Authorities clamp down on work visas

Mozambican authorities have

started issuing heavy fines

to South Africans doing business

in the country without a valid

visa. That includes just being at a

meeting.

It is not unknown for officials to

walk into a meeting and demand

to see the visas of all those present,

according to Hanlie Lloyd,

director of PacMoz.

Work visas need to be applied

for at the Mozambique embassy

in Pretoria before entering

Mozambique.

Lloyd says the Mozambican

authorities have started

implementing the provisions of

a 1952 regulation (Labour Law,

Chapter V, Article 12 & 13) that

requires South Africans to have

valid visas to work in Mozambique.

“Fines can run as high as 10 x

the annual salary of the highestpaid

person in the room – whether

or not they have a visa or are a

Mozambican citizen,” says Lloyd,

pointing out that previously the

regulations were not enforced and

South Africans were free to move

in and out of the country provided

their stay did not exceed 30 days.

Companies based in

Mozambique are also at risk of

falling foul of regulations that

are either new or had not been

enforced previously.

Some, such as the compulsory

changing of the sticker containing

TARE information on the side of

commercial vehicles from black

ink to red ink, can go unnoticed or

ignored until the company is fined.

In other instances, lodges

have had to pay import duty on

equipment – such as fridges, beds

and linen – that was not correctly

declared at the border.

With all equipment being

imported, PacMoz is in constant

demand to help companies

respond to the issues raised during

inspections, Lloyd says.

Identifying the need for

business support services that help

companies meet the regulatory

requirements, Lloyd established

PacMoz in 2012. It now has a

network of offices in Maputo,

Beira, Nacala and Pemba, and is

part of the Australian RBR Group.

Services include company

registrations, permits and licences;

human resources (immigration,

expatriate visas, recruitment,

labour broking, contracts and

payroll); legal; and financial.

It also helps companies with

managing project applications

with the Investment Promotion

Centre (CPI); identifying

reputable and cost-effective

service contractors across

almost any business discipline;

logistics support; the planning

of investment projects in

Mozambique and due

diligence reviews, she says.

Labour requirements need

to be spelled out during the

planning phase of a project as the

authorities want specifics on how

many expats will be employed,

their skills level, and the duration

of the contract – down to the last

day – Lloyd highlights.