The Directorate of Civil Registry, Nationality, Passports, and Immigration (DCRNPI) has embarked on the process of regularizing the stay of all the foreign nationals living in South Sudan.

This was revealed yesterday during a leadership conference convened for the South Sudan National Police Service in Juba.

“There are foreign nationals who lived here even before the independence of the country, and some of them lived without any documents,” said Lt. Gen. Atem Marol Biar, the director-general of immigration.  

According to Mr Biar, people belonging to a total of 67 nationalities live in South Sudan.

He said people who have not legalised their stay have been advised to go to their embassies to process a visa that will then be presented to the immigration department to regularise their stay in the country.

Statistical data from the immigration department shows there are 5,738 male Ugandans living in Juba, and only 11 per cent of Sudanese living in South Sudan are regularised.

In a related development, the department is intensifying hotel guest electronic registration system that can facilitate the check-in of both nationals and foreigners.

Data needed

Meanwhile, the immigration department has recommended that all borders and state immigration offices should create immigration data or statistics offices. The immigration boss said this would help the national immigration department to collect data on a regular basis.

“That data we can now share with the Ministry and the police leadership, for decision making,” said Lt Gen Biar.

Irregularities and the issuance of visas are other thorny issues that the department seeks to resolve.

“You find that the state sometimes issues a six-month visa yet they are not supposed to,” he explained. “Stations within Juba are not supposed to issue beyond 6 months visa and there are some irregularities that have been observed.”

The six-month visa according to the DG is considered a temporary residence permit. Plans are underway to unify the temporary stay and travel documents.

Last month, the Immigration Chief at Muniki Station, Lt Col James Galuak Madiet, revealed that his officers had identified about six foreigners working in hotels whose passports and visas had expired.

Arrests made                                  

He said the individuals failed to make attempts to renew the documents despite knowingly holding expired papers.

“Our immigration silent search got six Bangladeshi nationals whose passports, visas, and alien registrations had expired since August 2021,” Lt. Col. Madiet told the press.

He added: “All this time, since we began the silent search in August 2021, they have been in hiding, but today our immigration police officers managed to get them under their safe haven.”

He accused some of the country’s top army generals, and constitutional post holders of shielding foreigners without valid documents, saying it makes immigration work difficult.

“They are staying in South Sudan without valid visas, passports, and other documents because they are being protected by individuals working in the army, and high government constitutional post holders,” he said.