Immigration Control Act
Immigration Control Act
Immigration Control Act
(GG 690)
brought into force on 29 July 1994 by GN 133/1994 (GG 895)
ACT
To regulate and control the entry of persons into, and their residence in, Namibia; to
provide for the removal from Namibia of certain immigrants; and to provide for matters
incidental thereto.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
1. Definitions
2. Application of Act
PART II
ADMINISTRATION OF ACT
PART III
ENTRY INTO NAMIBIA
Ports of entry
Duties of immigration officers and passports and visas
Ships in ports
Powers of immigration officers and duties of masters of ships
14. Immigration officer may board ships and prohibit or regulate traffic between ships and
shore
15. Master of ship to furnish certain lists and returns to immigration officer
16. Detention and removal of prohibited immigrants arriving by sea at a port
17. Responsibility of owner and master of ship in respect of transit passengers
18. Responsibility of owner and master of ship in respect of crew
19. Recovery of amounts forfeited under sections 16 and 17 or deposited under section 18
20. Power to refuse clearance papers
21. Agreement with ship-owners relating to the carrying out of certain provisions of Act
PART IV
DOMICILE IN NAMIBIA
PART V
LIMITATION OF ENTRY INTO, AND RESIDENCE IN, NAMIBIA
PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMITS, EMPLOYMENT PERMITS, STUDENTS’
PERMITS AND VISITORS’ ENTRY PERMITS
PART VI
PROHIBITED IMMIGRANTS
ARREST, DETENTION AND REMOVAL OF PROHIBITED IMMIGRANTS
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Prohibited immigrants
PART VII
MISCELLANEOUS POWERS OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS
PART VIII
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SCHEDULE I
OFFENCES
SCHEDULE II
LAWS REPEALED
[The Act uses the spellings “dependent” and “dependant” interchangeably as nouns,
while consistently using “dependent” as an adjective; these words and their variants are
reproduced here as they appear in the Government Gazette.]
PART I
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INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
Definitions
“board” means the Immigration Selection Board established under section 25;
“Chief of Immigration” means the Chief of Immigration appointed under section 3(1)(a);
“domicile”, subject to the provisions of Part IV, means the place where a person has his or her
home or permanent residence or to which such person returns as his or her permanent abode,
and not merely for a special or temporary purpose;
“master”, in relation to a ship, means any person (other than a pilot) for the time being in charge
or command of that ship;
(c) the person having the control or management of such premises; and
(d) the agent of any such person who is absent from Namibia or whose whereabouts
are unknown;
“owner”, in relation to a ship, includes the charterer of the ship or any agent within Namibia of
the owner or charterer;
and which contains a personal description of such person, the name of the country in which he
or she was born and the date of his or her birth, and to which a photograph of such person is
attached in which all the features of his or her face are clearly and correctly depicted;
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“permanent residence permit” means a permanent residence permit referred to in section 24(a);
“police officer” means any member of the Force as defined in section l of the Police Act, 1990
(Act 19 of 1990);
(b) any railway station or place in Namibia at or near any of the borders thereof; or
“premises” means any building or structure together with the land on which it is situated and the
adjoining land used in connection therewith, and includes any land without any building or
structure thereon;
“regulation” means any regulation made and in force under this Act;
“ship” includes any vessel or boat, of any kind, used in navigation, whether propelled by means
of sails, steampower or other mechanical means or towing or oars or in any other manner;
“this Act” includes any order, direction or regulation issued or made or deemed to have been
issued or made under this Act;
“visitor’s entry permit” means a visitor’s entry permit referred to in section 24(b)(iii).
Application of Act
2. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), the provisions of Part V, except
sections 30, 31 and 32 thereof, and Part VI of this Act shall not apply to -
(b) any person domiciled in Namibia who is not a person referred to in paragraph (a)
or (f) of section 39(2);
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(c) any spouse or dependent child of a person referred to in paragraph (b), provided
such spouse or child is not a person referred to m paragraph (d), (e), (f) or (g) of
section 39(2);
(d) any person duly accredited to Namibia by or under the authority of the government
of any sovereign state;
(e) any person who under any law is entitled to any diplomatic immunities and
privileges by reason of such person’s association with an organization of which the
Government of Namibia is a member;
(f) any person who for the purpose of employment enters Namibia -
(1) under such conditions, excluding such provisions, as may be agreed upon
between the State and such person;
(ii) under any convention or agreement with the government of any other state;
or
(g) any member of the official staff or of the household of a person referred to in
paragraphs (d), (e) and (f); and
(i) any public ship of a foreign state, while such ship is in port; or,
(ii) any aircraft or other public vehicle, while such person is or remains a
member of such crew.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the provisions of
Part V and Part VI referred to in that subsection, shall apply to any person appearing before an
immigration officer at any port of entry with the intention to enter and to remain in Namibia
unless such person satisfies such immigration officer that he or she is a person referred to in that
subsection.
(3) The provisions of this Act shall apply, in so far as they can be applied, to all
conveyances other than ships, and in respect of persons entering or seeking to enter or who have
entered or are being brought into or have been brought into Namibia by means of such
conveyances or on foot.
(4) (a) If a person referred to in paragraph (d), (e), (f) or (g) of subsection (1)
ceases, while he or she is in Namibia, to belong to any category of persons
contemplated in that paragraph, he or she may after the expiration of a period of 90
days as from such cessation, be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant,
unless such person has in terms of section 26 been granted permission to remain in
Namibia for the purpose of permanent residence therein or unless such person has
in terms of section 27, 28 or 29, as the case may be, been granted permission to
remain temporarily in Namibia.
(b) If a person referred to in paragraph (a) who is granted permission under section 27,
28 or 29, as the case may be, during a stated period and subject to any condition,
remains in Namibia after the expiration of that period or contravenes or fails to
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comply with that condition, he or she may be dealt with under Part VI as a
prohibited immigrant.
PART II
ADMINISTRATION OF ACT
(a) subject to the laws governing the public service, appoint a person to be known as
the Chief of Immigration or, during the absence or incapacity of the Chief of
Immigration, to exercise or perform his or her powers, duties or functions, an
acting Chief of Immigration, who shall, respectively, exercise or perform, subject
to the direction and control of the Minister, the powers, duties and functions
conferred or imposed upon the Chief of Immigration by or under the provisions of
this Act, and such other functions as may be imposed upon him or her by the
Minister; and
(2) In the application of the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (1), the Minister
may appoint as an immigration officer any person belonging to a group, category or class, as
may be determined by the Minister, of officers, employees or persons referred to in that
paragraph, by determining that each such officer, employee or person, as the case may be,
belonging to such group, category or class shall be an immigration officer, whereupon each
such officer, employee or person, shall hold office as an immigration officer as long as such
person belongs to such group, category or class or until such person is removed from office by
the Minister.
(b) withdraw any power or duty conferred upon, or assigned to, any immigration
officer by him or her in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section.
(4) An immigration officer shall at the time of his or her appointment be furnished
with a certificate signed by the Permanent Secretary stating that he or she has been appointed as
an immigration officer.
Delegation of powers
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4. (1) The Minister may, subject to such conditions as he or she may deem
necessary, delegate in writing any power conferred on him or her by this Act, excluding a power
conferred on him or her by sections 25(3), 43, 46(1), 49 and 58(1) and any such power which
has to be exercised by notice in the Gazette, to the Chief of Immigration or any other officer or
employee in the service of the Ministry, but shall not be divested of any power so delegated.
(2) The Chief of Immigration may, subject to such conditions as he or she may deem
necessary, delegate to an immigration officer or any other officer or employee in the Ministry
any power conferred on him or her by or under this Act, but shall not be divested of any power
so delegated.
Limitation of liability
PART III
ENTRY INTO NAMIBIA
Ports of entry
Duties of immigration officers and passports and visas
(a) the passport of such person, of a category determined by the Minister, bears an
endorsement; or
to the effect that permission has been granted to him or her by the Minister or such immigration
officer to enter Namibia at that place and to be in Namibia for such purposes and during such
period and subject to such conditions as may be stated in that endorsement or document.
(2) An immigration officer shall, if the Minister so directs, and may, subject to review
by the Minister at the request of the person concerned, withdraw any permission referred to in
subsection (1).
(3) The Minister may from time to time by notice in the Gazette, declare that a
prohibited immigrant or a category of prohibited immigrants specified in such notice shall enter
or return to Namibia at a port or ports specified in that notice and, if such person enters Namibia
at any place other than a port or ports so specified, such person shall be deemed to have entered
Namibia at a place other than a port of entry as contemplated in subsection (1).
7. A person seeking to enter Namibia shall before entering Namibia present himself
or herself to an immigration officer at a port of entry and satisfy such officer that he or she is
not a prohibited immigrant in respect of Namibia and is entitled to enter and to be in Namibia.
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(a) to answer, in writing or otherwise, such questions as the immigration officer may
put to him or her which are relevant to his or her identity, citizenship or country of
origin, as the case may be;
(c) to produce documentary or other evidence relevant to his or her claim to enter or be
in Namibia or that his or her entry into or his or her presence within Namibia will
not be unlawful;
(d) to submit to any examination or test to which such person may be subjected under
this Act;
(e) if it is suspected that such person is afflicted with any disease or physical infirmity
which under this Act would render him or her a prohibited immigrant, to submit to
an examination by a medical practitioner designated by the Minister.
(2) Any declaration made by any person under subsection (1) shall, notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in any law relating to stamp duty, be exempted from such
stamp duty as may be imposed by law in respect of affidavits and solemn or attested
declarations.
