News: Illegal Immigration

Botswana: Immigration Privileges For Preachers Revoked

Botswana has closed a loophole allowing pastors and preachers to avoid certain immigration regulations. The special dispensation for men and women of the cloth allowed them to practice or hold church leadership positions, making it easy for foreign nationals to disguise themselves as preachers. They could apply for a waiver and start work immediately on entry into the country, rather than having to wait while their applications for work permits were approved and processed. In the last decade as many as three million Zimbabweans are thought to have fled to neighbouring states such as South Africa and Botswana, and further afield to Europe and Australia, to escape the economic meltdown in their country. The new regulations mean that hundreds of foreigners, particularly those from Zimbabwe and Nigeria, could be deported to their country of origin.

Rising Numbers Of Illegal Immigrants Enter Somaliland

Immigration officials in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have expressed concern over the increase in the number of illegal Ethiopian migrants entering the region (which has autonomy from Somalia), with claims that up to 90 people are arriving daily, against 50 in 2008. An immigration official, who requested anonymity, said most of those arriving in Somaliland were asylum-seekers from the Oromiya region of Ethiopia. Others transit through Somaliland en route to the Arabian Peninsula. Mohamed Ismail, the director of social affairs in the Ministry of Interior - charged with overseeing refugee affairs and asylum-seekers - said: "We consider 4,000 individuals as Ethiopian refugees but all the other people who live in Somaliland are not refugees; [they have] come to Somaliland for a better life." According to UNHCR Somalia, which is affiliated with the United Nations, Somaliland has 1,600 Ethiopian refugees and more than 14,000 asylum-seekers.