Corruption at Amhara Immigration Office
By Musege Balew 09/21/09

It is with profound disappointment that we hear about unabated and rampant corruption at the Amhara Kilil Immigration Office.

Previously there was only one office in Addis Ababa providing immigration related service to the whole population of Ethiopia.  This was an enormous impediment to large number of Ethiopians who wanted to practice their right to freedom of movement.

We were elated when we heard about the government’s plan to start providing immigration related services in regional capital cities.  We believe this was a wise and practical decision; it speeds up the process and helps Ethiopians save time and money by avoiding long journey, extended stay, and other travel related expenses.

Unfortunately the regional offices, particularly the Amhara Immigration Office personnel have become the largest obstacle to the government’s noble beginning and are causing agony to Ethiopians living at home and their relatives living abroad.  The immigration officers are routinely using delaying tactics and refusing to issue passport to Ethiopian citizens who are submitting all required documents.

We hear from reliable sources that the immigration officers are asking as much as $15,000 Birr (over $1,250 USD) kickback to issue a passport to an otherwise rightfully deserving Ethiopian citizen.  This is a travesty and needs to be addressed.

This also begs the question: what are the regional administrators doing?  Are they aiding and abating corrupt activities and unjustly exploiting their own constituency?