Timor-Leste's embassies in Portugal, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia will now issue visas to enter the country in order to "simplify" the process and improve border control, the Ministry of the Interior has announced.

"This is an important step that aims to simplify and decentralize the process of granting visas, thus promoting greater efficiency in controlling the movement of people at the borders and foreigners in the national territory," says the Ministry of the Interior, in a statement released by Timor-Leste's consulate-general in Darwin, Australia.

The measure, already published in the Official Gazette, will allow migration attachés in those countries to issue visas for "work, business, temporary stays, establishment of residence, transit, tourism and airport stopovers".

The aim, according to the statement, is to "simplify procedures, boost economic development and increase tax revenue".

(Source: Impala, on June 19)