10. (1) If any person seeking to enter Namibia fails to comply with the provisions of
section 6, 7 or 8 or, having complied with such provisions, fails to satisfy the immigration
officer that he or she is not a prohibited immigrant in respect of Namibia, such immigration
officer may, subject to the provisions of section 11, by notice in writing refuse such person
entry into Namibia and such person shall not be permitted to land in and enter Namibia.
(2) No appeal shall lie against the decision by an immigration officer to so refuse a
person to enter Namibia under subsection (1).
(3) If any person who enters or has entered Namibia in contravention of the provisions
of section 6, 7 or 8 or, after having been refused permission to enter Namibia in terms of
subsection (1) of this section, is found in Namibia, he or she shall be guilty of an offence and on
conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R20 000 or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under
Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
11. (1) If any person seeking to enter Namibia, after having complied with the
provisions of section 6, 7 and 8, fails to satisfy the immigration officer that he or she is not a
prohibited immigrant, the immigration officer may issue to such person a provisional permit to
enter and reside in Namibia for such period, but not exceeding 2 months, and subject to such
conditions as the immigration officer may impose.
(2) (a) If a permit referred to in subsection (1) has been issued subject to any
condition, the immigration officer may, in order to ensure that such condition is
complied with, require prior to the issue of such permit that the person to whom
such permit is to be issued deposit with such immigration officer an amount to be
fixed by the immigration officer, not exceeding an amount determined by the
Minister by notice in the Gazette in general, or to lodge with the immigration
officer, to his or her satisfaction, a guarantee in the prescribed form, for the amount
concerned.
(c) If a person has contravened or failed to comply with a condition of his or her
permit, the Minister may order that the amount deposited with the immigration
officer be forfeited to the State or, if a guarantee was lodged with the immigration
officer, that the amount payable in terms of the guarantee be recovered for the
benefit of the State.
(3) Any person to whom a permit referred to in subsection (1) has been issued, may
enter Namibia and may remain therein for the duration of the permit.
(4) Before the expiration of a permit issued under subsection (1), the immigration
officer shall, after having made such investigations as he or she may deem necessary, satisfy
himself or herself whether the person to whom the permit was issued is or is not a prohibited
immigrant, and if such immigration officer is satisfied that such person is -
(a) a prohibited immigrant, he or she shall notify such person in writing of that fact
and, such person may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant; or
(b) not a prohibited immigrant, he or she shall notify such person in writing of that fact
and on application of such person in terms of -
(i) section 26, the board may authorize the issue of a permanent residence
permit under that section to such person; or
(ii) section 27, the board may authorize the issue of an employment permit
under that section to such person; or
(iii) section 28, the Chief of Immigration may authorize the issue of a student’s
permit under that section to such person; or
(iv) section 29, the immigration officer may authorize the issue of a visitor’s
entry permit under that section to such person,
(5) If the immigration officer is satisfied that the person to whom a provisional permit
was issued under subsection (1) is not a prohibited immigrant, the residence of such person in
Namibia during the period for which the permit was issued shall, for the purpose of determining
whether or not such person has acquired a domicile in Namibia, not be regarded as temporary or
conditional residence in Namibia merely because such permit was issued to such person.
(6) Any person to whom a provisional permit was issued under subsection (1) and who
acts in conflict with the purpose for which, or fails to comply with a condition subject to which,
such permit was issued, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine not
exceeding R8 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine
and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
(7) The provisions of this section shall not be construed as authorizing any person to
whom a provisional permit has been issued (whether or not as a purpose for which or a
condition subject to which such permit has been issued), to enter into or to be in any
employment or to conduct any business or to carry on any profession or occupation or to receive
any training instruction or education in any training or educational institution, in Namibia.
12. (1) Any person seeking to enter Namibia who fails on demand by an
immigration officer to produce to such immigration officer an unexpired passport which bears a
valid visa or an endorsement by a person authorized thereto by the Government of Namibia to
the effect that authority to proceed to Namibia for the purpose of being examined under this Act
has been granted by the Minister or an officer authorized thereto by the Minister, or such person
is accompanied by a document containing a statement to that effect together with particulars of
such passport, shall be refused to enter and to be in Namibia, unless such person is proved to be
a Namibian citizen or a person domiciled in Namibia.
(2) (a) The Minister may exempt any person or category of persons from the
provisions of subsection (1) in respect of a visa, endorsement or document referred
to therein for a specified or unspecified period and either unconditionally or subject
to such conditions as the Minister may impose.
(b) The Minister may exclude from any exemption granted to a category of persons
under paragraph (a) any person belonging to that category.
(i) withdraw any exemption granted under paragraph (a) to any category of
persons or to any person, whether as an individual or as a member of a
category of persons; or
(ii) cancel and declare null and void any visa, endorsement or document referred
to in the said subsection (1).
(3) Any person under the age of 16 years shall on entering Namibia deemed to be in
possession of a valid passport if such person is accompanied by his or her parent in possession
of such a passport in which the name of that person was inserted on behalf of the Government
of Namibia or on behalf of any government of any other state recognized by the Government of
Namibia.
(4) If any person enters or has entered Namibia in contravention of the provisions of
subsection (1) or, after having been refused to enter Namibia in terms of that subsection, is
found in Namibia, he or she shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine
not exceeding R20 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such
fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
Transit visas
13. (1) No person, other than a Namibian citizen or person domiciled in Namibia,
who is proceeding from a destination outside Namibia to a destination outside Namibia shall
travel through Namibia, unless such person is in possession of a transit visa issued for such
purpose in terms of subsection (2).
(2) The Minister may authorize the issue to any person of a transit visa on such
conditions as the Minister may impose.
(a) exempt any person or category of persons from the provisions of subsection (1);
(b) exclude from any exemption granted to a category of persons under paragraph (a),
any person belonging to that category; and
(c) withdraw any exemption granted under paragraph (a) to any category of persons or
to any person, whether as an individual or as a member of a category of persons.
(4) Any person referred to in subsection (1) who, while travelling through Namibia as
contemplated in that subsection, contravenes the provisions of that subsection or fails on
demand by an immigration officer to produce to such officer a transit visa issued to him or her
under subsection (2), or any holder of any such transit visa who contravenes or fails to comply
with any condition of such visa, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a
fine not exceeding R8 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both
such fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited
immigrant.
Ships in ports
Powers of immigration officers and duties of masters of ships
Immigration officer may board ships and prohibit or regulate traffic between ships and
shore
14. (1) An immigration officer may, subject to the provisions of section 53, if he or
she regards it necessary for the purpose of achieving the purposes and objects of this Act, board
any ship which is entering or has entered or has been brought into any port.
(2) Any immigration officer may, for the better carrying out of the provisions of this
Act, prohibit or regulate any communication with, disembarkation from, or the offloading of,
any ship on which the immigration officer is proceeding with the examination of persons or
which has on board or is suspected of having on board any prohibited immigrant, and the
immigration officer may cause such steps to be taken to carry out any such prohibition or
regulation as the Minister may approve.
(3) For the better carrying out of the objects and purposes of this Act any person in
control of the port concerned or person acting under his or her authority may, at the request of
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an immigration officer, order the master of any ship to moor or anchor such ship in the port at
such distance from the shore or landing place or in such position as such person may direct.
15. (1) The master of any ship which enters any port shall deliver to an immigration
officer upon demand -
(i) the names of all passengers on board the ship, classified according to their
respective destinations;
(ii) the class by which each such passenger has travelled; and
(c) a list of the crew and all persons (other than passengers or stowaways) employed or
carried on the ship in any capacity by or on behalf of the owner, or present on the
ship;
(d) a return, under the hand of the medical officer of that ship or, if there is not a
medical officer, under his or her hand, stating -
(i) any known cases of disease, whether infectious or otherwise, which have
occurred on the voyage;
(aa) the name of such person who has suffered or is suffering from such
disease, infirmity or disability; and
(bb) in each case the nature of the disease, infirmity or disability; and
(iv) particulars of any birth or death which occurred on the voyage between the
said port and the previous port.
(b) Any person, other than a Namibian citizen or person domiciled in Namibia, who
fails to comply with the provisions of paragraph (a) may be refused by an
immigration officer to enter Namibia, and such person may, if he or she, after
having been so refused, enters or has entered or is found in Namibia, be dealt with
under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
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(3) In the case of a ship arriving at a port in Namibia and destined for any other port in
Namibia, the immigration officer at the first-mentioned port may exempt the master of such
ship, subject to such rules as such immigration officer may make for the guidance of such
master, from the duty to deliver all or any such lists or the return referred to in subsection (1) at
the other port where the ship arrives.
16. (1) Any person arriving by sea at a port of entry who has been personally
notified by an immigration officer that he or she is a prohibited immigrant in respect of Namibia
and of whom such immigration officer has made a declaration to the master of the ship on
which such person has so arrived that such person is such a prohibited immigrant, shall be
detained by such master on that ship and, unless such master is officially informed that such
person has been found not to be such a prohibited immigrant, that person shall be refused to
enter Namibia and the master shall remove that person from Namibia.
(2) Any person referred to in subsection (1) shall, while detained, pending removal, on
board the ship referred to in that subsection, be deemed to be in the custody of the master of
such ship and not of the immigration officer, the Minister or the Government, and such master
shall be liable to pay the costs of the detention, maintenance and control of such person while so
detained.
(3) If the master of the ship referred to in subsection (1) fails to comply with the
provisions of that subsection, or to pay the cost mentioned in subsection (2), such master or the
owner of such ship shall forfeit in respect of every such person an amount to be fixed by the
immigration officer, not exceeding an amount determined by the Minister by notice in the
Gazette in general.
