JUBA – South Sudan’s immigration chief Lt. Gen. Atem Marol Biar has suspended the silent search on foreign nationals without valid visas and work permits for a week to allow them to legalize their stay in the country
Speaking to reporters during a press conference this morning in Juba, General Marol called on Immigration officers to engage with the leaders of the foreign nationals in the country to help in identifying the unregistered and process their documents.
“You suspend silent search and remain in your places of work as you engage them to register. And stop wearing police uniform when you go to see their community leaders so that they don’t fear you because I am seeing people running away after seeing you coming to them,” Marol told reporters.
Marol also directed the Migration officers to issue three months temporary residency permits for all unregistered foreign nationals.
“They have to be given temporary stay permits for three months as they go to their various embassies to process their documents,” he said.
“A lot of foreigners are staying in South Sudan without documents and they are not refugees. The only people who can stay without documents are refugees but we have compromised them by designing a new document called temporary stay permits. It is a document we have designed,” he added.
The senior Police officer said the government is not chasing away the citizens from other countries but asking them to register to legalize their stay.
“If they don’t turn up for registration, we will still engage their leaders to help us persuade them to get legalized their stay by getting new passport and those with expired passport will not be charged,” he said.