Angola and Mozambique agree fast-track three-month visas

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Angola and Mozambique agree fast-track three-month visas

1:53 CAT | 08 Jun 2016

As a result of the visa facilitation agreement signed by the governments of Angola and Mozambique in February 2016 and promulgated by presidential decree on 30 May, Angolans and Mozambicans will now be able to get reciprocal multiple entry visas valid for up to three months per semester, issued within five days.

The measure results from a desire to “promote and facilitate the movement of nationals in the territories of both states”, and to “eliminate barriers to the development of business and investment activities”.

The agreement states that the two countries “will facilitate the granting of visas for continuous or interpolated stays for periods up to 90 days per semester”, with access to multiple entries over a period of 12 months.

These arrangements will apply to citizens of both countries wishing to do market research, develop business, explore commercial or investment contacts and conduct investment project negotiations.

Conferences, training activities, technical assistance, holiday and family visits and religious, sporting and cultural activities are also covered by the agreement, which simplifies the documentation required and stipulates that visas must be granted or denied “within five working days from the date requested”.

A bilateral working group, which will meet annually alternating between countries, will monitor implementation.

The two Portuguese-speaking countries have been negotiating the agreement now being implemented for several years.

On a visit to Maputo in May, the Angolan Foreign Minister Georges Chikoti – who is endorsing the agreement for Angola – said that relations between Mozambique and Angola were being harmed by the two governments’ negligence.

“There has been negligence by both parties. We could have done much more to boost cooperation,” he said, after a meeting with Prime Minister Agostinho do Rosario.