“The law is at the risk of being labeled anti-foreign and stand to scare potential investors away; Employers would love to see more relaxed Labour, and Migration laws on foreigners working in the country,” stated Dr Aggrey Mlimuka, the Executive Director of ATE.
Dr Mlimuka was speaking during the one-day workshop that brought together all employers in the Northern Zone Regions of Arusha, Manyara and Kilimanjaro, where it was agreed that, lack of qualified Tanzanian workers in specialized and non-specialized fields still called for inclusion of foreign workers in the country labour force and these should be handled with care lest they chose to steer clear from the country.
“At the end of the day it must not matter where the expatriate is coming from as the issue at hand is a committed workforce in general that contributes towards the development of the nation as Tanzanians tackle its education system and balances the supply and demands of the labour market in line with employers’ specific driven expectations,” he said.
The Association recently held a meeting with the Ministry responsible for Labour and Immigration and after discussion, it was decided that Business Visa be issued to all foreigners coming to Tanzania not directly employed in Tanzania, Consultants, Meetings, Conferences, Workshops and anything of the like.
Visa should also be issued at points of entry like Airports, Tanzanian Embassies abroad, Immigration Offices, Kurasini and Zanzibar at a fee of USD 250 and that the validity of this Business Visa is 90 days and cannot be extended in the country.
It was discussed that all countries that have no Visa arrangement with Tanzania, like East African member states and some of the SADC countries like South Africa will pay USD 200. The validity of this Business Pass also is 90 days and cannot be extended in the country.
However, the fee is currently being reviewed for the EAC countries. As for the Short Term Permit (STP), which is issued by the Labour Commissioner with the validity of 6 months and not renewable within the country, is to be issued to all foreigners directly employed in Tanzania for a short time and the fee is USD 500.
Regarding the normal work permits for two years, issued to foreigners employed in Tanzania and can be applied under either Class A (Investors working for their own investment, USD 500), Class B (prescribed professionals like Medical Doctors, Lecturers in Maths and Science, Oil and Gas industry, the fee is USD 500) and Class C for other professions which is USD 1,000.
Source: Daily News
