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Malawi tightens immigration laws to weed out Zimbabwean refugees
Tererai Karimakwenda, SW Radio Africa
April 03, 2006

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news030406/malawi030406.htm

There is growing resentment towards Zimbabwean refugees in Malawi after the government tightened immigration laws in order to block them from getting Malawi passports illegally.

Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa who is in the capital Lilongwe reports that Malawians were previously not required to produce any documentation by their own government to prove their identity. But because large numbers of Zimbabweans escaping the crisis at home have been bribing officials to get passports, the Malawi government now plans to introduce stricter laws.

Muchemwa said the locals will need endorsement from their chief and confirmation of birth from the registrar. This means travelling and processing fees which poor Malawians cannot afford and Zimbabweans are being blamed.

Zimbabweans with Malawi passports are also experiencing problems in the UK. The British government imposed a visa requirement for Malawians after Zimbabweans who were denied asylum produced Malawi passports and were deported to Lilongwe. Malawians resent this development as well. It is now more difficult for them to travel to Europe.

According to Muchemwa NGOs in Malawi are also lobbying for the stricter laws and an end to the corruption in immigration.

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