Ministry of internal affairs cautions public about fake visas

The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has warned the general public about the existence of scam visa application sites which have been cheating people

The ministry faced a lot of criticism from immigration officials about the number of people trying to enter Uganda using fake visas the got from fake sites.

They are usually detained.

The ministry, through spokesperson Jacob Siminyu cautioned all visa applicants to use the official website portal.

“We have some scrupulous Ugandans who have seriously robbed our clients who want to come to Uganda and those who want to extend their stay. This is our official electronic visa application portal www.visas.immigration.go.ug and our charges do not exceed Shs550,000,” Siminyu said at the Uganda Media Center on Thursday, adding that this is the only website where the issuance of all types of visas to Uganda, work permits, certificates of permanent residence are done.

He also confirmed that the charges done by fake websites are much higher than the official fees.

According to the current official chart, the normal charges are; diplomatic visa (for diplomatic and official passport Holders) is for free, Uganda ordinary/ tourist visa costs Shs183,000.

East Africa visa is Shs366,000, transit visa is at Shs183, 000, multiple-entry visas for 6 months and 12 months are at Shs366,000 and lastly is the Multiple visas for 24 months which costs Shs550,000.

According to the ministry, visa processing takes only three working days and no additional fees charged for fast-tracking visas.

“We have only one e-visa Application Portal and anyone who submits through any other site does it at her/his own risk. Government shall not be held responsible for any monetary loss or refusal from entering Uganda due to fake visa,” said Siminyu.

Meanwhile on the issue of holders of E-passports being denied entry into some countries, Siminyu said all matters were solved and people are travelling.

“Everything is at its normal, and people have come for these passports in good numbers. Last month we gave out 19,000 e-passports and we have also upgraded our systems we can now print 1,000 a day,” Siminyu.