licensing Authority (BRELA), including immigration status if shareholder is a foreign national;
  • Tax Clearance Certificate from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA); and
  • Certified copies of the employer’s tax payment slips from the TRA.

Sponsoring companies should take note that these new documents should be obtained early in their foreign employees’ immigration processes in order to avoid delays in obtaining their residence permits once the work permit is issued by the Ministry of Labor.

While still one of the world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income, Tanzania’s economy has grown at an impressive average of 6+ percent over the last five years, making it one of Africa’s five fastest growing economies. However, much of that growth is still being propped-up by some ongoing government investment in infrastructure construction projects, and foreign investors are still leery of the frequent government policy changes of President John Magufuli’s administration. 

Andrew Stegmann

Kenya to roll out e-Passports in September

The immigration department in Kenya has announced plans to roll out East African e-Passports from 1 September.

Kenya joins over 50 nations worldwide in issuing a new generation travel document with security features such as biometric details, machine readable through an electronic chip.

A message from the Immigration department said: “This is to notify the General Public that the Department of Immigration will start issuing the e-Passport with effect from 1st September 2017. Holders of valid current passports will be allowed to use them for the next 2 years i.e to 31st August 2019 after which they will be rendered invalid. Please note that the department will no longer be issuing the current Ordinary, Diplomatic and East African passports.”

The move is compliant with a regional agreement to harmonise passports across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

“(The) EA e-Passport is expected to boost free movement of people across the region and it will be in line with implementation of the Common Market protocol which guaranteed the right to move between countries in East Africa,” the EAC Secretariat said.

“The EAC e–Passport will have Diplomatic, Service and Ordinary categories and is different from the current machine readable passport being issued by the Partner States. It will be valid for up to 10 years while the Diplomatic passport and service passport will be valid according to specific term of the service of the holder,” it added.

According to the Immigration department, new passport applicants can register on the eCitizen portal but will need to visit the department in order to have their biometric details recorded.

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Andrew Stegmann

Challenges of an African education

In addition to immigration complexities, security issues and cultural considerations, families relocating to Africa face the challenge of choosing a suitable education pathway. We look at the options.

Assignees moving to Africa often find the process uniquely challenging, owing to immigration complexities, security issues and cultural considerations. Those with school-age children face the added challenge of choosing a suitable education pathway. We look at the availability of international schooling in the region, and offer advice to help parents choose a school.With significant economic growth and one African country forming the ‘N’ in MINTs (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey), the countries expected to become economic powerhouses of the future, the continent of Africa is coming into sharper focus in the world of global mobility as organisations across the world, in search of growth, look to it for new opportunities.The latest reports bear this out. EY’s 2016 Africa Attractiveness survey, Navigating Africa’s Current Uncertainties, found that, despite current uncertainties, the longer-term outlook for economic growth and investment in Africa remained positive.“The next few years will be tough – partly, even largely, as a result of a fragile global economy – but many African economies remain resilient, with two-thirds of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries still growing at rates above the global average,” said the report.Even though growth across the region is uneven and likely to remain slower in coming years, SSA will continue for the foreseeable future to be the world’s second-fastest-growing region, after emerging Asia. Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Ivory Coast are among 17 economies in the region that are forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to have grown in 2016.Larger SSA countries, such as Nigeria and Angola, have been particularly affected by lower oil prices, and growth in South Africa remains slow.Foreign direct investment (FDI) projects increased by 7 per cent year on year, from 722 in 2014 to 771 in 2015. Africa is one of only two regions in the world to have seen growth in the number of FDI projects over the past year.

School choice

Luckily, international schooling has also seen something of a boom in the region. According to the latest figures from the International School Consultancy (ISC) Group, there are currently 792 English-medium international schools throughout Africa, between them teaching more than 339,000 students. ISC Research predicts that there will be more than 1,500 such schools by 2025.

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