(4) The immigration officer may, if he or she deems it necessary, require the master or
the owner of a ship to deposit an amount sufficient to cover any expenses that may be incurred
by the Ministry in connection with the removal, detention, maintenance and custody of a person
conveyed on that ship.
(5) (a) If any person referred to in subsection (1) is for any reason not removed
from Namibia in the ship on which such person was conveyed to Namibia (except
by reason of the fact that such person was found not to be a prohibited immigrant)
the owner of that ship shall, at the request of the immigration officer, convey that
person free of charge to the State, to a place outside Namibia.
(b) If the owner referred to in paragraph (a) fails to comply with the provisions of that
paragraph, such owner shall forfeit in respect of each person referred to in that
paragraph an amount to be fixed by the immigration officer, not exceeding an
amount determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette in general.
(6) If any person who, after having escaped or in his or her attempt to escape from
detention, enters Namibia or, after having been refused to enter Namibia while being dealt with
under this section, is found within Namibia, he or she shall be guilty of an offence and on
conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R20 000 or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under
Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
17. If a ship arrives at any port in Namibia with a passenger on board bound for a
destination outside Namibia and, whether or not that passenger has been refused by an
immigration officer to land and to enter Namibia, such person is not on board when the ship
departs, the master or the owner of that ship shall forfeit in respect of such passenger an amount
to be fixed by the immigration officer, not exceeding an amount determined by the Minister by
notice in the Gazette in general.
18. (1) An immigration officer may require the master of a ship to muster the crew
of such ship on or after the arrival of such ship in any port and again before such ship departs
from such port.
(2) If any person whose name appears on the list referred to in section 15(1)(c) is not
on board when the ship is ready to depart, the master or the owner of the ship may be required
before the ship departs, to deposit with the immigration officer in respect of such person an
amount fixed by the immigration officer, not exceeding an amount determined by the Minister
by notice in the Gazette in general, unless it is proved to the satisfaction of the immigration
officer that such person is a Namibian citizen or such person is domiciled in Namibia.
(3) The amount referred to in subsection (2) shall be forfeited to the State unless the
master or owner proves to the satisfaction of the immigration officer within 90 days after such
amount was deposited that the person in respect of whom such amount was deposited, is no
longer in Namibia.
19. (1) Until any amount which has been forfeited under section 16 or 17 has been
paid, or any amount which is to be deposited under section 18 has been submitted, no clearance
papers shall be given to the master or owner of the ship in question.
(2) Such ship may be declared executable by order of the High Court for the recovery
of any amount forfeited under section 16 or 17 or required to be deposited under section 18.
20. The competent officer of customs at any port may refuse to give to the master of
any ship clearance papers to leave that port until such master has complied with the provisions
of this Act and produced a certificate of an immigration officer to that effect.
Agreement with ship-owners relating to the carrying out of certain provisions of Act
21. (1) In order to facilitate the clearance of ships habitually calling at any port, the
Minister may enter into an agreement (with or without the giving of security) with the owner of
such ships whereby such owner undertakes that he or she or the masters of such ships belonging
to him or her and calling habitually at such ports shall carry out so much of the provisions of
sections 16, 17 and 18 as may relate to such owner or master.
(2) The terms of an agreement entered into under subsection (1), shall be substituted
for the provisions of section 16, 17 or 18 in so far as those provisions relate to the payment or
deposit of moneys by such owner or master of a ship.
PART IV
DOMICILE IN NAMIBIA
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Domicile in Namibia
22. (1) For the purposes of this Act, no person shall have a domicile in Namibia,
unless such person -
(b) is entitled to reside in Namibia and so resides therein, whether before or after the
commencement of this Act, in terms of the provisions of section 7(2)(a) of the
Namibian Citizenship Act, 1990 (Act 14 of 1990);
(d) in the case of any other person, he or she is lawfully resident in Namibia, whether
before or after the commencement of this Act, and is so resident in Namibia, for a
continuous period of two years.
(2) For the purposes of the computation of any period of residence referred to in
subsection (1)(d), no period during which any person -
(e) resided in Namibia in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d), (e), (f) or
(g) of section 2(1),
Loss of domicile
(a) in the case of a Namibian citizen, at the same time that he or she in terms of the
provisions of any law ceases to be a Namibian citizen, unless he or she is a person
referred to in section 22(1)(b);
(b) in the case of a person referred to in paragraph (b) of section 22(1), if such person
is deprived of his or her right to reside in Namibia, by order, as contemplated in
section 7(2)(b) of the Namibian Citizenship Act, 1990 (Act 14 of 1990);
(c) in the case of a person referred to in paragraph (c) of section 22(1), if the marriage
of such person, referred to therein, has been dissolved otherwise than by the death
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of his or her spouse at any time within a period of two years from the date of such
marriage;
(d) in the case of any other person having domicile in Namibia, if such person -
(i) subject to the provisions of subsection (2), has been absent from Namibia for
a continuous period exceeding two years or exceeding such longer period as
the Minister may in writing in each case determine;
(ii) subject to the provisions of subsection (3), has made any declaration,
whether for the purpose of this Act or any other law, to the effect that he or
she no longer resides in Namibia or regards himself or herself as no longer
being resident in Namibia.
(2) Any person referred to in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) who
is absent from Namibia shall not lose his or her domicile if he or she is so absent -
(e) in the case of the spouse or dependent child of a person referred to in paragraphs
(a), (b), (c) and (d) of this subsection, if that spouse or child is so absent with such
person.
(3) For the purpose of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (d) of subsection (1), the fact that
a person referred to in that subparagraph has taken up permanent residence in a country other
than Namibia shall be prima facie proof of a declaration by that person that he or she no longer
resides in Namibia.
PART V
LIMITATION OF ENTRY INTO, AND RESIDENCE IN, NAMIBIA
PERMANENT RESIDENCE PERMITS, EMPLOYMENT PERMITS, STUDENTS’
PERMITS AND VISITORS’ ENTRY PERMITS
(a) enter or reside in Namibia with a view to permanent residence therein, unless such
person is in possession of a permanent residence permit issued to him or her in
terms of section 26; or
(b) enter or reside in Namibia with a view to temporary residence therein, unless -
(i) in the case of any person who intends to enter or reside in Namibia for the
purpose of employment or conducting a business or carrying on a profession
or occupation in Namibia, such person is in possession of an employment
permit issued to him or her in terms of section 27; or
Republic of Namibia 18 Annotated Statutes
(ii) in the case of any person who intends to enter or reside in Namibia for the
purpose of attending or undergoing any training, instruction or education at
any training or educational institution in Namibia, such person is in
possession of a student’s permit issued to him or her in terms of section 28;
or
(iii) in the case of any person who intends to enter or reside for any other
purpose, such person is in possession of a visitor’s entry permit issued to
him or her in terms of section 29.
(i) section 26, consider applications for permanent residence permits referred to
in section 24(a);
(b) may take such other action and do such other things as may be required for the
proper performance of its functions and duties under this Act.
(3) The board shall consist of not less than five and not more than seven members as
the Minister may appoint, of whom one shall be designated by the Minister as chairperson of
the board.
(4) A member of the board shall hold office for such period as the Minister may, either
generally or in respect of any particular member, determine.
(5) The remuneration, allowances, benefits and gratuities of a member of the board
who is not in the full time service of the State, shall be determined by the Minister, in
consultation with the Minister of Finance.
(6) A member of the board shall be notified in writing of his or her appointment or
designation or any determination in respect of him or her in terms of subsection (3), (4) or (5),
as the case may be.
(7) The quorum for any meeting of the board shall be a majority of the members of the
board.
(8) (a) The chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the board at which he or she
is present and in the event of his or her absence from any meeting, the members
present thereat shall elect one of their number to act as chairperson at that meeting.
(b) An acting chairperson referred to in paragraph (a) shall at any meeting at which he
or she presides, have all the powers and perform all the duties and functions of the
chairperson.
Republic of Namibia 19 Annotated Statutes
(9) The decision of the majority of the members of the board present at any meeting
thereof, shall be a decision of the board and in the event of an equality of votes, the person
presiding at the meeting in question shall have a casting vote in addition to his or her
deliberative vote.
(10) (a) The board may, with the approval of the Minister, subject to such conditions
as the board may determine, establish committees and assign to it any of its
powers, duties and functions conferred or imposed upon it by or under this Act.
(b) Anything done by any such committee by virtue of any such assignment of a
power, duty or function shall for all purposes be deemed to have been done by the
board.
(11) The meetings of the board and of its committees shall be held at such times and at
such places as the chairperson of the board may determine.
(12) The administrative work in connection with the functions of the board or any
committee thereof shall be performed by officers in the Ministry designated by the Permanent
Secretary.
26. (1) (a) An application for a permanent residence permit shall be made on a
prescribed form and shall be submitted to the Chief of Immigration.
(b) Different forms may, for the purpose of paragraph (a), be prescribed for different
categories of persons.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (7), the Chief of Immigration shall submit
every application received by him or her to the board together with such information relating to
the applicant as he or she may have obtained and shall furnish such further information to the
board as it may require in connection with such applicant.
(3) The board may authorize the issue of a permit to enter and to be in Namibia for the
purpose of permanent residence therein to the applicant and make the authorization subject to
any condition the board may deem appropriate: Provided that the board shall not authorize the
issue of such a permit unless the applicant satisfies the board that -
(b) he or she will within a reasonable time after entry into Namibia assimilate with the
inhabitants of Namibia and be a desirable inhabitant of Namibia; and
(d) he or she has sufficient means or is likely to earn sufficient means to maintain
himself or herself and his or her spouse and dependent children (if any), or he or
she has such qualifications, education and training or experience as are likely to
render him or her efficient in the employment, business, profession or occupation
he or she intends to pursue in Namibia; and
(e) he or she does not and is not likely to pursue any employment, business, profession
or occupation in which a sufficient number of persons are already engaged in
Namibia to meet the requirements of the inhabitants of Namibia; and
Republic of Namibia 20 Annotated Statutes
(f) the issue to him or her of a permanent residence permit would not be in conflict
with the other provisions of this Act or any other law; or
(g) he or she is the spouse or dependent child, or a destitute, aged or infirm parent of a
person permanently resident in Namibia who is able and undertakes in writing to
maintain him or her.
