THE Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) has achieved another policy milestone with the official opening of the Immigration Division in Auki, Malaita Province, last week.
The establishment of the Immigration Division not only provides relief to the congested Immigration Office in Honiara but is also a realization of the government’s ongoing commitment to decentralize government’s services to the provinces.
The Immigration Division in Auki will provide passport services and later on, visa services as well.
In terms of data derived from the Pacific- Australia Labor Mobility (PALM), of the 6,500 plus workers in Australia about 40 percent are from Malaita Province.
With the availability of the immigration services in Auki, potential PALM workers will have the opportunity to acquire passports without incurring other costs such as transportation and accommodation expenses.
Malaita Province becomes the second Province to host the Immigration Division, Noro in Western Province is the first. Noro opens its Immigration Division in March of this year.
In his brief remarks during the opening of the office in Auki, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele expressed that the opening of the Immigration Division will be a relief for PALM applicants but also the general public of Auki.
He added that the establishment of the office also marked an achievement for the government in terms of availing immigration services to the people in the provinces.
- PM’s PRESS SECRETARIAT
