Facilitates granting of visas

The government of Mozambique has approved a regulation to facilitate the granting of entry visas to foreign nationals engaged in investment activities, thus contributing to improving the business climate, the deputy minister of Culture and Tourism said on Tuesday in Maputo.

Quoted by Mozambican news agency AIM, Ana Comoana said the approved document reduces the minimum amount to grant the Investment Activity visa from US50 million to US$500,000.“If the amount required is high there will be few people who will invest in Mozambique but if it is smaller it is likely that in return the number of investors will increase,” she said. Comoana said after the meeting of the Council of Ministers that the regulations also intend to facilitate the movement of foreign tourists in the country, using the border visa, valid for 30 days with the right to two entries.The deputy minister of Culture and Tourism said that to date the border visa was reserved for natural foreign citizens of a country that did not have diplomatic representation in Mozambique.The approved regulation makes it possible to “stimulate tourism to Mozambique and as a result, also encourages investment in the tourism sector, which will have to respond to this increase in visits,” she said, cited by news agency AIM.The deputy minister of Culture and Tourism said that 1.6 million tourists are expected to visit Mozambique in 2017.