The Government decided, today, to prioritize, among the 20 measures to stimulate the national economy, the revision of the general regime of entry visas for foreign tourists and businessmen in Mozambique.

The spokesman for the Council of Ministers, Filmão Suaze explained that the decision is justified by the approaching "peak season of the tourism sector," but also by improving the business environment and "increasing Mozambique's reputation as a tourist investment destination and creating conditions for attracting investment and creating good jobs.

The Executive approved two instruments that are expected to facilitate and increase the number of people who intend to visit and invest in Mozambique.

The first consists of revising the rules of the regime for granting visas to foreign citizens who wish to visit, do business or invest in Mozambique, contained in Decree 108/2014 of December 31 with the amendments introduced by Decree No. 3/2017 of February 22.

In this framework, the Government made the following adjustments:

"Transform the simple short-stay visas into a tourism and business visa; extend the period of stay for those visiting the country under the tourism and business visa-mix from 30 to 90 days from the date of first entry; introduce, within the scope of this visa-mix, those visiting the country to carry out scientific research activities; to extend the period of temporary residence from one to two years for investors, representatives, attorneys, or members of governing bodies of companies with investment projects worth $500,000 or more or the equivalent in other currencies; and to extend to five years for companies with investment projects worth $50 million or more."

According to Filmão Suaze, these amendments should come into effect 15 days after their publication in the Bulletin of the Republic.

The second instrument, in this same scope, is the proposal for a punctual revision of the law that establishes the legal regime of foreign citizens and the respective rules for entry, stay, and exit from our country.

"This revision will, among other things, give the Government the prerogative, whenever the interest of the State is justified based on the evaluation of the level of immigration risk, to define countries whose citizens are exempt from entry visas for a stay of up to 90 days. This proposal will soon be submitted to the Portuguese Parliament and will subsequently result in a specific list of countries whose citizens are exempt from entry visas," he said.

These developments are part of the economic acceleration package - a set of reforms that will put the private sector at the center of the country's economic transformation and development, the Cabinet spokesman said.