(4) When the board has authorized the issue of a permanent residence permit, the
Chief of Immigration shall issue such permit in the prescribed form to the applicant concerned.
(5) The validity of a permanent residence permit shall lapse if the person to whom
such permit has been issued in terms of subsection (4) -
(a) fails to enter Namibia for the purpose of permanent residence therein within a
period of six months from the date on which that permit was issued or within such
longer period as the Chief of Immigration may from time to time determine and on
such conditions as he or she may determine.
(b) not yet having acquired a domicile in Namibia in terms of this Act -
(i) has been absent from Namibia for a continuous period exceeding two years
or exceeding such longer period as the Chief of Immigration may in writing
in each case determine, but exclusive of any such period in respect of which
such person is so absent mutatis mutandis in accordance with the provisions
of section 23(2);
(ii) voluntarily departs from Namibia and resides in a country other than
Namibia with the intention of permanently residing outside Namibia; or
(6) The board may, on an application referred to in subsection (1) made by a person
who has been permitted under this Act to be in Namibia or to whom an employment permit
referred to in section 27 or a student’s permit referred to in section 28 or a visitor’s entry permit
referred to in section 29 has been issued, authorize the issue to him or her of a permit in terms
of this section mutatis mutandis as if he or she were outside Namibia, and upon the issue of that
permit he or she may reside permanently in Namibia.
(7) (a) If the board rejects an application submitted to it in terms of subsection (2),
the board shall not be obliged to reconsider such application, and the board shall
not consider another such application by the same person before the expiration of a
period of not less than six months from the date on which the said person was
informed of the decision of the board: Provided that if the Chief of Immigration
receives any new information or it is shown that the circumstances affecting the
application in question have changed, he or she may at any time request the board
to reconsider the first-mentioned application.
(b) After receipt of a request in terms of paragraph (a) the board shall reconsider the
application in question as if it were submitted to the board under subsection (2).
27. (1) The board may, subject to the provisions of subsection (2), on application of
any person made on a prescribed form, authorize the Chief of Immigration to issue to such
person an employment permit -
Republic of Namibia 21 Annotated Statutes
(a) to enter Namibia or any particular part of Namibia and to reside therein;
for the purpose of entering or continuing in any employment or conducting any business or
carrying on any profession or occupation in Namibia during such period and subject to such
conditions as the board may impose and stated in the said permit.
(2) The board shall not authorize the issue of an employment permit unless the
applicant satisfies the board that -
(a) he or she has such qualifications, education and training or experience as are likely
to render him or her efficient in the employment, business, profession or
occupation concerned; and
(c) the issue to him or her of an employment permit would not be in conflict with the
other provisions of this Act or any other law.
(3) The board may, with due regard to the provisions of subsection (2), from time to
time extend the period for which, or alter the conditions subject to which, such permit was
issued under subsection (1), and a permit so altered shall be deemed to have been issued under
that subsection.
(4) (a) If the board intends issuing an employment permit under subsection (1) to a
person for that purpose or subject to conditions, he or she may, in order to ensure
that the purpose of his or her residence and the conditions under which the permit
was issued are observed or complied with, require that person, before issuing the
permit to him or her, to deposit with the Chief of Immigration an amount fixed by
the board, not exceeding an amount determined by the Minister by notice in the
Gazette in general, or to lodge with the Chief of Immigration to his or her
satisfaction, in the prescribed form, a guarantee for the amount concerned.
[There appears to be some grammatical confusion in paragraph (a) regarding the pronouns in the
phrase “he or she may… require that person…”. The words “he or she” appear to refer to the board
given the sentence structure, but the appropriate pronoun in that case would be “it”.
It may be that the provision intended to state that the board may instruct the Chief of Immigration
to require that the person seeking the employment permit must deposit a specified amount of
money. However, it is not possible to be certain about what was intended.]
(c) If such person acted in conflict with the purpose for which, or failed to comply
with a condition subject to which, the employment permit was issued to him or her
under subsection (1), the Minister may order that the amount deposited with the
Chief of Immigration be forfeited to the State or, if a guarantee was lodged with
the Chief of Immigration that the amount payable in terms of the guarantee be
recovered for the benefit of the State.
Republic of Namibia 22 Annotated Statutes
(5) When the board authorizes the issue of such an employment permit to any person
under subsection (1), it may authorize in that permit the spouse and dependent child of that
person, if the spouse or child accompanies or resides with him or her, to enter and reside in
Namibia with that person.
(6) Any person to whom an employment permit was issued under subsection (1) or
who was authorized in that permit under subsection (5) to reside with that person, and who
remains in Namibia after the expiration of the period or extended period for which, or acts in
conflict with the purpose for which, that permit was issued, or contravenes or fails to comply
with any condition subject to which it was issued, shall be guilty of an offence and on
conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R12 000 or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding three years or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under
Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
28. (1) The Chief of Immigration may, on application of any person who has
complied with all the relevant requirements of this Act, issue to him or her a student’s permit -
(a) to enter Namibia or any particular part of Namibia and to reside therein;
for the purpose of attending or undergoing any training, instruction or education at any training
or educational institution, approved by the Minister, during such period and subject to such
conditions as the Chief of Immigration may impose and stated in the said permit.
(2) The Chief of Immigration may from time to time extend the period for which, or
alter the conditions subject to which, such permit was issued under subsection (1), and a permit
so altered shall be de med to have been issued under that subsection.
(3) (a) If the Chief of Immigration intends issuing a student’s permit under
subsection (1) to a person for that purpose or subject to conditions, he or she may,
in order to ensure that the purpose of his or her residence and the conditions under
which the permit was issued are observed or complied with, require that person,
before issuing the permit to him or her, to deposit with the Chief of Immigration an
amount fixed by him or her, not exceeding an amount determined by the Minister
by notice in the Gazette in general, or to lodge with him or her to his or her
satisfaction, in the prescribed form, a guarantee for the amount concerned.
(c) If such person acted in conflict with the purpose for which, or failed to comply
with a condition subject to which, the student’s permit was issued to him or her
under subsection (1), the Minister may order that the amount deposited with the
Chief of Immigration be forfeited to the State or, if a guarantee was lodged with
Republic of Namibia 23 Annotated Statutes
the Chief of Immigration that the amount payable in terms of the guarantee be
recovered for the benefit of the State.
(4) When the Chief of Immigration issues such a student’s permit to any person under
subsection (1), he or she may authorize in that permit the spouse and dependent child of that
person, if the spouse or child accompanies or resides with him or her, to enter and reside in
Namibia with that person.
(5) Any person to whom a student’s permit was issued under subsection (1) or who
was authorized in that permit under subsection (4) to reside with that person, and who remains
in Namibia after the expiration of the period or extended period for which, or acts in conflict
with the purpose for which, that permit was issued, or contravenes or fails to comply with any
condition subject to which it was issued, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be
liable to a fine not exceeding R12 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years
or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited
immigrant.
(6) The provisions of this section shall not be construed as authorizing any person to
whom a student’s permit has been issued (whether or not as a purpose for which or a condition
subject to which such permit has been issued), to enter into or to be in any employment or to
conduct any business or to carry on any profession or occupation in Namibia, unless such
person is under any law required to enter into or to be in any employment in order to attend or
undergo any such training, instruction or education and such permit or such purpose or
condition relates to such employment.
29. (1) An immigration officer may, on the application of any person who has
complied with all the relevant requirements of this Act, issue to such person a visitor’s entry
permit -
(a) to enter Namibia or any particular part of Namibia and to sojourn temporarily
therein;
for such purposes and during such period, not exceeding 12 months, as may be determined by
the immigration officer and subject to such conditions as the immigration officer may impose,
and stated in the said permit.
(2) An immigration officer may, from time to time, extend the period for which a
visitor’s entry permit was issued under subsection (1), but not for more than 12 months at a
time, or alter the purpose for which, or the condition subject to which, such permit was issued,
and a permit so altered shall be deemed to have been issued under that subsection.
(3) (a) If an immigration officer intends issuing a visitor’s entry permit under
subsection (1) to a person for a specified purpose or subject to conditions, such
immigration officer may in order to ensure that the purpose of such person’s
sojourn and the conditions under which the permit was issued are observed or
complied with, require such person, before issuing the permit to him or her, to
deposit with such immigration officer an amount fixed by him or her, not
exceeding an amount determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette in
general, or to lodge with him or her to his or her satisfaction, in the prescribed
form, a guarantee for the amount concerned.
Republic of Namibia 24 Annotated Statutes
(c) If such person acted in conflict with the purpose for which, or failed to comply
with a condition subject to which, such permit was issued to him or her under
subsection (1), the Minister may order that the amount deposited with the
immigration officer be forfeited to the State or, if a guarantee was lodged with the
immigration officer, that the amount payable in terms of the guarantee be
recovered for the benefit of the State.
(4) When an immigration officer issues such a visitor’s entry permit to any person
under subsection (1), such immigration officer may issue a similar permit to the spouse,
dependent child or any other person who is in the employ of such person, if such spouse, child
or employee accompanies or resides with such person.
