Revolution done right: The Launch of the Mozambique eVisa platform

The VAULT Magazine from The Silicon Trust published our technical article about our flagship project in Mozambique. 

Read the article here or download the full magazine here (VAULT #35)! 

Since the end of the civil war in 1992, Mozambique has been delineated as a post-war rehabilitation triumph seeing several transformations in many sectors. In the last decade, the economy has seen a positive trend, but experienced its first economic slowdown in almost three decades due to the pandemic. In 2021, they resumed their growth to aid the development of the country while also addressing the harm cause by natural disasters and several other reasons.

The Government of the Republic of Mozambique came up with a plan to modernize their border posts with the latest technology and to replace all the hardware and software with a much more trouble-free process in 2018, where the German technology specialist Muehlbauer came into the picture. As Muehlbauer Group took on this project to further prove their specialty in security, their main aim was to create state-of-the-art technology for the issuance and verification of multiple types of identification documents for the Mozambicans. To start this project, Muehlbauer established its business location in the capital of Maputo, with around 67 employees. More than 1,200 government employees from the Mozambique side have also been trained to operate the eVisa system.

Mozambique's president, Filipe Nyusi, announced the commencement of the PAE, a program to stimulate the economy, on August 9, 2022. This involved the eVisa platform curated by Muehlbauer. It is believed that the online platform would help to enhance the business climate in Mozambique while boosting the nation's competitiveness in luring leisure, business, and direct international investment. Among the points made by the minister, the introduction of border visas in the past almost doubled the number of tourists entering Mozambique, and he expects the eVisa to have a substantial effect of the tourism industry.

In December 2022, the eVisa platform was successfully launched in Mozambique. This platform aims to make it easier for applicants to apply for their visas. In accordance with the launch of this platform, different types of interesting visas were also added to the list including sports visas and tourism visas. Applicants can now apply for their visa online without having to fill up the paperwork physically, send it through the mail, or take it to the local embassy. The Muehlbauer eVisa solution reduces the burden on applicants by eliminating the time-consuming process for applying for a visa.

The Muehlbauer eVisa solution aimed to create an exemplary platform, which was a success. The platform runs responsively with all the standard browsers and popular operating systems, on desktop PCs, tablets, and even mobile phones. The platform is also very functional and has an easy navigation system, available in English and Portuguese. As the platform is still in its improvement phase, it is anticipated that it will soon include an online payment option, which would further reduce the wait time. The eVisa solution from Muehlbauer also provides a user-friendly application and certainly helps to avoid long lines at border crossings and the embassy with its simplified handling and quick data transfer. Another foremost rationale for the eVisa platform was to ensure health security with very minimal requirements for physical attendance.

Applicants can now apply for their visas from where they are as it is highly accessible on mostly all devices. The applicant will then be notified via email in PDF format when their application is reviewed and authorized, and they will get either the approved Preliminary eVisa Document or, in the event of a rejection, the Application Rejection Letter.

The approval procedure is estimated to take 5 business days, and the applicants shall collect their visas at the airport. This is the only phase that requires the physical presence of an applicant where upon arriving at the airport, land border, or embassy, a comparative verification process is carried out using all of the applicant's pre-registered data and the databases already in place. Hereafter, upon validation of the data, the visa is issued and applicants can proceed with their journey. 

This platform also aims to attract more foreigners who wish to have investments in Mozambique as the visa allows them to stay longer in the country. As part of this measure, Mozambique will also select a few more countries to add to the visa exemption list in the upcoming months. It is also anticipated that straightforward short-term tourist visas would evolve into mixed tourist and business visas in the future. The Muehlbauer eVisa solution creates a more appealing and welcoming nation for foreign investments and tourists.With the eVisa platform's continued development, we may expect a more intricate but simple-to-use platform in the future, making it simpler for anyone who wants to visit Mozambique. The Mozambique eVisa platform's launch is an example of revolution executed right.

Written by Kuggeneswary Sekar