In spite of all the touted benefits of Malawi’s new visa fee schedule, they place an unfair burden on Malawi Diaspora who have to now pay large sums to visit the country of their birth. This raises the question about whether or not their needs were factored in when drafting these new regulations.
The Malawi government recently implemented these new regulations and they went in to effect on October 1st, 2015. The changes introduce a visa payment scheme for all “foreign” travelers to Malawi who have to now obtain a visa to visit Malawi with a few exceptions.
The new visa fees have been met with mixed reaction from Malawians in the Diaspora. Some feel that in spite of the financial cost it places on them, it is beneficial for country and therefore welcome it. Others feel that it is an undue burden and want to see it scrapped. A more pertinent issue for them though is whether their needs were factored in when drafting these regulations and how this law affects their relationship to Malawi.
How Citizenship Status Complicates the Situation
Many Malawians in the Diaspora have taken up citizenship abroad, which automatically means that their Malawian citizenship was revoked in accordance with the current Malawi citizenship laws. Needless to say, this bring up the question of their citizenship status. Malawi does not allow for dual citizenship for those over age 21 so any person that has been naturalized abroad or has offspring abroad (whom are not Malawian citizens) would be subject to the visa fees just like any other foreign born person.
The premise of treating them like “any other foreigners” because they gave up their citizenship in order to secure work or study abroad is problematic. It adds to common concerns expressed by this group that the government may not be serious about engaging them beyond remittances because they undervalue their contribution and commitment to the country.
Diaspora Malawians situation is vastly different from foreign citizens who are not of Malawian descent because they have closer ties with Malawi. Unlike their non-Malawian counterparts, they are likely to travel to Malawi more frequently for personal reasons; they are more likely to spend a lot of money in the country during their visits (in addition to sending regular remittances when not travelling); and they are more likely to travel with families. Therefore, this group is likely to feel the financial impact of added travel expenses more than non-Malawian travelers.
Although many Diaspora Malawians understand and support the intention of the regulations, being charged a fee is also alienating and makes them feel less welcome. However, some have noted that they do not feel less welcome because of the fees since the intention was to benefit the country and not to alienate them. They challenge detractors by arguing that if they are willing to pay exorbitant visa fees to go to Europe, US or other countries, then they should be willing to pay in support of their home country too. Diaspora critics though, argue that that this is different because in this case they are being charged to go to the country of their birth which is different from visiting a foreign country – they are not happy about the prospects of having to pay extra to travel “home”.
Were Diaspora Malawian Considered?
Perhaps, Malawians in the Diaspora are correct in thinking that their needs were not considered when deliberating these regulations. At closer inspection, neither their lack of citizenship nor their travel patterns seem to have been factored in the decision making. As an example, many of them have permanent ties to Malawi (unlike other travelers who may visit once or twice in their lifetime), so they are more likely to take frequent trips to Malawi and are more likely to require a re-entry visa. However, in light of the government not extending dual citizenship to them, no provision was made to provide for 5-year or 10-year re-entry visas which would decrease their burden.
This means that under the current scheme, individuals of Malawian decent who wish to travel, have to fork out a hefty $250 for a 12-month multiple entry visa if they think they will travel to Malawi more than once in the year or are expected to plan for unforeseeable events. Those that purchase a $75 single entry visa but have the misfortune of having to make an unplanned second trip to Malawi within a given year due to the death of a family member or any other similar emergency, will easily be at a disadvantage. They would have to spend $150 in a single year, or expect the unexpected – it just doesn’t allow for adequate planning. For those travelling with family, these costs are even more.
Furthermore, when the government announced the new regulations, no mention was made of Diaspora Malawians which rendered Diaspora Malawians invisible. It sent the message that one they regarded one as a citizen or not and Diaspora Malawians should decide which applied to them. There was a missed opportunity to engage them by notifying them through official communication through the embassies about how this affected them.
Imaginably, they could have gone further by offering advice for Diaspora Malawians such as encouraging those with children under 21 to file for citizenship for their children if they have not already done so provided that one parent is still a citizen. The cost of citizenship for a minor is currently $364 (200,000MK) and may be a cheaper option in the long run although these upfront costs are prohibitive. Regardless, some form of acknowledgment of the predicament the new laws placed on Diaspora Malawians would have been warranted since it places them in an unusual circumstance.
To add fuel to the fire, an exception was provided to citizens of Southern African Development Community and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa member countries who don’t have to get a visa for Malawi provided their own country does not require a visa of Malawian citizens (such as in the case of Angola). This essentially means that since many of the SADC and COMESA countries now offer Dual Citizenship, people born in Malawi that are citizens of other countries need a visa to go to Malawi whilst their African counterparts living anywhere outside of Malawi do not.
As an example, a Malawian with foreign passport who travels with a spouse from Kenya or South Africa would have to pay to go to Malawi but their Kenyan or South African born spouse could enter for free. One cannot stress the absurdity of such a situation. The emotional burden of such a hypothetical but likely scenario speaks to the importance of updating our citizenship laws so that they reflect a globalized world and not a colonial one.
Diasporas are now considered an integral part of the nations. Malawi is no exception. Diaspora Malawians contribute to the country through remittances used to fund infrastructure, pay school fees or otherwise invest in projects; and they support the tourism industry through their repeated visits where they are also more likely to spend their money in establishments that are locally owned which trickle in to the economy. Tourists though, are more likely to plan their trip through foreign agents and tour guides and make once-in-a-lifetime trip.
In spite of the undue burdens the fee place to Malawians abroad, the majority of Diaspora Malawians feel that they are a necessary revenue earner for Malawi. However, they also feel that they have been sidelined – or ignored at worst – in the process of implementing the fees. It does not appear that their needs or unique identities as Malawians living abroad have been considered.
Sitinga Kachipande is a blogger and PhD student in Sociology at Virginia Tech with a concentration in African Studies and Global Political Economy. She holds a MA in Pan African Studies and an MBA. Her research interests include tourism, development, women’s studies, identity and representation. Follow her on Twitter: @MsTingaK