(5) Any person to whom a visitor’s entry permit was issued under subsection (1) and
who remains in Namibia after the expiration of the period or extended period for which, or acts
in conflict with the purpose for which, that permit was issued, or contravenes or fails to comply
with any condition subject to which it was issued, shall be guilty of an offence and on
conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R12 000 or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding three years or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under
Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
(6) The provisions of this section shall not be construed as authorizing any person to
whom a visitor’s entry permit has been issued (whether or not as a purpose for which or a
condition subject to which such permit has been issued), to enter into or to be in any
employment or to conduct any business or to carry on any profession or occupation or to receive
any training, instruction or education in any training or educational institution, in Namibia.
30. (1) If any person to whom has been issued any permit under this Act, as the case
may be, is prohibited by reason of any purpose for which such permit was issued under this Act
or any condition stated in such permit from -
(b) entering into or being in the employment of any other person, except a person
specified in such permit;
(c) entering into or being in the employment of any other person in any capacity
except a capacity specified in such permit or for a period longer than the period so
specified;
no person shall -
(iv) in the case of a prohibition referred to in paragraph (d), enter into an agreement
with such person for the conduct of a business or the carrying on of a profession or
occupation or conduct a business or carry on a profession or occupation in co-
operation with such person;
(v) in the case of a prohibition referred to in paragraph (e), provide training, instruction
or education to such person or permit him or her to receive training, instruction or
education;
(vi) in the case of a prohibition referred to in paragraph (f), provide training, instruction
or education to such person or permit him or her to receive training, instruction or
education at an institution, unless it is at the institution specified in the permit.
(2) If any permit has been issued under this Act, as the case may be, to a person
permitting him or her to reside or sojourn in any particular part of Namibia, no person shall -
(a) employ or continue to employ such person in any part of Namibia except that
particular part;
(b) enter into an agreement with such person for the conduct of a business or the
carrying on of a profession or occupation in any part of Namibia except that
particular part;
(c) conduct any business or carry on any profession or occupation in co-operation with
such person in any part of Namibia except that particular part;
(d) assist, enable or in any manner help such person to conduct a business or carry on a
profession or occupation in any part of Namibia except that particular part;
(e) do anything for or on behalf of such person in connection with a business or carry
on a profession or occupation in any part of Namibia except that particular part;
(f) harbour such person in any part of Namibia except that particular part;
(g) let or sell or in any manner make available to such person immovable property in
any part of Namibia except that particular part; or
Republic of Namibia 26 Annotated Statutes
(h) provide training, instruction or education to such person or permitting him or her to
receive training, instruction or education in any part of Namibia except that
particular part.
(b) provide training, instruction or education to such person or allow him or her to
receive training, instruction or education;
(c) issue to such person a licence or other authorization to conduct any business or to
carry on any profession or occupation;
(d) enter into an agreement with such person for the conduct of any business or the
carrying on of any profession or occupation;
(e) conduct any business or carry on any profession or occupation in co-operation with
such person;
(f) assist or in any manner enable such person to conduct any business or to carry on
any profession or occupation;
(g) obtain a licence or other authority for or on behalf of such person to conduct any
business or to carry on any profession or occupation;
(h) do anything for or on behalf of such person in connection with his or her business
or profession or occupation;
(j) let or sell or in any manner make available any immovable property in Namibia to
any such person.
(4) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1), (2) or (3) shall be
guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R12 000 or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years or to both such fine and such
imprisonment.
(5) If a person is charged with a contravention of subsection (1)(i) or (v), (2)(a) or (h)
or (3)(a) or (b), such person may -
(a) in the case of a charge of a contravention of subsection (1)(i) or (v), be found guilty
of a contravention of subsection (1)(iv), if such be the facts proved;
(6) (a) A person referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (3) may not obtain a
licence or other authority to conduct a business or carry on a profession or
occupation.
(2) Any person who fails to comply with a request under subsection (1), or who
furnishes a return of which any essential particular is false, shall be guilty of an offence and on
conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R8 000 or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(3) The provisions of subsections (1) and (2) shall mutatis mutandis apply in respect of
any person who provides training, instruction or education as if he or she were an employer and
the persons to whom he or she provides training, instruction or education were his or her
employees.
32. (1) The occupier of any premises, whether furnished or unfurnished, where
lodging or sleeping accommodation is provided for payment or reward shall, if those premises
fall within a class prescribed by regulation, keep in accordance with those regulations a register
of all persons who are provided with lodging or sleeping accommodation thereon and every
such person shall sign the register and furnish such particulars regarding himself or herself as
may be required for the proper completion of the register: Provided that the provisions of this
subsection shall not apply to a person who is -
(a) duly accredited to Namibia by or under the authority of the government of any
sovereign state or any person who under any law is entitled to any diplomatic
immunities and privileges by of such person’s association with an organization of
which the Government of Namibia is a member and any member of the official
staff or of the household of any such person;
(2) Every occupier of premises referred to in subsection (1) shall, when required to do
so by an immigration officer or police officer, produce the register referred to in that subsection
for inspection.
(a) contravenes or fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (1) or (2);
(b) gives false or incorrect particulars for the purposes of subsection (1); or
(c) hinders or obstructs any officer referred to in subsection (2) in the performance of
his or her functions under that subsection,
Republic of Namibia 28 Annotated Statutes
shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R4 000 or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
Exceptions
(a) to any person who prior to the commencement of this Act lawfully entered
Namibia for the purpose of permanent residence therein;
(b) to any person exempted in terms of section 35 from any of the provisions of the
said section 24.
34. (1) Any person who at any time entered Namibia and, irrespective of the
circumstances of his or her entry, is not or is not deemed to be in possession of a permanent
residence permit issued to him or her under section 26 or an employment permit issued to him
or her under section 27 or a student’s permit issued to him or her under section 28 or a visitor’s
entry permit issued to him or her under section 29, or has not under section 35 been exempted
from the provisions of section 24, as the case may be, shall present himself or herself to an
immigration officer or to an officer of the Ministry.
(2) Any person who has under section 35 been exempted from the provisions of
section 24(b) for a specified period, shall before the date on which such period expires present
himself or herself to an immigration officer or to an officer of the Ministry.
(3) Any person referred to in subsection (1) who fails to comply with the provisions of
that subsection or any person referred to in subsection (2) who fails to comply with the
provisions of the last-mentioned subsection or any person, so referred to, who fails, on being
called upon to do so by an immigration officer, then and there to furnish to such immigration
officer the particulars determined by the Chief of Immigration to enable the board, the Chief of
Immigration or such immigration officer, as the case may be, to consider the issuing to the said
person of a permit concerned, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine
not exceeding R4 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months or to both such
fine and such imprisonment, and may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
Exemptions
35. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, the Minister may exempt any
person or category of persons from all or any of the provisions of this Part, and for a specified
or unspecified period and either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Minister
may impose, and may do so also with retrospective effect, whereupon the Chief of Immigration
shall be notified to that effect.
(2) The Minister may exclude from any exemption granted to a category of persons
under subsection (1) any person belonging to that category.
(3) The Minister may withdraw any exemption granted under subsection (1) to any
category of persons or to any person, and, in the case of a person, whether he or she was
exempted as an individual or as a member of a category of persons, the Minister may direct, by
notice in writing addressed to such person, that such person may be dealt with under Part VI as
a prohibited immigrant, should he or she fail to leave Namibia before a date specified by the
Minister in that notice.
Republic of Namibia 29 Annotated Statutes
(4) The Minister may issue or cause to be issued to any person whose exemption is
withdrawn under subsection (3), an employment permit referred to in section 27 or a student’s
permit referred to in section 28 or a visitor’s entry permit referred to in section 29, as the case
may be, to reside or sojourn in Namibia or any particular part of Namibia.
36. (1) If any person is in possession of a document purporting to have been issued
to him or her in terms of section 24 but which is not a permit in terms of the said section, such
person may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant.
(2) If a permit has been issued in terms of section 26 on an application which contains
any incorrect information, or if the person in possession of such a permit or his or her agent has
furnished any incorrect information in connection with that application or any application for
the extension of the period of validity of such permit, or if the said person within a period of
two years as from the date of issue of that permit without the consent of the Minister engages in
Namibia in any employment, business, profession or occupation other than that stated in the
said permit, the Minister may direct that by notice in writing addressed to that person, such
permit be cancelled, and such person may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited immigrant
should he or she fail to leave Namibia before a date specified by the Minister in that notice, and
upon expiration of the period stated in that notice that permit shall become null and void.
(3) The Minister may at any time direct by notice in writing addressed to any person in
possession of an employment permit issued in terms of section 27 or a student’s permit issued in
terms of section 28 or a visitor’s entry permit issued in terms of section 29, as the case may be,
that the permit be cancelled, and such person may be dealt with under Part VI as a prohibited
immigrant should he or she fail to leave Namibia before a date specified by the Minister in that
notice, and upon expiration of the period stated in that notice that permit shall become null and
void.
Holder of permit or other document not entitled by virtue of that permit or document only
to enter or reside in Namibia
37. No person in possession of a permit issued under this Part or any other document
(other than a valid certificate of identity issued under section 38) issued at any time under any
law permitting such person to enter into or reside in Namibia, shall only by virtue of such
permit or document be entitled to enter or reside in Namibia or be exempted from any other
provision of this Act.
38. The Minister may authorize the issue of a certificate of identity to any person who
is lawfully resident in Namibia and who desires to leave Namibia temporarily but is for any
reason in doubt whether he or she will be able to lawfully enter Namibia on his or her return.
