Background
One of the newest Immigration Services in the world, the Immigration Department of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (Departamento de Migração) was established in its current form in early 2003 as a Department of the Timor-Leste National Police (PNTL).
The Department has over 80 staff, and is headed by a Director who answers in turn to the Commissioner of Police. The Department is responsible for civilian immigration control functions at all land border crossing points, airports and ports. The Department decides visas that may be granted on arrival at a border crossing, and processes applications for further visas that may be granted to people after arrival in Timor Leste in conjunction with the Consular Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The Department is also responsible for administering other functions of the Immigration and Asylum Law of 2003, including registration of foreigners and legislated enforcement powers.
See - Organisational Chart
UNTAET Regulation No.
2000/9 established the first border regime for Timor-Leste
post-1999. The resultant Service administered both Customs and
Immigration.
A subsequent review of this
function resulted in a decision of Government to separate
the Customs and Immigration functions. The resulting
Decree Law (4/2002) published on 12 November 2002
transferred Immigration control inside the country, as well
as the control of the movement of persons across the borders, to
the PNTL.
The transfer of responsibility
for Immigration functions to the PNTL was performed in 3
phases:
- 13/01/2003 (
Dili International Airport )
- 21/01/2003
(Visas, Dili Seaport and Baucau Airport )
- 01/03/2003
(Land borders)
Between 13/01/2003 and 15/10/2003 immigration function was subject to a combination of 2 pieces of legislation (UNTAET Regulation 2000/9 and Decree Law 4/2002), until the promulgation of relevant statutes of the PNTL, and the Immigration and Asylum Law of 2003.
Mission
The Timor Leste National Police (PNTL) has been assigned the following immigration goals, under the Article 2 number 2 of the Decree Law 8/2004 (Organic Law of the PNTL):
“(..)
(h) To guarantee the surveillance
of the borders by controlling the movement of people and
goods in consultation with other relevant agencies;
(i) To ensure compliance with the
procedures for the entry, stay, exit and expulsion of
foreigners from the national territory;”
The Mission of the Department
of Immigration is defined in the
Organic Law of the PNTL , at Article 20:
“The PNTL Migration Department has
the specific mission to control the entry and exit of people
across land borders and airports and its tasks include:
(a) to control the
entry, stay and exit of foreign citizens in the national
territory;
(b) to grant visas
in accordance with the law;
(c) to conduct
processes of family reunification;
(d) to conduct
processes of expulsion of foreign citizens;
(e) to perform any
other tasks falling within the scope of its mission.”
Immigration and Asylum Law
(Law 9/2003 of 15th
October 2003)
On October 15th 2003, the National Parliament passed the Immigration and Asylum Law 2003 (LIA). This became the principal legislative framework to codify all immigration functions and powers.
Enforcement
The power to enforce the provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Law 2003 lies with the Timor Leste National Police (PNTL) under Article 133 of LIA.
However the
same law distributes the majority of immigration powers to the Migration Department of
the PNTL, granting to the
Department the following main objectives:
- To control the movement of persons through the Frontier Posts;
- To control the stay and activities of foreigners inside national territory;
- To plan, coordinate, investigate, and report to Government on issues relating to the movement of people,
- To investigate the immigration crimes, such as human smuggling and human trafficking
- Responsibility for the Asylum process
The Migration Department is also wholly or substantially responsible for the following areas of migration management:
- Granting or refusing visa applications that may be made at border posts or extended after arrival;
- Giving a binding opinion on other visa applications that are processed after arrival or by the Department of Consular Affairs;
- Issues resident authorizations;
- And is also responsible for the inspection, investigation, prosecution and removal of foreigners in violation of immigration law as well as levying legislated fines including those against foreigners who have overstayed their visa.
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