Africa-Press – Namibia. The immigration ministry has dismissed reports that the country’s visa-on-arrival portal system has been hijacked by outside forces.
The technology remains the property of the State.
It is controlled, monitored and administered by a ministerial in-house team. The ministry’s latest reaction follows reports that the country’s visa-on-arrival portal system is privately run and operated by Indian national Ankur Kathuria, who allegedly serves as a commissioner in the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS).
The reports also suggested that funds paid for the visa-on-arrival portal system are first paid into Asian Pacific’s Kenyan-based account before such funds are brought to Namibia, an insinuation that the ministry has flatly denied.
Allaying the public’s fears, Executive Director Nghidinua Daniel explained that if anything, the development of the online visa-on-arrival portal system has been beneficial to Namibians as the government raked in millions in revenue.
Figures show that between 3 March 2025 and 31 January 2026, the country generated more than N$413 million in revenue from the online visa-on-arrival portal system through tourism and business visits, amongst others.
During that period, more than 289 510 visas were issued. The initiative marked a shift towards a more balanced immigration approach aimed at strengthening national security while facilitating tourism, investment and economic growth seamlessly.
The online visa-on-arrival portal system is specifically designed to enhance seamless applications for visas by tourists and investors who wish to visit and invest in Namibia and is a key component of the ministry’s e-services offerings.
“As such, the system is a property of the government under the administration of the ministry and is not a privately run and operated system as it is alleged. The in-house development of the system saved the ministry huge costs that are usually associated with the development of systems of such magnitude using private service providers,” added Daniel.
Not true
The executive director also denied claims that Commissioner Kathuria has been receiving online visa-on-arrival process payments on behalf of the government, saying Namibian laws and banking regulations do not allow for such arrangements.
“The ministry has no knowledge of or a relationship with a party by the name Asian Pacific. The ministry, however, confirms that it has contracted the services of a Namibian-registered and domiciled payment gateway provider for the collection of fees generated through online visa applications. The said service provider is a licensed third-party payment service provider and payment facilitator service provider in terms of the relevant law administered by the Bank of Namibia. The visa fees are directly paid into a Namibian bank account,” Daniel further clarified.
He continued: “The allegation that Commissioner Kathuria possesses discretionary powers to overrule ministerial decisions or to issue visas contrary to official determinations is false and without factual basis. Applications for visas are considered and decided on by a committee duly appointed in terms of the Immigration Control Act of 1993. Commissioner Kathuria is not a member and therefore has no role in the work of this committee and is thus not involved in the visa application decision-making process. As such, the purported overruling or discretionary powers by Commissioner Kathuria are baseless.”
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