PART VI
PROHIBITED IMMIGRANTS
ARREST, DETENTION AND REMOVAL
OF PROHIBITED IMMIGRANTS
Prohibited immigrants
Prohibited immigrants
Republic of Namibia 30 Annotated Statutes
39. (1) Any of the persons referred to in subsection (2) who enters or has entered
Namibia or is in Namibia, shall be a prohibited immigrant in respect of Namibia.
(a) such person has been removed from Namibia under a warrant issued under section
44, 49 or 50 of this Act or any other law, or who fails to leave Namibia after
having in terms of section 48 of this Act been ordered to leave Namibia, unless
such person is in possession of a valid authority in terms of this Act to return to and
to be or to remain in Namibia;
(b) such person or category of persons is deemed by the Minister on economic grounds
or on account of standard or habits of life to be unsuited to the requirements of
Namibia;
(c) such person is likely to become a public charge by reason of infirmity of mind or
body, or because such person is not in possession of sufficient means to support
himself or herself and such of his or her dependants as such person may bring or
has brought with him or her into Namibia;
(d) such person is a mentally ill or physically afflicted person, unless in any such case
the person concerned or the person accompanying him or her or any other person
gives security to the satisfaction of the Minister for the permanent support in
Namibia of such mentally ill or afflicted person or for such person’s removal from
Namibia when so authorized by a tribunal under this Part;
(e) such person is infected or afflicted with a contagious disease or is a carrier of such
a virus or disease, as may be prescribed;
(f) such person (not having received a free pardon) has been convicted (whether
before or after the commencement of this Act) -
(ii) in any other country, of any offence which is substantially similar to any
offence specified in that Schedule and, by reason of the circumstances of
such offence, is regarded by the Minister to be an undesirable inhabitant of,
or visitor to, Namibia;
(g) such person, from information received from any government through official or
diplomatic channels, is regarded by the Minister to be an undesirable inhabitant of,
or visitor to, Namibia;
(h) such person, in terms of any other provision of this Act, may be dealt with as a
prohibited immigrant or is not in terms of any such provision otherwise entitled to
be or to remain in Namibia.
Exemptions
40. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Part contained, the Minister
may -
from the provisions of section 39 for a specified or unspecified period and either
unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Minister may impose.
(2) The Minister may exclude from any exemption granted to a category of persons
under subsection (1)(b), any person belonging to that category.
(a) under subsection (1)(a) may be withdrawn by the Minister by notice to the person
concerned;
(b) under subsection (1)(b) may be withdrawn by the Minister, in a like manner.
(4) Any exemption granted under subsection (1)(a) shall lapse when the person
exempted departs from Namibia.
(5) The Minister may authorize persons outside Namibia to issue to any intending
immigrant a certificate that he or she is exempted from the provisions of section 39, but no such
certificate shall be recognized in Namibia unless the holder thereof furnishes to the satisfaction
of the immigration officer concerned proof that he or she is the person to whom the certificate
relates.
Prohibited immigrants not exempted from provisions of Act if permitted to enter Namibia
erroneously
41. No prohibited immigrant shall be exempted from the provisions of this Act or be
permitted to remain in Namibia on the grounds only that such person had not been informed that
he or she could not enter or remain in Namibia or that he or she had been permitted to enter or
remain in Namibia through oversight, misrepresentation or owing to the fact having been
undiscovered as such a prohibited immigrant.
42. (1) (a) When a person who enters or has entered or is found within Namibia,
on reasonable grounds is suspected of being a prohibited immigrant in terms of any
provision of this Act, an immigration officer may -
(i) if such person is not in custody, arrest such person or cause him or her to be
arrested without a warrant; and
(b) When any police officer or person or member of a category of persons authorized
thereto in writing by the Minister on reasonable grounds suspects that a person is a
prohibited immigrant and is not entitled to be in Namibia, such officer, person or
member may require such person to produce to him or her proof that he or she is so
entitled to be in Namibia and if such person fails to satisfy such officer, person or
Republic of Namibia 32 Annotated Statutes
member that he or she is so entitled such officer, person or member may take him
or her into custody without a warrant, and shall as soon as is practicable bring him
or her before an immigration officer to be dealt with in terms of paragraph (a).
(2) When a person is detained in custody in terms of the provisions of this Act, the
immigration officer shall -
(a) comply with the provisions of Article 11(5) of the Namibian Constitution; and
(b) without delay give notice in writing, of the grounds for such detention and place
where such person is to be so detained to such person and his or her legal
representative (if any), and if such person has been detained in custody after having
arrived by sea, also to the master of the ship on which such person has arrived,
unless such ship has departed from the port concerned and is not to call at any
other port in Namibia.
(3) (a) An immigration officer may require from any person referred to in
subsection (1), to deposit with such immigration officer, in lieu of being detained
as contemplated in that subsection, an amount to be fixed by the immigration
officer, not exceeding an amount determined by the Minister by notice in the
Gazette in general, or to lodge with the immigration officer, to his or her
satisfaction, a guarantee in the prescribed form for the amount concerned, as a
surety that such person, if not so detained, shall comply with such conditions as the
immigration officer may impose in writing.
(b) Any person who has deposited an amount referred to in paragraph (a) or has lodged
a guarantee, so referred to therein, with an immigration officer, may remain in
Namibia for such period as may be required for the purposes of any investigation
referred to in subsection (1).
(d) If a person has contravened or failed to comply with any condition referred to in
paragraph (a), the Minister may order that the amount deposited with the
immigration officer be forfeited to the State, or if a guarantee was lodged with the
immigration officer, that the amount of the guarantee be recovered for the benefit
of the State.
(e) When the Minister makes an order referred to in paragraph (d) of this subsection,
he or she may also order that the person referred to in that paragraph be arrested
and detained mutatis mutandis in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1)
of this section, pending any investigations to be made as contemplated in the last-
mentioned subsection.
(a) in the case of a person referred to in subsection (1), before the expiration of the
period or longer period referred to in that subsection; or
after having made such investigations as the immigration officer may have deemed necessary,
decide whether the person, so referred to therein, is or is not a prohibited immigrant, and if the
immigration officer decides that such person is a prohibited immigrant, he or she -
(i) shall notify such person in writing of that fact and in such notice inform him or her
that application will be made to the tribunal concerned under section 44 for
authorization for his or her removal from Namibia should he or she fail to leave
Namibia before a date specified by the immigration officer in the notice which date
shall not be a date less than 48 hours from the time such person is served with such
notice; and
(ii) may, if such person fails to leave Namibia before the date specified in the said
notice and such person is not in custody arrest him or her or cause him or her to be
arrested without a warrant, and may pending the hearing and determination of an
application to the tribunal under section 44 for authorization for his or her removal
from Namibia, detain such person or cause him or her to be detained in a manner
and at a place determined by the Minister.
(5) If the immigration officer or, in the case of an application to the tribunal under
section 44, the tribunal, decides that the person referred to in subsection (1) is not a prohibited
immigrant, the residence of such person in Namibia during the period for which he or she was
suspected of being a prohibited immigrant shall, for the purpose of determining whether or not
such person has acquired a domicile in Namibia, not be regarded as temporary or conditional
residence in Namibia merely because such person was suspected of being a prohibited
immigrant.
43. (1) For the purposes of the provisions of Article 11(4) of the Namibian
Constitution, the Minister shall establish so many tribunals to be known as immigration
tribunals as the Minister may deem desirable for the hearing and determination of applications
for authorization for the removal of persons from Namibia in terms of this Act or any other law.
(2) (a) A tribunal shall consist of three or more members as may be appointed by
the Minister and a member of a tribunal shall hold office for such period, not
exceeding three years, as may be determined on his or her appointment as such a
member.
(3) A member of a tribunal who is not an officer in the public service shall be paid
such remuneration and allowances at such rates as the Minister, in consultation with the
Minister of Finance, may determine from time to time.
(4) The Minister shall designate any member of a tribunal as chairperson of that
tribunal.
(6) (a) The decision of a majority of the members of a tribunal shall be a decision of
a tribunal, and in the event of an equality of votes, the chairperson shall have a
casting vote in addition to his or her deliberative vote.
Republic of Namibia 34 Annotated Statutes
(b) Except as is otherwise provided in section 47, no appeal shall lie against the
decision of a tribunal.
(7) The administrative work in connection with the functions of a tribunal shall be
performed by officers in the Ministry designated by the Permanent Secretary.
(8) Subject to the provisions of sections 46 and 47, a tribunal shall have exclusive
jurisdiction at the port or ports of entry and within the area assigned to it by the Minister, to hear
and determine an application referred to in section 44(1).
44. (1) When any prohibited immigrant who enters or has entered or is found within
Namibia is to be removed from Namibia, application for authorization for such removal shall be
made to a tribunal having jurisdiction under section 43.
(2) An application referred to in subsection (1) shall be in writing and may be made by
any immigration officer or any other officer authorized by the Minister for that purpose, who
shall, in such application set forth the reasons why authorization for the removal of the person
concerned is sought.
(3) An application under this section shall be heard on the date and at the place and
time determined by the chairperson of the tribunal concerned who shall notify the immigration
officer who made the application, in writing thereof.
(4) The immigration officer referred to in subsection (3), shall, at least three days
before the application is to be heard by the tribunal concerned, give written notice of the
application, date, place and time of the hearing to the person concerned, personally, or in such
other manner as may be prescribed.
(5) Any person against whom an application is made under this section may be
represented at the hearing of the application by counsel or an attorney.
(6) The procedure at the hearing of an application under this section shall be as
determined by the chairperson of the tribunal.
