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A team from the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) has detained 15 undocumented migrants in Uganda’s eastern town of Jinja.
DCIC stated that during their arrest on Thursday (March 20), they discovered undocumented workers from India and Pakistan employed at different sites lacking proper work authorization.
These people are presently undergoing processing and awaiting prosecution. We keep encouraging foreign nationals to regularize their status by submitting an application online at; http://visas.immigration.go.ug ," stated the Directorate on the social media platform X."
On March 14th last Friday, DCIC’s task force carried out an operation in the Kampala outskirts including areas like Kabalagala, Kansanga, and Muyenga, where they apprehended 177 individuals allegedly involved in unlawful immigration activities.
DCIC stated that the people involved were nationals of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, and Sweden, noting that they were undergoing processing for potential prosecution.
Uncollected fines
According to the most recent report from the Auditor General, 5,048 foreigners remained in the country over the past three years after their work permits had expired.
"The prolonged presence of foreign individuals whose permits have lapsed or been invalidated has led to unlawful work by these foreigners and a reduction in income," stated Edward Akol’s report to Parliament for the audit period ending December 31, 2024.
He observed that between July 2019 and June 2023, although 102 foreigners received fines for overstay violations related to their work permits, their corresponding employers did not face penalties despite being aware of the employees' invalid entry permits.
Consequently, Akol mentioned that approximately 306 million shillings in fines were not collected, leading to a loss of government revenue.
He mentioned that over the past two fiscal years, the DCIC saw a significant rise in work permit issuances, jumping from 11,229 in the fiscal year 2020/21 to 14,185 in 2021/22. This represents a growth of approximately 26% within just one year.
Even so, there was no indication of an accompanying rise in resources dedicated to overseeing expats.
A work permit is an official document provided to non-citizens intending to invest, conduct business operations, take up employment, and live in another country.
Globally, nations manage international laborers by issuing work permits to oversee the admission, presence, and departure of foreign workers.
"If left unchecked, migrant labor intensifies competition among the local workforce for the limited job opportunities," according to the Auditor General.
Akol pointed out that the DCIC continues to encounter certain difficulties with the e-immigration system, such as;
▪️ Narrow scope of the system's capabilities
• Lack of crucial positions
▪️ Failure to provide real-time notifications on over-stayers
▪️ Postponements in migrating old data
▪️ Limited reporting capabilities.
"Unless the entire capabilities of the system are utilized, DCIC might not achieve good value for money on their investment throughout the system's lifespan," cautioned Akol.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. Syndigate.info ).
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