Tanzania has introduced new tough rules for Kenyans and other foreigners. Here are the rules:
1. Those who are in the country illegally & responded to the government amnesty by reporting themselves to any nearest police station were all locked up & will be arraigned in local courts starting today. According to TZ Immigration laws, they will be liable to a 3-6 months imprisonment pending deportation as persona non grata for a period of not less than 5yrs. They will also not be allowed to carry anything home except the clothes they’re wearing!!
2. All tier 3 investors ie commercial farmers & corporate SME have been directed to comply as under within 15 days
(a) Submit a list of ALL employees stating their nationalities
(b) Provide copies of individual employment contracts of 2(a)
(c) Provide an updated tax profile
(d) Failure of any of the above will lead to the immediate cancellation of investment contracts without any compensation & 30 days to leave the country
(e) Quota for foreign experts to be reduced by 50% and work permits issued for periods not exceeding 90 days. Existing work permits shall not be renewed
(f) If any investor goes to court to challenge any of the above-mentioned directives their permits shall be cancelled with immediate effect
3. Those in the education sector will be affected as under
(a) Existing work permits shall be renewed subject to an in person interview by the Immigration for both local (private)& international schools
(b) Any exceptions to rule 3(a), a school must demonstrate that no Tanzanian has the proficiency that they require a foreigner for
(c) Note that foreigners in this regard is a silent directive targeting Kenyans
(d) Work permits shall strictly be annual
4. Kenyan visitors especially content creators must submit their social media accounts, phones & cameras for review before exiting the country. So if they find pictures that offend the state on your phone you’ll be banned from entering TZ for 5 yrs and phones/cameras confiscated!
5. Gratis visa period for Kenyans has been reduced from 90 to 30 days
6. All tier 2 investors, that is those in mining, government infrastructure construction etc must prove to the local immigration why they need Kenyans & not any other nationalities
7. Ear to the ground has it that TZ is planning to bolt off or scale down from the EAC & lean towards SADC which I think will be a disadvantage to them other than Kenya.