(a) dies during the hearing of an application under this section or so soon before the
commencement of the hearing that the vacancy cannot be filled in time;
(b) is unable to act and another person cannot be appointed in his or her stead in time;
or
(c) is, after the hearing of the application has commenced, unable to continue
therewith,
the parties to the application may agree that the hearing be continued by the remaining
members, in which event, where the member who has died or has become incapacitated was or
is the chairperson of the tribunal, the Minister shall designate one of the remaining members to
act as chairperson.
(8) (a) If the parties do not agree in terms of subsection (7), the hearing shall be
adjourned in order that the Minister may appoint a person as a member, in the case
Republic of Namibia 35 Annotated Statutes
of a member who has died, in accordance with the requirements of section 43(2), in
the place of the member who has so died or, in the case of a member who has
become incapacitated, in the place of the member who has so become
incapacitated, for the duration of that hearing.
(b) Where an appointment has been made under paragraph (a), the hearing shall, if the
parties so agree, be continued from the stage at which the hearing was interrupted
by the death or incapacity of a member, or shall, if the parties do not so agree, be
commenced de novo.
(9) A tribunal may, after the hearing of an application referred to in this section, if -
(a) the person to whom the application relates is a prohibited immigrant; and
(b) by reason of the circumstances pertaining to such person, reasonable grounds exist
to cause him or her to be removed from Namibia,
by warrant issued under the hand of the chairperson of the tribunal, authorize the removal of
such person from Namibia.
(10) Except as is otherwise provided in this Part, no power conferred or duty imposed
on any person to remove any person from Namibia under this Act or any other law, shall be
exercised or performed, unless a tribunal has authorized such removal under this section.
45. (1) A tribunal may, in the prescribed manner, summon witnesses to give
evidence or produce documents and may, through the chairperson or any other person for the
time being lawfully acting as such, administer an oath or affirmation to any witness.
(3) Any person who, when summoned to give evidence or produce any document,
fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the terms of the summons or who, whether
summoned or not, refuses, while under examination, to answer to the best of his or her
knowledge or belief, all questions put to him or her by or with the concurrence of the tribunal or
who wilfully interrupts the proceedings thereof, shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction
be liable to a fine not exceeding R2 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding six
months or to both such fine and such imprisonment: Provided that any witness shall have the
same privileges in respect of answering any question or producing any document as he or she
would have if he or she were to answer such question before, or to produce such document to,
the High Court.
(4) If any person to whom an oath or affirmation has been administered under
subsection (1), knowingly gives false evidence material to the question which is being
considered by the tribunal, he or she shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to
the penalties prescribed by law for perjury.
(a) vary or modify any decision which would have the effect of causing the removal
from Namibia of the person to whom the application referred to in section 44
relates;
Republic of Namibia 36 Annotated Statutes
(b) withdraw any warrant issued under section 44(9), or suspend the execution thereof
for such period and on such conditions as the Minister may determine; or
(c) if the Minister is of the opinion that a condition of suspension determined under
paragraph (b) has been contravened or not been complied with, withdraw such
suspension.
(2) Any decision of the Minister under subsection (1) of this section, shall, for all
purposes -
(a) in the case of paragraph (a) of that subsection, be deemed to be a decision of the
tribunal concerned not authorizing the removal from Namibia of the person
concerned under section 44 to the extent of the variation or modification referred to
therein;
(c) in the case of paragraph (c) of that subsection, be deemed to be a decision of the
tribunal concerned authorizing the removal from Namibia of the person concerned
under section 44.
47. (1) A tribunal may of its own motion, and shall at the request of the person
affected by an application made under section 44 or of an immigration officer, reserve for the
decision of the High Court any question of law which arises upon an application heard before
that tribunal.
(2) The tribunal referred to in subsection (1) shall state such question of law in the
form of a special case for the decision of the High Court by transmitting such special case to the
registrar of that court.
(3) If such special case is stated at the request of the person affected by the application
made under section 44, such person shall lodge with the registrar security to such an amount as
the registrar may determine, in respect of any such costs as the High Court may order such
person to pay.
(4) (a) A question of law reserved under subsection (1) may be argued before the
High Court and the High Court may call for such further information, to be
supplied by the tribunal or person concerned, as the High Court may deem
necessary.
(b) The High Court may give such decision in respect of the special case, as
supplemented by such further information (if any), and may make such order as to
the costs of the proceedings as it may deem fit.
Republic of Namibia 37 Annotated Statutes
(c) Any decision of the High Court under paragraph (b) setting aside the decision of a
tribunal shall, for all purposes, where the tribunal had, by the decision so set aside,
refused the granting of an application for authorization for the removal of a person
from Namibia under section 44, be deemed to be a decision of the tribunal
concerned authorizing the removal of that person from Namibia under that section.
(5) The person affected by the application made under section 44 or the Chief of
Immigration shall have a right of appeal to the Supreme Court against a decision referred to in
subsection (4)(b) as if it were a civil action heard by the High Court.
(6) In the case of an appeal to the Supreme Court by the person affected by the
application referred to in subsection (5), such person shall lodge with the registrar security to
such further amount as may be determined by that registrar in respect of such costs as the
Supreme Court may order such person to pay.
(7) For the purposes of this section “question of law” includes a question of citizenship
or domicile, as the case may be.
(2) The period referred to in subsection (1) shall not be less than 48 hours and shall
commence at the time such person is served with the notice referred to in that subsection.
(3) A notice referred to in subsection (1) may specify in relation to the person on
whom it is served, the route by, and the place at, which such person shall leave Namibia.
49. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act or any other law
contained, the Minister may, on the recommendation of the Security Commission established
under Article 114 of the Namibian Constitution, forthwith remove or cause to be removed from
Namibia by warrant issued under his or her hand any person who enters or has entered or is
found in Namibia and whose activities endanger or are calculated to endanger the security of the
State, whether or not such person is a prohibited immigrant in respect of Namibia.
(a) if a person referred to in subsection (1) is not in custody, arrest such person or
cause him or her to be arrested without a warrant; and
(b) pending his or her removal from Namibia under that subsection, detain such person
in the manner and at the place determined by the Minister.
(3) No appeal shall lie against any decision of the Minister under subsection (1).
50. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act contained, no person
removed from or ordered to leave Namibia under a provision of this Act shall, after such
Republic of Namibia 38 Annotated Statutes
(a) was the holder of a permanent residence permit issued under section 24(a); or
(2) If any person after having been removed from, or ordered to leave, Namibia is
found within Namibia, he or she shall, unless he or she is in possession of an authority to return
to, or to remain in, Namibia, be guilty of an offence and -
(a) on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R20 000 or to imprisonment for a
period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment;
(b) may be removed at any time from Namibia under a warrant issued by an
immigration officer; and
51. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act or any other law contained, an
immigration officer may, in the exercise or performance of any power or duty to arrest, detain
or remove from Namibia a person under this Part, so arrest, detain or remove such person,
whether or not such person has been convicted of any offence under this Act.
52. (1) If a person has been sentenced to imprisonment under any provision of this
Act or any other law and a tribunal has authorized the removal of such person from Namibia
under section 44, or he or she is a person referred to in section 49 or 50(2), as the case may be,
such person may be removed from Namibia before the expiration of his or her sentence of
imprisonment.
(2) Any sentence of imprisonment imposed under the provisions of this Act or any
other law, shall terminate as soon as the person concerned is under this Part removed from
Namibia.
PART VII
MISCELLANEOUS POWERS OF IMMIGRATION OFFICERS
53. (1) The provisions of this section, in so far as they provide for a limitation on
the fundamental rights contemplated in subarticle (1) of Article 13 of the Namibian Constitution
by authorizing interference with the privacy of a person’s home, correspondence or
communications are enacted on the authority conferred by that subarticle.
(2) For the purpose of exercising his or her powers and performing his or her duties
under this Act, an immigration officer may at all reasonable times -
(c) question any person who is present on any such premises or conveyance, as the
case may be, in connection with any matter to which this Act relates;
(d) search for any book, record, statement, register or other document on such
premises or conveyance which in any way relates to the presence of any person on
such premises or such conveyance, as the case may be;
(e) seize and examine any such book, record, statement, register or other document,
and make copies thereof or extracts therefrom;
(f) call upon any person to furnish such officer with any information at his or her
disposal with regard to the occupation or ownership of or residence on such
premises or the ownership or control of such conveyance, as the case may be, or
the presence of any person on such premises or conveyance;
(i) require a police officer, or request any other person, to assist him or her as an
interpreter or otherwise in exercising or performing his or her powers, duties and
functions under this Act.
(a) he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that such passport or document has
been obtained by any fraudulent act or false representation;
(b) the passport or document has been defaced or mutilated to such an extent that the
passport or document or any part thereof is illegible;
(c) any amendment or endorsement has been made to, or inserted in, the passport or
document by any person other than an official duly authorized to do so,
Republic of Namibia 40 Annotated Statutes
and may transmit the passport or document concerned to the authority which issued that
passport or document or on behalf of which it was so issued.
(4) A search of a home in terms of a power conferred by subsection (1), shall not be
carried out without a search warrant, unless -
(a) the owner or occupier of the dwelling, as the case may be, has consented to the
search; or
(ii) that the delay in obtaining such warrant would defeat the objects of the
search.
(5) The provisions of sections 21 and 29 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act 51
of 1977), shall mutatis mutandis apply with reference to the obtaining and execution of a search
warrant referred to in subsection (4), and, in the application of those provisions, a reference to a
police official shall be construed as including a reference to an immigration officer.
(6) When an immigration officer exercises or performs a power or duty under this Act
in the presence of any person affected thereby, the immigration officer shall on demand by any
such person produce to him or her the certificate issued to such immigration officer in terms of
section 3(4).
