Ethiopian Airlines extends Beira

Ethiopian Airlines will commence flights to Beira, a city in central Mozambique, with three services per week. Earlier, the service was expected to begin in July.

Beira is the fourth largest and one of the main commercial cities in Mozambique and will serve as a gateway to most of the countries in Central Africa with potential tourist attractions.

Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Tewolde GebreMariam, said, “Covering the largest network in Africa and connecting major world trading cities across our global network, we have been filling the connectivity vacuum in the continent not only with primary cities in countries but also with secondary and tertiary cities and towns. Our customers in these smaller cities will get special opportunity to connect to our global network of more than 120 international destinations in five continents with direct flights and fewer stops. Supporting our main hub in Maputo, Beira will serve as our hub in central Mozambique directly connecting passengers to our global hub in Addis Ababa for further connections to various parts of the world.”Based in Maputo, Ethiopian Mozambique Airlines presently serves domestic destinations in Mozambique such as Maputo, Nampula, Tete, Pemba, Beira, Nacala, Quelimane, Vilankulos, and Chimoio. 

Ethiopian Mozambique Airlines has begun operating on December 1, 2018, using Q400 aircraft. The launch of this direct international flight to and from Beira and Addis Ababa will enable international passengers from Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia to enjoy seamless connections to and from Pemba, Nampula, Nacala and Tete with Ethiopian Mozambique Airlines’ domestic service, reaching some of Mozambique’s main seaside tourist resorts.

The route will be served with a B737-800NG offering a two-class layout of business and economy.

Cost of visas triples, resident permits almost double

In view of the increasing influx of expatriate citizens into Mozambique, the Government has decided to revise upwards the costs of issuing the Identification and Residency Document for Foreigners (DIRE) and visas. The price of permanent or lifetime DIRE has almost doubled, while some types of visa have more than tripled the prices. In July, the National Migration Service (SENAMI) registered an increase in the entry of foreigners in Mozambique. “The main cause of the increase in foreign citizens’ entry in the country during this period was the holding of several meetings, as well as the ceremony of the announcement of the Final Investment Decision in Maputo,” said spokesman Celestino Matsinhe at a Senami press conference.

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@Verdade learned that a few days earlier, on 24 May, that the Ministers of the Interior, Jaime Basílio Monteiro, and of Economy and Finance, Adriano Maleiane, signed Diploma 65/2019 which came into force on July 5, making it much more expensive for foreign citizens to visit or work in Mozambique. The temporary DIRE which in 2017 had been revised to 19,200 meticais now costs 33,760 meticais. The permanent and the lifetime DIRE were increased from 22,200 to 62,520 meticais. Regarding the visas, the increases were much larger. A 1 to 30 day Crew Transfer, Transit or Simple Visa, which previously cost 1,350 meticais, now costs 6,252 meticais. The 31-60 day Simple Visa and the 61-90 day Visa, which cost 2,700 and 4,050 meticais, respectively, now cost 12,504 and 18,756 meticais, respectively.

Work visas for more than one year have been abolished. A 1 to 90 day work visa, which cost 3,600, was revised to 8,440 meticais, work visa for 91 to 180 days went from 7,200 to 16,880 meticais, and for work from 181 to 365 days the visa price is now 33,760 meticais.

Investment visas from 1 to 90 days which were taxed at 3,600 meticais, now cost 8,440, investment entries from 91 to 180 days went from 7,200 to 16,880 and investment visas for up to 365 days now cost 33,760 meticias, and the Investment visa for more than 1 year has been abolished.

Citizens of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries will also pay more for DIRE

The price of the temporary stay visa was also revised, and the student visa also adjusted from 4,270 to 6,252 meticais. Interestingly, even after the visit to Portugal where President Filipe Nyusi stressed the need to improve mobility in the Lusophone space, DIRE costs for citizens of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) were also revised upwards, as was the costs of an urgent visa or DIRE.

More than just a measure to raise funds for tight public coffers – after all , many of the foreigners entering Mozambique will work in the billionaire oil and natural gas industry – these upward revisions appear to retaliate against Co-op Partners who are late resuming the aid stopped in 2016, or even in releasing reconstruction support to provinces hit by cyclones Idai and Kenneth.

Connects Maputo to Durban via Ponta do Ouro

Intercape are to offer a new coach route, between Maputo and Durban in South Africa, from 6 September.

Coaches will depart from Maputo on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8.00 a.m., arriving in Durban via Ponta do Ouro at 5:00 p.m. on the same day. The return journey will be available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

“We previously had this connection, but had to suspend it because of poor road conditions, but now, with the construction of the Maputo-Katembe bridge and other new roads, we will be able to transport passengers to Durban via Ponta do Ouro,” Intercape marketing manager Sérgio Van Winsen explains.

Intercape coach lines, operating in Mozambique since 1996, already has routes between Maputo, Johannesburg and Pretoria, as well as other destinations such as Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and regional connections to Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia.