Africa-Press – Angola. Eighteen thousand and 719 foreign citizens, of various nationalities, enjoyed exemption from tourist visas, from 27 September to 26 November this year, under Presidential Decree no. 189/23.
Under this regime, published in Diário da República, citizens from 98 countries no longer need tourist visas to enter Angola, for annual stays of less than 90 days per year, with the aim of simplifying and speeding up the process.
The spokesperson for the Migration and Foreigners Service (SME), Domingas Mendonça, informed that, of those who benefited from this process, there are citizens of Portugal (3,962), China (2,638), Brazil (1,699), India (1,386), France (1,138), United Kingdom (1,078), Zimbabwe (666), USA (659), Italy (465) and Spain (425).
He reported that, in the period in question, the entry and exit migratory movement of foreign citizens, within the scope of visa exemption, the SME recorded a total of 34 thousand 570, of which (18 thousand 719 entries and 15 thousand 850 exits).
According to the head of the SME, the exemption does not exempt the fulfillment of other formalities, such as the presentation of a passport valid for more than six months, a round-trip ticket and, when necessary, an international vaccination certificate and citizens of Covered countries must not appear on the unwanted list (citizens in conflict with the law).
The regime provided for in the Presidential Decree, according to Domingas Mendonça, applies exclusively to the granting of tourist visas.
He explained that, for other types of visas, such as work, study, medical treatment or residence permit, foreign citizens must request the corresponding visa from diplomatic missions or consular posts in their country of origin or habitual residence.
Process without constraints
Domingas Mendonça made it known that the SME, a body linked to the Ministry of the Interior, has so far not encountered any difficulties in implementing this process.
“Citizens of the countries covered have entered the national territory without problems and, as soon as the exemption period ends, up to 30 days, they leave the national territory”, he pointed out.
He made it known that if certain expatriates overstay, upon leaving, at the border, they must pay a fine for overstaying in national territory.
He assured that the Migration and Foreigners Service is prepared, from the point of view of technical and human resources, to monitor this entire process.
“One of the biggest challenges for us, SME, is effectively controlling permanence so that foreign citizens who enter the country, within the scope of the tourism visa exemption, remain even for this purpose”, he emphasized.
He noted that, if an expatriate enters the country within the scope of the tourist visa exemption and establishes, for example, a work relationship with a certain company, the SME will necessarily have to open a migration infraction case against that citizen.
Migration intendant Domingas Mendonça also highlighted that the SME is engaged in strengthening migration control procedures in the country of foreign citizens.
In this regard, he pointed out the soon implementation of an application called SIBA, which will connect the SME to the country’s hotel units for efficient control of expatriates who benefit from the tourist visa exemption.
“Unlike in the past, in which hotel units had to fill out a form, in this case an accommodation bulletin, and bring it to the SME, from now on, as soon as a foreigner checks into the hotel, registration is done in the hotel’s database and connected directly to the SME”, he explained.
According to the SME source, the aforementioned application is in an experimental phase, ensuring that as soon as it is completed, it will be launched to control the stay of foreign citizens in the country.
More publicity of the process
The head of the Migration and Foreigners Service advocates greater publicity of the tourist visa exemption process in the country.
He recalled that, in the Presidential Decree, in its article 5, number 03, it says that the ministerial department responsible for the Foreign Affairs sector must communicate to the identified countries so that they can become aware that the Angolan Government, unilaterally, approved this process that exempts Citizens of these countries enter Angola on tourist visas.
“We have made this publicity, but we feel that it is still not enough, it is necessary that citizens are aware of this process, so that the objectives for which they were approved can effectively be fulfilled”, he stressed.
By the way, he made it known that the SME has scheduled workshops with bodies involved in this chain of improving the business environment, as well as transport companies, shipping agents, travel agencies, among others.
He revealed that, recently, the SME participated in meetings with the Institute for Tourist Promotion (Infotur), where several entities that are part of this chain were present to further publicize this process.
Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, the United States, Russia and China are among the 98 countries in which Angola no longer requires a tourist visa for annual stays of less than 90 days per year.
According to the Presidential Decree, citizens from these countries are now exempt from tourist visas for a period of up to 30 days per entry and 90 days per year.
The European list includes 35 countries, including all those that make up the European Union, Russia, Norway and Turkey. The United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico are part of the exempt American countries.
Among the 14 African countries with tourist visa exemption are Cape Verde, Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Botswana and Rwanda, while the 11 Asian countries on the list include China and Japan, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India, Singapore, South Korea and East Timor.
The diploma also applies to 14 countries in Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand and 16 small states and islands in the Caribbean and Pacific region.
The Presidential Decree also includes simplification procedures for granting tourist visas to citizens from countries that are not part of this list.
In effect, it advises diplomatic and consular missions to adopt a “simplified and unbureaucratic service” that guarantees the granting of tourist visas within a period of less than three working days.
Applicants must present a passport valid for more than six months, a round-trip ticket and an international vaccination certificate whenever applicable.
The spokesperson revealed that citizens who are not covered by this exemption regime must necessarily enter the national territory with a tourist visa, the request for which must be made at the consulate of the consular diplomatic mission or on the SME digital platform.
ANGOP
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