(7) A police officer required or any other person requested by an immigration officer
to assist him or her as provided in paragraph (i) of subsection (1) may accompany such
immigration officer in the performance of his or her duties or functions under this Act as if such
police officer or person were an immigration officer.
[The reference to “paragraph (i) of subsection (1)” must be in error as there is no such provision in
this section. It was probably intended to refer to “paragraph (i) of subsection (2)”,
which would make sense given the context.]
(8) Any owner or person in charge of any premises or conveyance on which persons
are present, shall at all times make available such facilities as are reasonably required by an
immigration officer in order to enable him or her to exercise or perform effectively the powers,
duties and functions to be exercised or performed by him or her under this Act on or in any such
premises or conveyance.
(a) obstructs, hinders, opposes, resists or interferes with an immigration officer in the
exercise of his or her powers or the performance of his or her duties or functions
under this Act;
(b) without just cause refuses or fails to comply to the best of his or her ability with
any requirement or order made by an immigration officer in the exercise of his or
her powers or the performance of his or her duties or functions under this Act;
Republic of Namibia 41 Annotated Statutes
(c) refuses or fails to answer to the best of his or her ability any question which an
immigration officer in the exercise of his or her powers or the performance of his
or her duties or functions under this Act has put to him or her;
(f) without lawful authority, holds himself or herself out as an immigration officer,
shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding R8 000 or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
PART VIII
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
55. Any person who is removed from any country, other than Namibia, under a warrant
or order issued or made in such country, and who, in the course of such removal, enters or
passes through Namibia shall, on entry into Namibia and throughout the period of his or her
passage through Namibia be deemed to be, by reason of such warrant or order, in lawful
custody and, if such person escapes, he or she may be apprehended without a warrant by any
immigration officer or police officer and returned forthwith to the custody from which he or she
escaped.
(b) conveys or causes to be conveyed into Namibia any person who is not in
possession of a valid passport and who is not a Namibian citizen or a person
domiciled in Namibia;
(c) aids or abets a person to be removed from Namibia in evading the removal, or
harbours any such person knowing him or her to be subject to any such removal;
(e) for the purpose of entering Namibia, or of remaining therein in contravention of the
provisions of this Act or any other law, or of assisting any other person so to enter
or so to remain, fabricates, forges or falsifies any permit, certificate or other
Republic of Namibia 42 Annotated Statutes
(i) any stamp or other instrument which is used or capable of being used for
purposes of fabricating or falsifying or unlawfully recording on any
document any endorsement under this Act; or
(ii) any form officially printed for purposes of issuing any permit, certificate or
other document under this Act, or any reproduction or imitation of any such
form;
(g) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act, if such contravention
or failure is not elsewhere in this Act declared an offence,
(aa) in the case of any offence referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or
(e), to a fine not exceeding R20 000 or to imprisonment for a period
not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment;
or
(bb) in the case of any other offence, to a fine not exceeding R8 000 or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such
fine and such imprisonment.
Evidence
(b) warrant,
which may under this Act be issued shall, unless otherwise required in this Act, be good and
effectual if signed -
(i) in the case of paragraph (a), by the Chief of Immigration or any immigration
officer, as the case may be; and
and, when so signed, shall be evidence in all courts of law and for other purposes that it was
issued in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2) A certificate or written authority under the hand of a chairperson of a tribunal, the
Chief of Immigration or an immigration officer, as the case may be, shall in any proceedings
under this Act be prima facie proof of the facts stated therein, and it shall not be necessary to
tender oral evidence in respect of such facts, unless the court before which such proceedings are
held, so directs.
Republic of Namibia 43 Annotated Statutes
Regulations
58. (1) The Minister may make regulations, not inconsistent with the provisions of
this Act, relating to -
(a) the powers and duties of the Chief of Immigration and immigration officers;
(b) the steps to be taken to prevent the entry of prohibited immigrants into Namibia
and to facilitate the tracing and identification of prohibited immigrants in, and their
removal from, Namibia;
(c) the procedures regulating the entry of persons into Namibia at a port of entry;
(d) the manner in which and the conditions on which any money or guarantee
furnished as security under this Act shall be kept in safekeeping, refunded or
forfeited;
(e) the times, places and conduct of medical examinations of persons entering or
desiring to enter Namibia or who being found in Namibia are suspected of being
prohibited immigrants;
(f) the infectious, communicable or other diseases (other than tuberculosis) or the
viruses, the affliction with, or the carrying of which, will render a person to be a
prohibited immigrant, and the conditions governing the issue to any person
infected with tuberculosis of a permit to enter Namibia;
(g) the forms of warrants, permits, certificates, notices or other documents which may
be issued or used under this Act or of the declarations to be made, or of registers to
be kept, or of returns to be furnished for the purposes of this Act, and the
particulars to be inserted or set forth in any such document, declaration, register or
return;
(h) the conditions subject to which any permits, certificates, notices or other
documents may be issued or re-issued under this Act, or on destruction or loss
thereof, the circumstances under which such permits, certificates, notices or other
documents may be cancelled or withdrawn and the fees which may be charged in
respect of such permits or certificates;
(i) the conditions upon which a prohibited immigrant may be permitted to pass
through Namibia while journeying or being conveyed to a destination outside
Namibia;
(l) the fees that may be charged in respect of any person for overtime services
required to be performed by immigration officers;
(m) the fees that may be charged in respect of the issuing of visas;
and generally all other matters which are by this Act required or permitted to be prescribed or
which are necessary or expedient to be prescribed for the better carrying out of the objects and
purposes of this Act.
Republic of Namibia 44 Annotated Statutes
(2) Different regulations may be made under paragraph (c) of subsection (1) in respect
of different ports of entry, and the forms of warrants, permits, certificates, documents,
declarations, registers or returns prescribed under paragraph (g) of that subsection may differ in
respect of different categories of persons.
(3) Regulations made under subsection (1) may prescribe penalties for a contravention
thereof or a failure to comply therewith not exceeding a fine of R2 000 or imprisonment for a
period of six months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
(a) exempt a person or a person belonging to a category of persons from paying any
fees prescribed by regulation under subsection (1)(l) or (m); or
(b) withdraw an exemption granted to a person under paragraph (a), whether granted to
such person as an individual or as a person belonging to a category of persons.
Interpretation of laws
59. Any reference in any other law to any “passport control officer” or “prohibited
person”, shall be deemed to be a reference to any “immigration officer” or “prohibited
immigrant”, respectively.
60. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), the laws specified in
Schedule II are hereby repealed to the extent set out in the third column of that Schedule.
(2) Any temporary permit issued and in force under any law repealed by subsection (1)
at the commencement of this Act, shall, at such commencement and in accordance with the
purpose for which it was issued and subject to any period, condition or prohibition stated in that
permit, be deemed to be an appropriate permit issued under the provisions of section 24(b) of
this Act.
61. This Act shall be called the Immigration Control Act, 1993, and shall come into
operation on a date to be determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette.
Republic of Namibia 45 Annotated Statutes
SCHEDULE I
OFFENCES
(Section 39(2)(f))
High treason.
Sedition.
Public violence.
Murder.
Culpable homicide.
Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Robbery.
Theft.
Receiving stolen property knowing it to be stolen.
Housebreaking or entering any premises with intent to commit an offence.
Extortion or the obtaining of property by means of a threat.
Fraud.
Arson.
Malicious injury to property.
Dealing in, selling, supplying or being in possession of any substance from time to time referred
to in Part I, II or III of the Schedule to the Abuse of Dependence-producing Substances and
Rehabilitation Centres Act, 1971 (Act 41 of 1971).
Counterfeiting coin or the uttering of counterfeit knowing it to be counterfeit.
Forgery or the uttering of a forged document knowing it to be forged.
Bribery.
Rape.
Indecent assault.
Unlawful carnal intercourse, or the commission of any immoral or indecent act, with a girl
under the prescribed age or with a female idiot or imbecile, or soliciting or enticing any such
girl or idiot or imbecile to the commission of any such act.
Public indecency.
Incest.
Sodomy.
Kidnapping.
Childstealing.
Abduction.
Defeating or obstructing the course of justice.
Perjury.
Contravention of section 18 of the Price Control Act, 1964 (Act 25 of 1964).
Contravention of section 21 of the Indecent or Obscene Photographic Matter Act, 1967 (Act 37
of 1967).
Contravention of section 2(1) of the Controlled Game Products Proclamation, 1980
(Proclamation AG. 42 of 1980).
[The Controlled Game Products Proclamation AG. 42 of 1980 was repealed
by the Controlled Wildlife Products and Trade Act 9 of 2008.]
Contravention of any provision of the Combating of Immoral Practices Act, 1980 (Act 21 of
1980), which constitutes any offence under that Act.
Contravention of any law relating to exchange control.
Dealing in, selling or being in possession of unwrought precious metal or rough or uncut
precious stones in contravention of any law.
Any attempt or incitement to commit any such offence.
Republic of Namibia 46 Annotated Statutes
SCHEDULE II
LAWS REPEALED
(Section 60(1))
Act 60 of 1961 Admission of Persons to the Union The whole, in so far as it has not
Regulation Amendment Act, 1961 been repealed
Act 69 of 1962 Commonwealth Relations Act, 1962 Sections 6 to 16, inclusive, and
section 29
Proclamation AG. 15 Aliens and Immigration Laws Sections 2 to 11, inclusive, and
of 1989 Amendment Proclamation, 1989 sections 13 to 53, inclusive
Act 14 of 1990 Namibian Citizenship Act, 1990 Section 29, in so far as it relates
to any entry in the Third
Schedule relating to the Aliens
Act, 1937, the Residence in the
Republic Regulation Act, 1964,
and the Admission of Persons to
Namibia Regulation Act, 1972