PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Cape Verde: Government regularises status of all illegal immigrants
Praia, Cape Verde (PANA) – Cape Verde will regularise all non-citizen residents in the country with effect from January 2015 when a new legislation on foreigners comes into force, according to Deputy Health Minister Cristina Fontes Lima.
Speaking Friday in Praia at a public presentation of the results of a survey on the needs of immigrants in the Cape Verdian social integration process, Lima said that the council of ministers made the decision recently.
"We must guarantee the stability of immigrants who are already working here and then clear other issues to facilitate their social integration," she said.
After regularisation of all immigrants on the island, she said it would be easier to improve the management of migratory movements and guarantee the quality and quantity criteria of new arrivals in the country.
According to Lima, about half of 17,000 immigrants in Cape Verde were in a regular situation, which showed that the country still has a long way to go, although in terms of immigration, Cape Verde has made “significant progress”.
However, the minister noted that the study, whose results were released Wednesday, will enable the government to make "an institutional evaluation by identifying the profile of institutions and their role and mission in the integration of immigrants in Cape Verde".
She called on different institutions to continue gathering data that will strengthen implementation of the strategy for immigration in Cape Verde.
The study, carried out on a group of 821 immigrants from the ECOWAS member states, European and Latin American countries in the districts of Praia, Santa Catarina and the islands of Sal, Boa Vista and Sao Vicente, said that the majority of them considered themselves "well integrated" in the host country.
-0- PANA CS/IZ/CJB/IS/MSA/AR 8Aug2014
Speaking Friday in Praia at a public presentation of the results of a survey on the needs of immigrants in the Cape Verdian social integration process, Lima said that the council of ministers made the decision recently.
"We must guarantee the stability of immigrants who are already working here and then clear other issues to facilitate their social integration," she said.
After regularisation of all immigrants on the island, she said it would be easier to improve the management of migratory movements and guarantee the quality and quantity criteria of new arrivals in the country.
According to Lima, about half of 17,000 immigrants in Cape Verde were in a regular situation, which showed that the country still has a long way to go, although in terms of immigration, Cape Verde has made “significant progress”.
However, the minister noted that the study, whose results were released Wednesday, will enable the government to make "an institutional evaluation by identifying the profile of institutions and their role and mission in the integration of immigrants in Cape Verde".
She called on different institutions to continue gathering data that will strengthen implementation of the strategy for immigration in Cape Verde.
The study, carried out on a group of 821 immigrants from the ECOWAS member states, European and Latin American countries in the districts of Praia, Santa Catarina and the islands of Sal, Boa Vista and Sao Vicente, said that the majority of them considered themselves "well integrated" in the host country.
-0- PANA CS/IZ/CJB/IS/MSA/AR 8Aug2014
