Denver Isaacs
20 June 2008
The increase in administration fees payable for visas and permits at the Ministry of Home Affairs back in April should render significant improvement in the delivery of service at the ministry within the next two or three months.
This was the opinion of Home Affairs and Immigration Ministry Permanent Secretary Samuel /Goagoseb yesterday, when he spoke to The Namibian on government's reasoning behind the move.
Among the permits affected is the Multiple Entry Visa, which allows foreign residents to travel freely in and out of Namibia for a set period.
A 24 month visa, which up until April 14 this year cost the applicant only N$138, now goes for an astronomical N$3 120.
The same visa for a period of seven to twelve months is set at N$1 560 while a 36 month visa is available for N$4 680.
A number of foreign workers and residents The Namibian spoke to have described the sudden and steep increase as a shock, which they did not expect.
One of these permit holder, only gave his name as Feli, a Nigerian citizen with domicile status and awaiting the processing of his application for Namibian citizenship since more than a year ago, said he does not hope to be travelling anytime soon.
"My visa expires at the end of this month, but this new price is too much.
I can't afford it right now, so I won't be allowed to travel outside for a while", he said.
In the statement in which it announced the increases, /Goagoseb stated that Government had not reviewed the fee structure of its permit fees since the passing of the Immigration Control Act back in 1993, meaning that for 15 years the same amounts applied.
Elaborating yesterday, he said that Government saw that it was rendering these services at a cost that was way below what their operations called for.
"Even some of the embassies in the country to whom we outsourced some of our functions to were complaining that, especially with the current exchange rate being what it is, the costs of operations were becoming more than was affordable," he said.
"These services need to pay for themselves, otherwise they are just a burden to the government," he added.
Cabinet did extensive research on the practice of other countries in the SADC region, he maintained, before coming up with their own proposals.
A look at some of the amounts payable for the same permits in other countries still however seemed to indicate that the Namibian fees are high in comparison.
A South African permanent residence permit for example, according to the South African Ministry of Home Affairs' web site, costs N$1 520 compared to the N$12 173 required of someone wishing to obtain the same in Namibia.
Defending the Namibian fees, /Goagoseb said that these also ensured that the country does not end up taking over the burdens of other countries.
"One of the considerations in whether or not to grant someone permanent residence is whether or not that person can sustain themselves, to make sure that this person doesn't become a burden to the state," he said.
"We haven't received many complaints.
Of course it might be a bit expensive for some, but the idea is not to negatively affect any business.
If a business person can't pay this amount then his viability as a business man can actually be questioned," he said.
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