On arrival in Mozambique

Just a couple of points to be aware of when you get to Mozambique, but they’re important:

• You cannot leave Mozambique again until you get your DIRE
• From the date of entry, you have 30 days to get your DIRE. Day 1 is your day of entry, not the next day. There is a fine of 2000 meticais per day for exceeding the 30-day deadline.
• Within 5 days of arrival in Mozambique you must register your arrival at an immigration office.  There is a fine of 1000 meticais for every day of delay registering your arrival. Your company should hopefully do this for you. But, this is a recent requirement (an old unused law has suddenly started to be rigorously enforced) and so many employers are unaware they need to do this. So double-check for them.

Preparing documents to apply for your DIRE

If you have done everything explained in the previous articles correctly and quickly (i.e. your quitações are still within 3 months of issue), then actually getting the DIRE is a nuisance, but not too difficult.

This government website sets out most of the requirements to get a DIRE. It is available in English. You can fill in the application, and then book an appointment, through the website. Just be careful because the list of documents on this website is not guaranteed to be up to date (it is not complete at the time of writing).

You need to go to the right immigration office to apply for your DIRE. This will be the office for the province in which your sponsoring company is registered. For companies with multiple locations – assuming they are correctly registered in each location – there is some flexibility to go to your nearest. But generally there is only one that applies. Most expatriates will use the Matola or Maputo immigration offices. Maputo is only for businesses registered in the City of Maputo. Matola is for businesses registered in the Province of Maputo, but outside the city.

The documents you require are very similar to those required to get your work visa. Below is a list of documents required to renew your DIRE. There is a second list of additional documents you need if you are applying for a DIRE for the first time.

Documents required to renew your DIRE

• Passport with minimum 6 months validity (but make sure there is more to allow for delays) and 3 blank pages
• Photocopies of your passport main pages
• Copy of the authorisation to work (as explained here) including the attached work contract. For renewals, be aware that they will only issue a DIRE if you have at least 6 months remaining validity on the approval. They will also only issue up to the date of renewal of your fixed term contract. This often means receiving less than a full one year of DIRE validity. If your work authorisation is close to expiry, you will need to renew that before applying for your DIRE. This is not a quick process, so prepare ahead.
• Alvara for your sponsoring company – every Mozambican company will have this (it is the business licence).
• The Finance Ministry and INSS certificates (for first time DIREs, hopefully the certificates you used to apply for your visas will still be within the 3-month validity; if not, you need to get new ones).
• A letter from your sponsoring company requesting the DIREs.
• Completed application document (completed on paper or if completed online, bring printed copies). Dependents applying for residency permits (DIREs) should bring the same documents as above, with the following differences:
• Partners need to provide a marriage certificate. If not already in Portuguese, make sure this is translated by a sworn translator and notarised as such. Then bring the original (they will not retain this); a notarised copy of the original; and the notarised sworn translation

• Each family member should have their own copies of the documents and their own application form.

• Where originals are needed (e.g. work authorisation), leave the original in the document pack for the worker. Use notarised copies for the other family members.

Extra documents required for first time DIRE application

• A photocopy of the page of your passport showing your Mozambique entry stamp.
• A criminal record certificate issued by the country where you have been living for the past 12 months. It’s issue date must be no older than 3 months .
• “Boletim Individual de Alojamento” – roughly translates as an Individual Certificate of Housing. You get this certificate from Senami. In Maputo, go to the building directly opposite the DIRE issuance office, and turn right and ask at a desk in that reception area to get this. This relates to the registration at the immigration office you needed to do within 5 days of arrival in Mozambique. If you missed that registration, at this point you will have to pay 1000 meticais per day you have been in Mozambique in order to get the required certificate.

Once you have collated all your documents, you should book an appointment at your appropriate immigration office. This is not always essential, but it is preferred, and some offices are more fussy than others about this. You can book the appointment online using the website here, in which case you need to complete the application form online and when you submit it, the system should book you an appointment. I have not tried this approach. Or you can book by going to the office in person, collecting the application form and getting a booking written on it.

A next day appointment is standard – you do not need to book far ahead.

Note that for DIRE renewals, the timing is quite specific. Immigration are unlikely to agree to renew more than a week early, so plan travel around this. However with a good reason, they can make exceptions.

Getting you DIRE in Mozambique

This is a series of articles about getting and renewing your work / residency permit (DIRE)