Ministries ‘disown’ visa fees for UK, US nationals
Malawi has introduced a visa fee of $75 (K33 375) for all nationals from countries that require Malawians to pay visa fees when visiting them, according to a June 17 2015 circular seen by The Nation.
However, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security has ‘disowned’ the circular, saying it is not aware of the communication and pushed the responsibility to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Despite the fact that the Department of Immigration, which issues passports, permits and visas, falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Minister AtupeleMuluzi said in an interview he is not aware of the circular.
Said the minister: “Normally, at Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security we do not issue visas so Foreign Affairs Ministry is better placed to explain about this communication [circular].”
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Internal Security Principal Secretary James Chibwana Ali, while confirming that the circular came from his ministry, said his ministry was only acting on behalf of Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.
Said Ali: “We were only a conveyor belt of information from Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security. In fact, we did not only send the circular to the diplomatic community locally, but also to our foreign missions in other countries.”
Immigration Department chief immigration officer Masauko Medi said his department is not aware of the development because it has not received any communications yet pertaining to the said introduction of the new visa fees.
He said: “If you have read the communication, it hasn’t come from Immigration Department and as a department we are not aware of this because we haven’t been instructed to implement it, therefore I have nothing to say on that.”
The circular, addressed to ‘All Diplomatic Missions and International organisations accredited to the Republic of Malawi’, has been delivered to all diplomatic missions in the country and says that the visa payment shall exclude nationals from all Southern African Development Community (Sadc), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), diplomats and government officials.
This means that nationals from the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA) are among those who will be paying the fee.
The circular which is bearing a stamp of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has a signature at the bottom in blue ink but does also mention Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security as being party to the introduction of the new visa fees.
Reads the second paragraph of the circular: “The Government of Malawi, through the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, has effective 1st July, 2015, introduced an entry fee of $75 into the Republic of Malawi for nationals whose countries require Malawians to pay visa fees.”
